Bode Miller - Double-DUH "I Love Communists"

[billski]

Bode: better seen and not heard:

"....This is my friend Ali. She's a columnist for The Denver Post," Tim said. I knew he wanted to tell Bode about the column I had written defending him after the post-Olympic fallout.
"I love communists," Bode said, shaking my hand and not looking me in the eye. "Communists are great."
Someone handed him a shot of tequila and he promptly turned his back to me. I started to see why he might have caught so much flak in Turin and wondered if maybe I had been wrong to jump to his defense. Maybe he did deserved it.




- Alison Berkley

Denver Post, Sept. 19,2006



http://www.denverpost.com/snowsports/ci_4359142

 

[smootharc]

Yawn....

....no surprises there.

And in related news....


http://www.nike.com/joinbode/

....seems to be an inactive site. So much for the revolution. I'm burning my beret later this morning....

 

[JD]

He prolly really dislikes columnists.

 

[koreshot]

I feel for Bode a little bit. I think the media (NBC trying to up their ratings) put more pressure on him than he could handle, he cracked, and now everyone is :flame: him.

 

[bigbog]

.........

I feel for Bode a little bit. I think the media (NBC trying to up their ratings) put more pressure on him than he could handle, he cracked, and now everyone is :flame: him.

Agreed.. ...and it's now been 3 Olympics that I've essentially watched the Canadian coverage.....no political agenda, much easier to both watch events covered in entirety!(a blast from the 60s!) and I can even keep the audio up as well;-)......not to mentioned the various World Championships covered each year...particularly in canoeing & kayaking...

 

[John84]

Agreed.. ...and it's now been 3 Olympics that I've essentially watched the Canadian coverage.....no political agenda, much easier to both watch events covered in entirety!(a blast from the 60s!) and I can even keep the audio up as well;-)......not to mentioned the various World Championships covered each year...particularly in canoeing & kayaking...

Not to mention no Bob Costas.

 

[koreshot]

No one can take the spirit out of an international sports event quite like the good ol US of A. :flag: Winter and summer games get the worst kind of bs coverage in the states; bs human interest stories mixed in with manufactured drama. The World Cup, the world's greatest sports spectacle *might* make it on ABC once or twice, but only if its the crappy US team is playing and there are no new episodes of Dr. Phil to air, and even then the commentators have no F-ing clue what they are talking about and repeatedly (and sometimes knowingly) insult the sport. Then there is the Speed channel that has become Nascar central - because watching 30 men with beer guts that can't speak proper english driving in circles in identical cars painted with Home Depot and Walmart signs is all there is in world of motorsports.

 

[mattchuck2]

You know, if this was open to political discussion, I'd argue that there is such a thing as democratic communism. And that communism has kind of gotten a bum rap from communist dictatorships in Cuba, Russia, and China. I would mention that communism is not a political system, but rather an economic system, originating from the hippy-ish idea of communal ownership of goods and property - hence the term commune.

BUT, as this is a skiing website, I won't say any of that, and will simply say that Bode Miller is a great skier with a drinking problem that doesn't really care about what a bunch of 30-60 year old guys say about him on a website devoted to eastern skiing.

 

[Birdman829]

I'm not really sure what to think of Bode other than: great skier, not too bright, likes to have a good time. All I know is that I can't fault him for being any of those things. I think that the notion that he has to fit into some sort of "role model" mold is utter garbage. If he doesn't want to be used by the media (maybe used isn't the right word since he'd be making som serious bank) to market American skiing and Nike products and whatever, then that's his business. Who am I to judge him for liking to ski and liking to have a good time. Skiing is an individual sport and he only should have to report to himself. [/rant]

 

[Jeff Isabelle]

He won't be the last...

Over the years most downhillers are a very focused group. Downhillers are also risk takers and Bode isn't the first to hoist, toast one in the starting shack/ gate either before a race and nor the last. Actually in Europe its a historical tradition until a few years back. Its that it just depends on who is around at the time. For Bode it was the US Media Storm :flag: instead of snow that day... Bla bla bla..... What does skiing 60 MPH have in common with the media anyway, as he's putting it on the line like the other bad boy downhillers throughout history... If he signed a behavior contract thats up to him and the sponsor to realize most skiiers that hang above 10,000 ft and that do the risk taking thing skiing fast just may have a tendency to catch media flack as downhillers are aggressive and not always the most focused or sedate types... some are focused some are not... and yet are brilliant skiers.

He's in the middle hopefully he cranks out a few good runs this year...

Here's one for Bode.... :beer: :beer: :beer:

 

[koreshot]

Though I primarly blame the media for unrealistic expectations, Bode himself has to be blamed a little bit for the poor performance. He does not strike me as very disciplined and focused - compared to some of the greats like Hermann Maier. Maier seems like the world's most focused, disciplined, competitive and determined person to me. I saw him training in Portillo in 2001 days before the bike accident, and that man was a machine. No smiles, not laughing, no partying in the evening, just all business. And he has had a huge amount of pressure on him, he is Austira's national hero. Sadly, most people in this country don't even know who Bode is.

 

[kbroderick]

Though I primarly blame the media for unrealistic expectations, Bode himself has to be blamed a little bit for the poor performance. He does not strike me as very disciplined and focused - compared to some of the greats like Hermann Maier. Maier seems like the world's most focused, disciplined, competitive and determined person to me. I saw him training in Portillo in 2001 days before the bike accident, and that man was a machine. No smiles, not laughing, no partying in the evening, just all business.

(emphasis above is mine)

I think that's a conscious choice that Bode made--he'd rather be smiling most of the time and winning some of the time than winning all of the time and never smiling. As he said in that darn TV interview--he's got enough money to last him the rest of his life, so he doesn't feel pressure to perform from that end; it's now up to him as to what he wants to do. And being a machine ain't it.

I also think that not being overly concerned with the performance metrics set by others is a big reason that Bode has gone as far as he has--he cares about what he thinks of himself, he may care what a handful of others think of him (e.g. his family), and he's willing to shrug off pressure from outside that group. Or at least that's what it seems like from what I've seen in the media (I've never actually talked with him, although I have raced "against" him once and run in a couple of speed events for which he was a forerunner).

 

[smootharc]

Ask M.C. Hammer....

As he said in that darn TV interview--he's got enough money to last him the rest of his life....

...about how long "enough money for the rest of your life" REALLY lasts.

It should be interesting to see how the Bodester does this season, both on and off the slopes. Part of me is rooting for him, part of me wants to see him humbled by the ski gods. Go figure.

 

[castlerock]

Though I primarly blame the media for unrealistic expectations, Bode himself has to be blamed a little bit for the poor performance.

Poor performance....Hmmm. In whose eyes. Bode had surgery after the winter. I wonder if he felt that he performed to the best of his ability. Frankly it appeared to me that he performed to the same level at the Olympics that he had been performing too all year. Sometimes make the podium, most times not....It wasn't like he "tanked" the Olympics. He had been performing at a level below the previous season all year. But again, all the conventional media cares about is the Olympics. The fact that Bode was the only reacer with the ability and endurance to race in all the WC races that year (injured as well) gets lost in this whole charade.....He is the best ski racer ever to come out of the US, he gets suckerpunched his country's media....and we are pissed at him because he is bitter?

 

[JimG.]

He is the best ski racer ever to come out of the US

I like Bode...and I agree with everything you wrote except for this.

Bode has a ways to go before he can claim to be as good as Phil Mahre.

 

[dmc]

I like Bode...and I agree with everything you wrote except for this.

Bode has a ways to go before he can claim to be as good as Phil Mahre.

Well he certainly has got a long way to go before he's as bald as Phil Mahre...

 

[JimG.]

Well he certainly has got a long way to go before he's as bald as Phil Mahre...

Ahhhhhhh....Hmmmmmmmm....well, OK.

Maybe if they skied on their heads that would matter?

 

[castlerock]

Bode vs Phil

I like Bode...and I agree with everything you wrote except for this.

Bode has a ways to go before he can claim to be as good as Phil Mahre.

It is a good argument.

Phil had 27 WC wins: 7GS, 9 SL, 11KB, but no SG and No DH.

Bode has (so far) 21 wins: 9GS, 5SL, 2KB but 3SG and 2 DH.

It is also worth noting the the KB never really had the cachet of the technical or speed races and there are few of them contested anymore. If you take the KB out, Phil had 16 wins and Bode has 19. Including 5 speed events.

Bode was a more successful speed skier with 23 DH top tens compared to 4 for Phil.

In terrms of Dominating a discipline (Event Cup Title) Phil won one SL, and 2 GS, but Bode has also won 2 GS, but no SL.

In terms of winning "when it counts" World Championship or Olympics. Bode has 4 WC/Oly golds and 3 Silvers. Phil "only" has 2 Gold and 1 Silver.

I say the edge goes to Bode

 

[JimG.]

It is a good argument.

Phil had 27 WC wins: 7GS, 9 SL, 11KB, but no SG and No DH.

Bode has (so far) 21 wins: 9GS, 5SL, 2KB but 3SG and 2 DH.

It is also worth noting the the KB never really had the cachet of the technical or speed races and there are few of them contested anymore. If you take the KB out, Phil had 16 wins and Bode has 19. Including 5 speed events.

Bode was a more successful speed skier with 23 DH top tens compared to 4 for Phil.

In terrms of Dominating a discipline (Event Cup Title) Phil won one SL, and 2 GS, but Bode has also won 2 GS, but no SL.

In terms of winning "when it counts" World Championship or Olympics. Bode has 4 WC/Oly golds and 3 Silvers. Phil "only" has 2 Gold and 1 Silver.

I say the edge goes to Bode

Remember, in Mahre's day there was no Super-G, just SL, GS, DH, and combined.

Not that Mahre would have dominated the event because he was much more a technical/finesse skier than a speed freak.

I guess it comes down to the style you prefer...I prefer Mahre because of his technical prowess.

 

[castlerock]

Remember, in Mahre's day there was no Super-G, just SL, GS, DH, and combined.

Mostly true, the SG debut on the world cup was in 1983, in Phil's second to last season. There were 2 that year and 3 in his final year.

But I'll also posit that Bode is just as successful as a technical skier in that he has won 15 "technical" races (World Cup, World Championship, or Olympic SL or GS) so far compared to 17 for Phil.

And just for those who may not know...Phil did win 3 overalls compared to 1 for Bode