The agnony of defeet will get you every time!

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat
By Joseph Walther


The 2006 Winter Olympics are in full swing, in case anyone has failed to notice. I congratulate NBC for its 24.5-hours of Olympic coverage per day, too! That’s right; you’ve read it correctly: “TWENTY-FOUR POINT FIVE hours of Olympic coverage per day.” Click here if you don’t believe me. I am quoting Dick Ebersol on this. And, since he is Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBC’s Olympic coverage, it must be true, although his claim will confuse some people. I’m betting that some people have already contacted Timex about this.

There is a difference between coverage hours and clock hours. Mr. Ebersol should have realized that some viewers listening to him would misunderstand his meaning and assume that there are 24.5-hours per day instead of 24, as most of us learned shortly after some doctor dragged us kicking and screaming out of the birth canal.

Who is confused, you ask. Well, TV ratings consistently tell us that one in three people watch Maury Povich and Jerry Springer. Worse, two in three watch reality TV. Need I say more? Are you one of them? Check with two of your friends the next time Springer, Povich, or a reality show is on the air. If they’re not watching, then confusion may just be your long coat.

While I’d love to go into more detail about this ugly proposition, I’m not going to do it. I have bigger fish to fry. Instead, I’m going to fill you in on a few of the more fascinating observations that I’ve made over the past week of Olympic coverage.

Here’s something interesting; and I’ll bet you readers had no idea. This Winter Olympics will see 650 referees and judges; 2,500 coaches/team officials; about 6,000 guests of Olympic sponsors; and 2,300 representatives from the international Olympic Committee, national Olympic committees, and various sports federations. All of these people will be watching 2,500 athletes compete in 15 specific sports. These officials will have awarded eighty-four medals by the time it’s all over.

Yes, this information is certainly interesting. I know that I felt my pulse quicken as I researched it. Even so, more interesting is the fact that over 10,000 members of the news media—television, print, and radio—are in Torino, Italy and have spared no expense to bring it all to us. What has the United States media people told us so far?

First off, our media can’t count. If you click here, you will see a report that Olympic officials will award 84-medals in each of the 15-sports. There is a problem with this report. Like Mr. Ebersol’s earlier claim of 24.5-coverage hours per day, the available medals report is just as confusing to the Springer/Povich/Reality TV gang. You see, some of these sports require teams, such as hockey, bobsledding, etc, and each member of the winning teams receives the appropriate medal.

Click here for the complete medal count to-date. Even for the Springer watchers who have to count using their fingers, it is easy to tell that Olympic officials have awarded way more than 84 medals and we are just a tad past the half way mark.

By now, thanks to our NBC broadcasters, we know that Lindsay Kildow did not win a gold medal in the women’s downhill. She fell during her practice run and she injured herself. The injury was serious enough to require a stretcher exit from the hill and a 24-hour hospital stay. We know this because two days after it happened, broadcasters couldn’t mention her name without ad infinitum replays of the incident. Then, it started all over when she competed in the slalom, 24-hours later. She fell again.

Lindsay Kildow went to Torino to compete. This is exactly what she did. She did it to the best of her ability even though she was in pain. This, not her fall or injuries, is what makes her an Olympian and a role model. This is why she represents one of our best. Instead, the clowns at NBC may have unwittingly nominated her for the new “Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” poster child. I hope not.

Then we had the Johnny Weir show. Johnny is a great figure skater. He’s also a free spirit who skates to the beat of his own drum. To him, he wins when he betters his personal best. Pouting and stomping out of the area were unfortunate manifestations of his disappointment in his performance. He has still provided us with more positive than negative images, but for years to come, the news media will remind him, as well as us, that an impulsive hissy fit, born of frustration and self-condemnation, trumps good performances, no matter how numerous.

During the same skating competition, on the same ice, at the same Olympics, a young American man by the name of Evan Lysacek wowed the watching world as he came back from devastation. Evan had a disastrous performance in his short program. He faltered and fell several times. He was dead last going into the final free style program.

It was easy to tell that he was scared to death as he took the ice in the long program. His entire family was present to watch. Worse, millions of American viewers were watching. The media had all but written him off.

Determined to conquer his fear, he gave the performance of a lifetime. It was a difficult program, full of jumps with ample opportunity for falling. He gave us a flawless routine to the thunderous ovation of the rink-side attendees as well as, I am sure, millions of viewers back in America. He came back from last to finish fifth overall. In his mind, his triumph trumped the hell out of winning a gold medal. And, for a moment, he made us understand what real courage is all about.

Did our media tell us about it? With the exception of Dick Buttons and Scott Hamilton—himself no stranger to personal tragedy—no! Nada! Nothing!

Will the media ever permit Lindsey Jacobellis to forget that she didn't win the gold medal? She was leading by several thousand miles, heading for the finish line in women’s Snowboard Cross finals when she fell. She got a bit too fancy on a final jump and fell. She finished second and won the silver medal.

I’ve read all of the accounts of this and watched the TV interviews. I’ve seen only one interview that made a point of her having won anything. All of the others emphasized that she lost the gold. None of these idiots seems to understand that this young woman is only twenty years old and that impulse is still a strong driving force in such young lives.

Lindsey Jacobellis is an Olympian because she is among the best in her sport. She is among the best in her sport because she’s more determined and works harder than the wannabes. I see it as her making a mistake and still winning a silver medal. Our all-knowing broadcast media sees it as her have lost a gold medal. For all we know she, too, may have been nominated for the new “Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” poster child.

I could go on at length. Let me just mention Apollo Ono’s miscue in the men’s 1500 meter speed skating event and Emily Hughes replacing an injured Michelle Kwan and Bode Miller’s bad boy antics leading up to and upon his arrival at the Olympic venue. There have been others. These are all superb athletes, full of hope, and wanting to do their level best to make us proud. The slightest miscue, though, and the press will crucify them, rationalizing its conduct under the guise of its usual abundance of blathering stupidity.

Throughout my life of watching Olympic competition, I have yet to hear an Olympian complain about not winning a medal, even during the times when some of them have been the victim of blatant cheating. They are too aware of their good fortunes at being counted among the rolls Olympians to fret over most of the trivial crap that bothers the news media. Good for them!

Oh, here is one last bit of advice for those of you who may decide to surf the Web looking for Olympic facts. This is particularly applicable if you decide to do so with your young children. MAKE SURE THAT YOU SPELL THE ATHLETE’S NAME CORRECTLY! This is critical.

For instance, if you are looking for information about Michelle Kwan, take care that you do not Google M-i-c-h-e-l-e Q-u-a-n. If you do, you won’t get any information on Michelle Kwan; but you could get arrested on a morals charge, if you get my drift! Trust me on this. Michele Quan is NOT Michelle Kwan!

If you’re watching, enjoy the rest of the Olympics and be proud of our athletes’ accomplishments. While you are at it, say a prayer for Jim Lampley so that the Botox injections will wear off and permit him to smile again. Even better, pray that he realizes that he should not take himself so seriously. I know that I don’t.

See you next week.

Joseph Walther is a freelance writer and publisher of The True Facts. Send your comments. Just click here.