Bodie Miller Ridiculous

[erpowers]

Bodie Miller is just ridiculous. Yesterday he bashed fans of skiing by saying the mess up the sport by taking the fun out of it. He also blamed fans for steroid use of athletes. Now it seems he is saying he might give up in tomorrow's race.

I know some people might say that I am just writing this stuff because Bodie Miller is not winning at the Olympics. That is not true. Even if he were winning while acting like this it would make me angry. It seems to me that since Bodie Miller arrived in Tourino he has been complaining about the media and the fans. As I mentioned above he bashed fans and the media. He claimed he wished for the days when he could go to the Olympics and get drunk with his friends and go to all the sporting events without the media following him everywhere and questioning him. This makes me angry for two reason. One if you do not want to media to follow you everywhere do not jump in front of cameras and microphones every chance you get. I do not think anyone forced Miller to have his picture on the cover of Time and Newsweek, or perform an interview with 60 Minutes. Second, if you do not want to compete in the Olympics then do not go to them. He could have easily told the USOC that he did not want to participate in the Olympics and that he would rather stay home and get drunk with his friends or that he wanted go to Italy only to get drunk with friends and watch the other Olympic events. If Miller had done this I am quite sure some other kid would have been happy to step up and go to the Olympics to compete.

[joeybee12]

1. Miller sounds like he has a drinking problem...

...seriously, that type of life lends itself to lots of drinking. Some people can handle it, some can't. It's his moodiness and irrational behavior that indicates an addiction.

[jschurchin]

33. I agree 100%

I have thought this way for a while now. As someone who has been sober for 6 years now, believe me, he has all the characteristics of an addict.

[cali]

2. Link, please.

Don't just paraphrase someone like it's gospel. Provide a link. I'm a huge Bode fan. Why? He's one of the most talented skiers in the history of the sport. He's thrilling to watch. He's developed a unique style, and he's fearless and ferocious on the course. Of course part of it is that he's from my neck of the woods, and I relate to his background. Yes, he's rash in what he says. I find it a lot more interesting than the canned crap that most athletes spout.

[chimpymustgo]

4. Love Bode. Here's the link. I find his comments quite thought-provoking.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/alpine/5111272/detail.html

The site has some cool videos of Bode. His appearance on Jay Leno is so cute.

[jakefrep]

3. So what?

Unlike many other public figures (cough) Rafael Palmeiro (cough), the guy is refreshingly forthcoming about his vices. You'd prefer that he pretend to be a tee-totaling celibate who only utters carefully scripted platitudes about God, country, Mom, and apple pie?

[DrGonzoLives]

5. Exactly

I can guarentee you he's not the only skier to go downhill drunk. He just admitted. HOW HORRIBLE!!!11zzz

[erpowers]

6. No Problem

I do not have a problem with him getting drunk. I have a problem with him blaming fans and the media for everything. I did not bash him for saying he gets drunk. I bashed him for saying he wished he could get drunk and not have the media around. I also bashed him for saying that he might quite in the race tomorrow. Throughout my comments I talked about how if he did not want to be followed by the media he should stop talking to the media. I also said that if he just wanted to be drunk throughout the Olympics he should have just stayed home. He came to the Olympics and then just started complaining the whole time. Everyday there was a new problem and most of the time it was the fans or the media that he bashed. I do not care if he wants to get drunk. For all I care he can stay drunk 24 hours a day. However, I contend that he should not go to the Olympics get drunk jump in front of cameras say he gets drunk and not expect to be asked about it. I guess my major problem with him is that he always bashes the fans. I do not like it when anyone bashes their fans.

[joeybee12]

7. My beef with him is his comment about not caring if he wins medals...

...said something to the effect that that's not one of his goals, that he couldn't care less, that only the media cares. Well, then fly your sorry ass back home and let someone take your place who might care!

[erpowers]

8. Thats What I am Saying

I agreed with you. Let some kid who care take your place. There are many who would.

[chimpymustgo]

9. You're making his point: YOU care about the medals. HE wants a great ski.

-snip-
"It is other people who want me to win medals," Miller said in an interview with Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Thursday. "The silver medals I won in Salt Lake City didn't give me anything. Last year I set myself the goal of winning the World Cup and lining up a long series of wins. It was my private challenge. This year I just want to enjoy myself. I could give up tomorrow without having the slightest regret. I could keep away from this world for a year and then perhaps start to feel the desire to prove something to myself again."
-snip-

Picabo's Take
I have never been a materialistic person and probably never will be. Yeah, my medals are extremely important to me, but I store them in my heart and my soul. The physical medals are in various safe-deposit boxes, and I honestly don't go get them unless somebody asks to see.
More important than just owning one or two is how it changes the way people treat you. When I won my first medal, my silver in Lillehammer, I was one of several people walking around with them. So while it was special, I didn't stand out that much.
It wasn't until my plane trip home, when I had two escorts meet me at the door and usher me into one of those special rooms where all the important travelers and wealthy business people hang out, that I realized how winning medals changed my life. They escorted me to my gate, and they weren't about to let me be with all the mainstream people I was used to hanging around with.
That's when it really hit me most. Everybody had said, "It's going to change your life," but I left Norway thinking, "No, I don't think so. I'm feeling pretty normal."
That red-carpet special treatment can make you feel really weird. And that's maybe where Bode's coming from on that one.
-Picabo Street is a two-time Olympic medalist in Alpine skiing and a contributor to NBCOlympics.com.


"Fame is almost a poison. I couldn't care less, in fact I lived better when I was a nobody," he said.

-snip-

He is also tipped for medals in giant slalom and slalom next week but said he refused to worry about other people's expectations.
"Some people say I make mistakes," Miller said. "I just say that in fact this is the secret of enjoying life. I hate monotony. Why don't they leave me freedom of choice? People want to impose choices which aren't necessarily mine. That's the mistake people make."
The 28-year-old Miller blamed outside pressures for the presence of doping in some sports.
"Sport is born clean and it would stay that way if it was the athletes who ran it for the pleasure of taking part, but then the fans and the media intervene and finish up by corrupting it with the pressure that they exercise," he said. "Anyone who isn't strong is left in a corner, no one asks for their autograph, they are abandoned in the cold shadows. Those who win, however, become icons.
"From this inhuman pressure doping is born because the athlete feels the imperative of having to be number one. I believe instead that sport should be a private pressure, a challenge for yourself."

http://www.nbcolympics.com/alpine/5111272/detail.html

[erpowers]

10. NO

No I am not making his point. I said something totally different than he did. What he says is just bull shit. Nobody is forcing anything on him. No one is forcing him to make choices he does not want to make. Everyday people give him freedom of choice. My point was that if he did not like the attention he could just stay away from the media. Also if he did not want to compete he could stay out of the Olympics. I never said anything about him having to win a gold medal. In addition, if you read my original post i stated that even if Miller had won gold medals and still had the same attitude he has now I would be criticizing him. It is not about him winning gold medals it his about him blaming fans and the media for the way he and other athletes act and for him complaining about not being able to be drunk the whole time he is at the Olympics. If he wants to be drunk the whole time he could just stay home or he could tell the Olympic team to pick someone else to compete so he can be drunk the whole time. So it is not about Miller wanting to be drunk all the time or his not winning a gold medal or him not wanting to win a gold medal it is his bad attitude when it come to competing in the Olympics. If Miller had not come to the Olympics complaining about everything and had not won a gold medal I would have supported him. I do not like his attitude toward the fans, media, and the Olympics.

Fans do not cause athletes to use steroids. The athletes choose to use steroids to get bigger contracts. So it is the desire of some athletes to make more money that drives them to do steroids not the pressure put on them by fans.

[joeybee12]

11. Yeah, somebody else posed for Bode on all those magazine covers...

...the guy courted the media, courted the fame, and now he's done horribly at the games. He can't have it both ways.

[northzax]

12. bigger contracts?

what sort of contract do you think the Russian cross country skiier who just got booted from Torino had? a wicked good deal with SWIX, maybe? Americans care about alpine skiing exactly once every four years. Bode got no attention stateside for winning the overall world cup title, a remarkable feat of dedication and performance. He didn't get a fat Nike deal for that, he got a fat Nike deal because he made himself 'controversial' and got attention from the fickle US public. We made him.

[joeybee12]

13. You just said he made himself controversial, and then contradicted

yourself by saying we made him. Which is it?

[northzax]

14. we reward faux controversy

we create the market in which the reward comes from controversy. I am fairly certain that this was all calculated somewhere along the line.

[joeybee12]

15. And my point is that he knew how the game was played, and he

went along with it...he courted the media, used them, and they used him. But now that it's not working out the way he planned, he has no one to blame but himself.

[northzax]

16. so he should stop playing?

his entire act is of the rebel loner (which gets tiresome, sure) but why stop now?

[joeybee12]

17. I'm saying he agreed to play the game, and if he doesn't like the

results, he can't complain about it, which is what he's doing now. By playing the game, he got his face on tons of magazines, he got lots of endorsements. But he's now bombing out, and is blaming others.

[northzax]

21. my point is that his entire 'marketing' persona

was the rebel who didn't care. should he now abandon that?

[MsUSA]

19. He said he loves the money part of fame and money not the

fame, as in having to talk to reporters etc. I wonder now if Nike will drop him like yesterdays news.

[Captain Hilts]

18. He's a typical selfish skier. Media attention to him is ridiculous. nt

[Redbear]

20. The media are the ones who are ridiculous.

Bode is who he is. He hasn't changed.

The media tried to make him something he is not. He is not the All-American hero. He's just a guy who like to go fast on skis.

The headlines do not read, "Bode Skis Great, Comes In 5th." They read "Bode Fails."

I agree there is something seriously wrong, but it's not Bode.

[DinahMoeHum]

22. Bode is just a mirror image of the country he represents under Bush. . .

...all mouth and show, but no substance.

:nopity:

[cali]

23. Bzzzzt. WRONG

He won the overall title last year, something an American hadn't done in 22 years, since Phil Mahre. You may not like him, but he's shown his stuff. He's undoubtedly one of the greatest ski racers in the history of the sport.

[DinahMoeHum]

24. Unfortunately, most of the American public has that "you're only as good

as your last performance" mentality.

:evilfrown:

[_testify_]

25. The truly great athletes have their best performances

when they are on the biggest stages. An 0-fer at the premier venue for your sport doesn't do much for one's reputation as "one of the greatest ski racers in the history of the sport."

Admittedly, I am not a fan of his personality, nor of skiing - but I am making my point from an overall sports angle. It's the championships that define your place in sports lore. Ask John Elway and Dan Marino. That said, all of my favorite players have been has-beens and almost-was...

[cali]

26. not the same in skiing.

within the sport, and in Europe, where it's a big deal, winning the overall title is the pinnacle of the sport. Besides bode already has two silvers from Salt Lake city. Winning the world title is like winning the tour de France.

[joeybee12]

28. What are his two silvers? I always read that he has one...

...not sure what the one is, though, I thihnk GS???

[cali]

30. Silver in the combined and GS

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/2005-11-28-miller-medals_x.htm

[joeybee12]

31. Thanks...I swear I always read they say he won "a" silver in

Salt Lake...must be their mistake...can't be my eyes!

[_testify_]

29. thanks for clearing that up. I stand corrected.

Like I said, I don't have much knowledge about skiing.

[northzax]

27. if that is so, then there hasn't been a truely great downhiller

since the 1980's. The last five downhill gold medals have been won by people not tipped to win. Is the guy who won a 'truly great akier'? well, he has a gold, so he's very good, certianly, but he has won exactly one international race, last week. If he never wins again, is he 'great'? it's a tough question.

[belpejic]

32. Bad example Bode

Most folks work so hard to make the Olypmics. I'm not familiar with Alpine sports -- mostly just acquatic ones -- but it is a serious, daily commitment. Like 6-8 hours a day for some of the most dedicated althetes in the world. Bode has tremendous skills and an even more tremendous ego, and it seems a bit insulting to me that he simply shrugs off what most other althletes work so hard to achieve (just getting there is enough, not to mention winning a medal).

He had a spectacularly bad run -- maybe some of that was just poor luck -- but he didn't seem prepared mentally or physically. I'd love to see him get his shit together and do some impressive things again. Maybe the loss of endorsements will be the cluetrain that rams him and makes him realize he's got to change.

[Yavin4]

34. What Does BODE Stand for?

Biggest
Olympic
Disappointment
Ever

[orpupilofnature57]

35. Making Amateurs highlights ,is what taking the fun out of the Olympics,

Remember" Dan and Dave " ?Its our fault for allowing Big Biz in ammeter sports.