The Olympics...A Second Look
The Olympics…
I have been watching the games and I feel compelled to make this comment. The mindless nationalism that the gymnastic announcers are spewing is making me sick. If you are unfamiliar with any of the activities going on in Athens let me fill you in. There is a controversy going on right now in the men’s all around gymnastics competition. The American named Paul Hamm was awarded the gold medal (After falling on his ash on the vault) over some Korean guy. It turns out the judges made a mistake in marking the Korean’s score because the beginning “degree of difficulty” was incorrectly entered at 9.9 instead of 10.0. If this obvious “data entry” error was corrected the Korean would have won. But, because the Koreans did not protest fast enough, it was decided that “nothing could be done.” This “controversy” has put the American in a bad position because he did not cheat but it was obvious that he did not deserve the Gold.
Well that is in the common sense universe. In the up is down nationalistic horror show we find ourselves in, a totally different conclusion is drawn. Hamm and his coaches think it is “unfair” about all the fuss. He OBVIOUSLY earned his medal and to try to take away his moment of glory is evil. Hamm’s coach actually said that “this whole thing is ridiculous. You don’t see them give back Superbowl trophies because a referee missed a holding call in the third quarter.” WRONG analogy you self centered creep. The correct comparison would be the referee in a Superbowl not getting the coin toss right before the first overtime. Something tells me if that happened there WOULD be outrage.
Of course the “We are the greatest beings on the face of the Earth!!” sentiment did not end there. The announcer Al Trautwig, who normally works for Cablevision (Who locked out Yankee fans from seeing their beloved team for a year because of a squabble with Steinbrenner over more profits), Madison Square Garden (Who charges an exuberant amount of money to heartbroken fans for the privilege of witnessing their overpaid teams put on yet another half hearted performance on their way to the bottom of the standings) and the Dolan family (Who are the ones responsible for the disgraceful basketball and hockey that has been going on in that building for the last 5 years) so is INTIMATELY familiar with the possible usages of knee pads, jumps into the fray. First of all every time the camera focused on Hamm, Trautwig made sure to mention how he EARNED his gold medal waxing orgasmically about “grit and determination.” Secondly whenever he mentioned the very reasonable concerns about the legitimacy of Hamm’s medal he would say “quote unquote controversy” thus minimizing anyone who actually questions the travesty that was unfolding in front of our very eyes. Thirdly Trautwig, in full apologist hack mode, decided to debunk the controversy. He says, “Now we are going to PROVE that the American EARNED his GOLD CHAMPION status.” Out comes a slow motion replay of the Korean’s routine in question. With salivating lips the shill’s shill starts pointing out that he could have been deducted here he could have been deducted there all said with a “AH HA” tone to his voice. WRONG again Cochise! The problem with gymnastics, and the reason why most Americans don’t really consider it a real sport, is it is TOTALLY SUBJECTIVE. All of our sports, baseball, basketball, football, etc. have very objective goals meaning if you score more than the other team you win. There is NOTHING objective about gymnastics from “pike positions” and “sticking the landings” except for one thing: ENTERING THE CORRECT STARTING DIFFICULTY RATING which of course is what these judges blew, costing some poor slob a gold medal. .
But worst of all, where I think that cork soaker Trautwig really crossed the line, was at the end of the high bar exercise which was the last apparatus in the men’s competition. America’s newest Wheaties box Paul Hamm just went and was in second place with only one gymnast left. It turns out that last gymnast was the same Korean guy who got completely ripped off. Imagine if this guy performed a great routine. Needless to say that probably would have been a big story. It didn’t matter because the Korean totally messed up by hitting his foot on the bar clearing the way for Hamm to win his silver. End of story right? Not for Captain America and the endless shill-a-thon he was engaged in. Trautwig after this Korean lost states “I can positively say that you would never see Paul Hamm mess up a high bar routine like that.” Let’s put aside the fact that WE DID see Paul Hamm totally mess up a vault routine “like that” if not worse just the other day. What exactly is Trautwig trying to say? That Hamm is validated as a gold medalist and the Korean is unworthy because he blew it on the high bar? It doesn’t matter that the judges TOTALLY screwed a foreign athlete because hey we’re better then them? This was starting to sound like the Nazi spin at the Berlin games trying to down play Jesse Owens and trumpeting their own “Aryan” athletes.
It is one thing for announcers to pump up the American athletes, downplaying any mistakes and overly praising the positive in any of these events. I don’t like it but I understand it and no one is getting hurt. But Al “Rug Burns” Trautwig is now ridiculing the other athletes in his purely jingoistic tirades which, I am starting to suspect, he engages in to mask his own insecurities. Even his two flunkies who were working the events with him were speechless. Unlike that overpaid mouth piece, these two commentators were actually ex-athletes and, even though they probably have their own rooting interests, respect the hard work and training that go into these routines and would always respect and never dismiss a fellow athlete no matter what flag they are performing under. I think the Olympics should be about ALL of the athletes and the competitions and the games should stop being framed with an "us against them" backdrop. Countries medal counts etc. mean nothing to that guy who trains in anonymity for years so he could be the best hammer thrower in the world. The least we could do is watch his toss without yelling “Death to Finland” and chanting “U.S.A. U.S.A.”
To put it another way, what if Paul Hamm was Korean and vice versa. Can you imagine Al “I am totally worthless” Trautwig saying anything remotely like he is saying now?
Let’s grow up and stop the horse shit
Sixth Army
I have been watching the games and I feel compelled to make this comment. The mindless nationalism that the gymnastic announcers are spewing is making me sick. If you are unfamiliar with any of the activities going on in Athens let me fill you in. There is a controversy going on right now in the men’s all around gymnastics competition. The American named Paul Hamm was awarded the gold medal (After falling on his ash on the vault) over some Korean guy. It turns out the judges made a mistake in marking the Korean’s score because the beginning “degree of difficulty” was incorrectly entered at 9.9 instead of 10.0. If this obvious “data entry” error was corrected the Korean would have won. But, because the Koreans did not protest fast enough, it was decided that “nothing could be done.” This “controversy” has put the American in a bad position because he did not cheat but it was obvious that he did not deserve the Gold.
Well that is in the common sense universe. In the up is down nationalistic horror show we find ourselves in, a totally different conclusion is drawn. Hamm and his coaches think it is “unfair” about all the fuss. He OBVIOUSLY earned his medal and to try to take away his moment of glory is evil. Hamm’s coach actually said that “this whole thing is ridiculous. You don’t see them give back Superbowl trophies because a referee missed a holding call in the third quarter.” WRONG analogy you self centered creep. The correct comparison would be the referee in a Superbowl not getting the coin toss right before the first overtime. Something tells me if that happened there WOULD be outrage.
Of course the “We are the greatest beings on the face of the Earth!!” sentiment did not end there. The announcer Al Trautwig, who normally works for Cablevision (Who locked out Yankee fans from seeing their beloved team for a year because of a squabble with Steinbrenner over more profits), Madison Square Garden (Who charges an exuberant amount of money to heartbroken fans for the privilege of witnessing their overpaid teams put on yet another half hearted performance on their way to the bottom of the standings) and the Dolan family (Who are the ones responsible for the disgraceful basketball and hockey that has been going on in that building for the last 5 years) so is INTIMATELY familiar with the possible usages of knee pads, jumps into the fray. First of all every time the camera focused on Hamm, Trautwig made sure to mention how he EARNED his gold medal waxing orgasmically about “grit and determination.” Secondly whenever he mentioned the very reasonable concerns about the legitimacy of Hamm’s medal he would say “quote unquote controversy” thus minimizing anyone who actually questions the travesty that was unfolding in front of our very eyes. Thirdly Trautwig, in full apologist hack mode, decided to debunk the controversy. He says, “Now we are going to PROVE that the American EARNED his GOLD CHAMPION status.” Out comes a slow motion replay of the Korean’s routine in question. With salivating lips the shill’s shill starts pointing out that he could have been deducted here he could have been deducted there all said with a “AH HA” tone to his voice. WRONG again Cochise! The problem with gymnastics, and the reason why most Americans don’t really consider it a real sport, is it is TOTALLY SUBJECTIVE. All of our sports, baseball, basketball, football, etc. have very objective goals meaning if you score more than the other team you win. There is NOTHING objective about gymnastics from “pike positions” and “sticking the landings” except for one thing: ENTERING THE CORRECT STARTING DIFFICULTY RATING which of course is what these judges blew, costing some poor slob a gold medal. .
But worst of all, where I think that cork soaker Trautwig really crossed the line, was at the end of the high bar exercise which was the last apparatus in the men’s competition. America’s newest Wheaties box Paul Hamm just went and was in second place with only one gymnast left. It turns out that last gymnast was the same Korean guy who got completely ripped off. Imagine if this guy performed a great routine. Needless to say that probably would have been a big story. It didn’t matter because the Korean totally messed up by hitting his foot on the bar clearing the way for Hamm to win his silver. End of story right? Not for Captain America and the endless shill-a-thon he was engaged in. Trautwig after this Korean lost states “I can positively say that you would never see Paul Hamm mess up a high bar routine like that.” Let’s put aside the fact that WE DID see Paul Hamm totally mess up a vault routine “like that” if not worse just the other day. What exactly is Trautwig trying to say? That Hamm is validated as a gold medalist and the Korean is unworthy because he blew it on the high bar? It doesn’t matter that the judges TOTALLY screwed a foreign athlete because hey we’re better then them? This was starting to sound like the Nazi spin at the Berlin games trying to down play Jesse Owens and trumpeting their own “Aryan” athletes.
It is one thing for announcers to pump up the American athletes, downplaying any mistakes and overly praising the positive in any of these events. I don’t like it but I understand it and no one is getting hurt. But Al “Rug Burns” Trautwig is now ridiculing the other athletes in his purely jingoistic tirades which, I am starting to suspect, he engages in to mask his own insecurities. Even his two flunkies who were working the events with him were speechless. Unlike that overpaid mouth piece, these two commentators were actually ex-athletes and, even though they probably have their own rooting interests, respect the hard work and training that go into these routines and would always respect and never dismiss a fellow athlete no matter what flag they are performing under. I think the Olympics should be about ALL of the athletes and the competitions and the games should stop being framed with an "us against them" backdrop. Countries medal counts etc. mean nothing to that guy who trains in anonymity for years so he could be the best hammer thrower in the world. The least we could do is watch his toss without yelling “Death to Finland” and chanting “U.S.A. U.S.A.”
To put it another way, what if Paul Hamm was Korean and vice versa. Can you imagine Al “I am totally worthless” Trautwig saying anything remotely like he is saying now?
Let’s grow up and stop the horse shit
Sixth Army
posted by Larry B | 12:13 PM
1 Comments:
This Al Trautwig sounds pretty ridiculous. I remember the announcing was pretty lame in the '96 olympics. I didn't watch them in 2000 and was not going to watch them this year. But because it was on at work, I watched it and was glad I did. I don't think I ever watched that much olympics. I could give you a long list of events I really enjoyed but I'll spare you. As far as the announcers go, I can't tell you because most of the time the volume was down or I was distracted with other things(I am at work). I, like you, want to announcers to be knowledgeable and fair in their game calling. Even if I'm rooting for the teams they're singing praises for, I want honesty. I want some honesty somewhere.
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