The fact that Bode Miller will be leaving the WInter Olympics without having earned any medals seems to justify his critics. Heavy drinking, truth telling, not saying the “right’ things…from there it’s all downhill for this reigning World Cup champion.
Only a few weeks back, Miller was on the cover of Time and Newsweek.He spoke his mind on “60 Minutes” and to Rolling Stone magazine. He dared to say that he liked skiing drunk. He said Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds were on steroids. This scared his sponsors which include Visa and Nike. They still hoped, and bet their dollars, that his forthcoming gold medals would be all that the world would remember.
Yet, his honesty is as refreshing as a cold Alpine wind. How many times do we have to endure a Cutie Couric corporate interview in which a silver medaled athlete answers in the usual cliches: “I’m an athlete. You have to have faith. I know I can win. I’ll do better next time.” Or they promise a brighter result tomorrow: “I’m tough. But you just have to keep going. I’ve got great coaches, my parents are wonderful and I have great faith in the Lord.”
Can’t America endure a guy who admits he hates fame, likes to drink, calls the whole thing a sham and refuses to answer the Today show with insipid utterances of phony remorse?
I hope Bode Miller continues to have a great time. Even if he walks away without those gold medals.
Here in Van Nuys 
“Now that he lost we look to pin moral judgments on him when it is just bad skiing that did him in.”
exactly…i would posit that most people watch sports for a respite from the daily grind…to live vicariously thru the athlete…bode didn’t give anyone a chance to do that, cause he blew it…further exacerbating the nation’s rightful ire is the fact that he got paid millions to do just that…you or i coulda went to turin and made millions and came home w/ zero medals, and the story woulda probably’ve been even more enthralling, since i woulda at least taken some ratings-boosting spills speedin down the hill. you’re right on about the commentators tho: professional ass smoochers. interesting point, too, about athletes being arrogant. they need to be. i for one–and i think the gen pub would agree with me, judging from all the animosity directed at bode–would rather they kept that aspect of their personalities hidden!
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Lee-
Well I didn’t see the absence of humility or maybe it’s because I expect great athletes to have some arrogance…how could they reach the top without determination and a strong belief in themselves?
If he had won several medals, the commentators would be praising his non-chalance, his sporty casualness and partying. They would say that those non-conforming qualities were contributors to his winning. “He knows how to have a good time. That’s why he won”
Now that he lost we look to pin moral judgments on him when it is just bad skiing that did him in.
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i like your blog, stop by from time to time, but think you missed the mark here. bode, imho, is not necessarily honest. he had said a few months back something to the effect of, ‘i owe it to my family coaches, friends and myself to show the public the athleticism needed for slalom.’ then the contradictions with the skiing drunk stuff and claiming the media is crazy to call his olympics a failure b/c of his inability to medal. he’s full of it…these, and all of his other lines, delivered with an inimitable, despicable helping of hubris. some humility would’ve easily endeared him to the public. he does, however, remind us why it’s sooo easy to root for the underdog.
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I liked that you took the risk here in defending Bode (whether his physique does anything to anyone or othereise).
The chauvanism of must win and cheating evetually go hand-in-hand, and it’s not uniquely American (e.g. recall the Soviets during Cold War). At worst, it’s an ill mentality tied to a fevered ideology.
I welcome Bode’s “slacker attitude” as an antidote to this worsening mentality in sports you mentioned. Unfortunately, he was not tacful in expressing his values- signs of youthfulness. It is arguably admirable being frank in front of the odious media these days, but he now must also put up with career set-back and the backfire. In the end, “bad attitude” is what it just is; perhaps higher than cheating, but certainly not very respectable.
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