Bryant Gumbel's thoughts on the Winter Olympics

[John84]

Bryant Gumbel, who currently hosts a show on HBO called Real Sports, has concluded that the Winter Olympics events are not real sports at all.
During the former Today show host's commentary on the HBO program, Gumbel remarked that he never watches them and pointed out that the ancient Greeks never heard of skating or skiing.

"So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention," Gumbel commented. "And try to blot out all logic when announcers and sports writers pretend to care about the luge, the skeleton, the biathlon and all those other events they don't understand and totally ignore for all but three weeks every four years. Face it, these Olympics are little more than a marketing plan to fill space and sell time during the dreary days of February."

link: http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/picknews.cfm/40685/



Thoughts?

 

[BeanoNYC]

Owch .... the truth hurts. It may not have been in his best interest to voice his opinion though. He IS a sports reporter, ya know! As a former HBO employee of 9 years, who worked in their PR department, I would say my buddies have some work cut out for them.

 

[riverc0il]

ha, that is a most laughable statement. whether you agree or disagree with his assessment (how could these events not be considered sports?!), let's examine a flawed arguement:

gumbel asserts that there are a lack of black's in the winter olympics. would gumbel also assert a dissent to the summer olmpics on similar grounds that there are not enough whites winning events such as the marathon? while whites also dominate most of the summer games, it is argueable that there are many events caucasions will not win during the summer olympics.

next: had the ancient greeks ever heard of soccer or baseball? perhaps those are not 'real' sports since the ancient greeks had not pioneered them. no mr. gumbel, only a slight bit of research would have shown you that the olmpics have indeed evolved based on current sporting trends across the globe and new events are consistantly being considered. perhaps we should all go back to sports like 'marbles' and 'hit the girl on the head with the tree branch' to regain the pure essences of sport.

while i offer no disagreement to the assessment that the olypics are a lot of marketing and money hype (and the money doesn't start with the TV networks, just hosting the games has been riddled with scandle), the thoughts about what is true sport and what is not is so far off base it is not funny. i think all of us know that sportsmen and sportswomen are so far specialized in their interest that no one could ever say they are the best overall atheletes in the world. that isn't what the olympics are now about, they are about a competition of the best in each event. other wise, all atheletes would complete in all the same events. i guess only the decathalon is a 'real' sport in this definition? hmmmm.

the point about reporters ignoring sports for three and a half years only to pretend to care for a few weeks is on point to a certain extent. but many of the reporters are ex-competitors in their given fields, experts that still live for the sport they are commenting on. again, not entirely accurate but it sure makes for a great sound bite.

back to the media hype, one might assert statements like gumbel's are exactly that: over the top assertions intended to spark attention and controversy resulting in higher viewership and or ratings. perhaps that is an irresponsible assertion, and i very much doubt that was indeed the intent of gumbel's comments, but kinda makes you wonder doesn't it?

the color comments really irks me. there certainly is no lack of opportunity for black men and women to be involved in winter sports. there certainly is no color barrior when it comes to beating a clock in a timed event, to be quite frank. gumbel could argue for socio-economic restraights perhaps. but i counter that white folks don't cry that the kenyans always win the marathon. this comment is off base and off the wall, especially coming from someone that calls himself a sports commentator.

 

[John84]

Gotta go with Rivercoil especially about the racial part to it. It seems to me like there is a double standard. For example, if Dick Vitale (college basketball Commentator for those who don't watch college basketball) or some other white guy were to make a comment like "Wow where are all the white people?" he would be ridiculed and scorned and most likely fired.

 

[BeanoNYC]

the color comments really irks me. there certainly is no lack of opportunity for black men and women to be involved in winter sports. there certainly is no color barrior when it comes to beating a clock in a timed event, to be quite frank. gumbel could argue for socio-economic restraights perhaps. but i counter that white folks don't cry that the kenyans always win the marathon. this comment is off base and off the wall, especially coming from someone that calls himself a sports commentator.

I agree with much you say, Steve but disagree on the race issue. Could a black athelete grow up, playing a winter sport such as Skiing, Riding, Hockey or Figure Skating and excel? Sure! But, there is certainly a socioeconomic aspect that I can not ignore. Many winter sports are expensive. You do not find an Ice Rink or Ski Club in East New York. You find basketball hoops, a few baseball/softball fields and a lot of pick up stickball games. He may have not chosen the right words, but there is an uncanny truth in his meaning.

 

[KevinB]

poor Bryant, he sounds like one confused guy. He has a history of making stupid comments.I especially think it's funny coming from him, since Golf is his favorite sport,what a hypocrite. But since no one cares about him, and there is alot going on in the world of news, this story will never get traction.

From Chappelle's Show
Q."Why do white people love Wayne Brady?"
A."Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X."

 

[LVNLARG]

Grant Fuhr et al ? And didn't Bryant actually "color" commentate on the Olympics in the past? Sounds like a man desperate for attention. $5 says he posts a picture of Prophet Muhammed on his office door tommorow if he doesn't get the desired attention from that....

 

[Rushski]

Jarome Iginla (sp?) is one of the best players in the NHL. I'm sure he would take offense at what Bryant has said.

Being that my grandfather was from Norway, I can at least be proud of my heritage and yet still hope that the US can make a run at the medal count some more...

 

[riverc0il]

BeanoNYC, like i said, he could have argued socio-economic issues but i don't think he did. he played the color card in an effort to support his thesis that the winter olympics are not real sports. it is an illogical arguement. i would have been fully behind gumble if he took a thoughtful look at why the winter olympics are mostly white guys (at least from the united states and eurasia countries). but he didn't.

also, regarding the money situation, if money was an issue, you wouldn't see many minorities in the summer olympics either. it takes a LOT of money to train for the olympics. a lot of these guys are home schooled. top skiers went to private ski schools such as BMA, CVA, etc. it takes a lot of money to make an olympian regardless of summer or winter olympics. i suspect the reason why fewer minorities are in the winter olympics is cultural just as much as socio-economic. minorities just don't seem to be into winter recreational and sporting activities as much as caucasions. i don't have the statistics on the why, but it is plain to see from the casual recreationists stand point. there may be a financial aspect but i think the cultural aspect is more important in determining who shows up for which sport and i think it is a shame.

 

[blacknblue]

the color comments really irks me. there certainly is no lack of opportunity for black men and women to be involved in winter sports. there certainly is no color barrior when it comes to beating a clock in a timed event, to be quite frank. gumbel could argue for socio-economic restraights perhaps. but i counter that white folks don't cry that the kenyans always win the marathon. this comment is off base and off the wall, especially coming from someone that calls himself a sports commentator.

I agree with much you say, Steve but disagree on the race issue. Could a black athelete grow up, playing a winter sport such as Skiing, Riding, Hockey or Figure Skating and excel? Sure! But, there is certainly a socioeconomic aspect that I can not ignore. Many winter sports are expensive. You do not find an Ice Rink or Ski Club in East New York. You find basketball hoops, a few baseball/softball fields and a lot of pick up stickball games. He may have not chosen the right words, but there is an uncanny truth in his meaning.

That may be so in the States, but the fact that there aren't many blacks in the Winter Games is because there aren't many black people in Scandinavia! Maybe Gumbel could do a little fact-checking here, but I'm pretty sure the Winter powerhouses are from Scandinavia and the Alps. I'm also pretty sure that the majority of blacks live in places where wintertime activities are limited. Maybe I'm just crazy, though.

Gumbel's also an idiot if he thinks that people care about the Summer Games more than a few weeks every four years. Could anybody name who won any event at the last international swim meet? What about our current men's 10K champ? C'mon, other than basketball, we don't care about our Summer Olympians any more or less than our Winter Olympians, even if the games themselves are more familiar and understandable to us.

Gumbel just sounds like another American-centered ignoramus, completely unaware that there are people in the world (Scandinavia, Alpine, Canada, some US) who DO really care about this stuff. Just go back to football and baseball and basketball (and golf - a lot of athleticism and black people there) and ignore everything else, Gumbel.

 

[JimG.]

Bryant Gumbel is an idiot.

Mike and the Mad Dog were saying the same thing about the winter games last night...they're idiots too.

Fact is, these alleged sports reporters don't take the time to learn about the sports they're trashing, so they trash them to make their own ignorance less obvious.

Rant over.

 

[Paul]

Wot dat mon be talkin' bout dere be no black peeeple in de olympics for, mon?

Dere be us bobsledders, mon.

RESPECT!!!!!!

 

[Paul]

Dat Bryant Gumball be stupid, mon.


RESPECT!!!!

 

[mattchuck2]

The Largest ski club in the country is "The Brotherhood", made up of 84 local black ski clubs. I bet those men and women are just as proud of Ted Ligety as we are.

 

[JimG.]

The Largest ski club in the country is "The Brotherhood", made up of 84 local black ski clubs. I bet those men and women are just as proud of Ted Ligety as we are.

Yup!

And I'll also bet they think Bryant Gumbel is an idiot too.

 

[Paul]

The Largest ski club in the country is "The Brotherhood", made up of 84 local black ski clubs. I bet those men and women are just as proud of Ted Ligety as we are.

Yup!

And I'll also bet they think Bryant Gumbel is an idiot too.

Not much of a stretch, there. Most everyone thinks Gumball is an arrogant jerk. Even his brother Greg thinks he's an ass.

 

[ChileMass]

Speedskaters are gods in the Netherlands.

Biathletes and ski jumpers are heroes in Scandanavia and Russia.

Hermann Maier is like Michael Jordan in Austria.

Did Gumbel manage to see the black American speedskater the other night?

Just because he doesn't happen to like winter sports doesn't make it a racial problem - Jeeez!! And this coming from a guy who went to college in Lewiston, ME!! (Bates - you could look it up). You'd think he might have gone skiing once or twice in four years. Guess he still hates the snow.

Gumbel works in TV - learn to use the clicker like the rest of us....... :roll:

 

[BeanoNYC]

I was wondering when the Cool Runnings jokes were going to be passed. Steve, Sorry for some reason, I didn't see your mention of socioeconomics...my bad.

 

[snowmonster]

As far as I am concerned, if you sweat and there's a chance that you'll be injured, it's a sport. I don't care what Gumbel thinks.

 

[KevinB]

I was wrong about the story not getting traction, drudge has it on his web-site and has a link to http://newsbusters.org/node/4057