The title pretty much says it all. Maybe I should expand a little on my points, though.
I will never deny the athleticism required for figure skating, or the dedication required by those who participate. However, that does not change the fact that it is an art form. As such, it cannot be a sport.
What really gets me, though, is the fact that "Ice Dancing", which is really just pairs skating in fancier costumes, has been allowed into the Olympics. This just proves that popular demand makes the rules around the globe.
That said, I can't imagine the Olympics without figure skating, but I could do without 2 hours of it per night for the full tenure of the Games. Is it just me or is this "sport" so far overdone so as to be political?
Recently Bryant Bumbel...uh...Bryant GUMBEL recently made a ridiculous commment regarding the Olympics...something to the effect that since they are not all running around naked and speaking Greek, and most of those participating in the winter Games are white, it is not worth watching.
What a freakin' racist. Why does he get away with this s***? I'm offended. I think I might sue for pain and suffering. I feel violated by his comment as I am a white supporter and wannabe contender in the Winter Olympics.
I also have this mad desire to put this bumblehead on a pair of highly waxed skis and thrust his sorry ass down a very steep, sprayed and salted course amisdst strong winds, fog, and generally poor weather, and see if someone can catch him on camera falling over a cliff, through gates and several snow fences. Or maybe trying not to face plant on blades. That would be fun, too.
I'd really like to put in him front of Shawny Davis and let that Olympian give him what-for.
I had a boyfriend who was black. (He did not want to be called "African-American)). He wasn't very politically correct, either.
Anyway, he was initially not interested in skiing, telling me it was a "white sport". I told him he was full of it. He was open to meeting my ski-patrol friends, and together we enticed him to come to the ski area. A world class skier offered him a free lesson, which he initially refused, but then after we stared at him and made him realize what he was turning down, he agreed.
The man has purchased skis, has invested in the sport and has gotten pretty good at it...especially for an average recreational skier.
Don't tell me black men can't ski.
Now, back to original programming. Figure skating is an artform, it is beautiful and requires much discipline. So do sports. But if we're goign to allow Ice Dancing into the Games, then we may as well allow competetive dancing into the summer games.
I don't think so.
Regarding Gumbel's idiocy:
Skiing is a sport. So is hockey. So is speed skating. And luge, skeleton, and bobsledding.
Don't sit there and tell me the athletes have to be naked Greeks in order for it to be legit. I'm not sure what this idiot's point is...maybe that he's incompetent, and that's his problem. It sure doesn't justify denigrating our athletes (even the skaters).
What I find really ironic is the number of summer olympic sports which were not recognized in ancient Greece. And the fact that by African American standards, Greeks were and remain...WHITE!
I've heard the term "reverse racism" and have even used the term, but it's a cop out. Racism is racism.
Bryant Gumbel is an outright racist, and I'm not surprised that the ACLU has not slapped his sorry rear end with a lawsuit. They're racist, too.
/ rant
5 comments:
Gumbel has a real tendency to play the race card, especially when it supports his liberal politics. I really thought he was a very bright announcer when he first came on the scene back in the early 70s, but once he got involved in the Today Show and more "serious" issues, his true colors (no pun intended) came out.
Oddly enough, even one of the sportswriters at the Strib took a shot at his comments. You know you've gone too far when that happens!
Mitchell
What's more, Bryant Gumbel was lying and I have photos to prove it!
They ought to get rid of all the sports, summer and winter, where "judging" rather than "measurement" becomes the dominant criteria. The motto of the Olympics is "Faster, Higher, Stronger", or something like that, not "prettier, graceful-ler, smoother."
Out with figure skating, gymnastics, diving, the new trashy free-style ski events like the half pipe or whatever they call it
I'm not real fond of team and relay events at the Olympics either. And I've got a problem with some of the the swimming events where one person seems always to be able to win the majority of the events. If that is the case, why not just choose one event and design others that take unique skills and would create a different winner?
Enough ranting for tonight. Keeping up with Julie's posts takes work. [gr]
Oh, now, Ray, you're treading on thin ice! Excuse the pun. :-)
I have a cousin who nearly went to the 1980 summer olympics in diving. (Was it in '80? I was just a kid).
And I was a gymnast in Jr. High. I wasn't very good at it, but without a doubt, it is a sport. Our warmup would have rivaled that of any football team and put the wrestling team to shame. We had to do handstand pushups, pull-ups, etc. And it's less subjective in the judging than you think.
Maybe I'm too quick to criticize figure skating. I'm kind of torn, I guess because as much as I don't consider it a sport so much as an "event", I still can't imagine the Olympics without it.
* sigh *
I'm such a girl. :-)
hi jman. Long time no see.
I'll admit I'm torn about figure skating. I agree it's very demanding, but it's really more about dancing acrobatics than solid sport. Yes, it's a competetion, but ballroom dancing can be competetive, too. It's kind of a "limbo" sport...not really a sport, but more than just an art. Difficult to categorize.
I think what really chaps my hide is that other sports are not being shown because figure skating overshadows everything, and it isn't realy a "sport" like the other actual sports.
And Gumbel...you're right on. I know a lot of people who don't care for the Winter Games. Fine. Definitely an issue of personal perference, but to play the race card? Ridiculous. And insulting to those of any race other than white (and there are many there) sure doesn't encourage people to get out there.
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