Of Smooth Rocks and the Sin of Lindsey Jacobellis
The first I heard of the inexcusable, bonehead mistake made by Lindsey Jacobellis at the end of her snowboard cross run came when an interviewer asked me, quite loudly, "WHAT WAS THAT WOMAN THINKING?"
She'd obviously mistaken me for a smaller journalist capable of paddling a mini-kayak through Jacobellis' brain vessels.
Since, I have learned that Lindsey Jacobellis cost the US more than the gold medal. She has been found to be responsible for a great chunk of the national debt, she has inhibited work on a certain cure for cancer which would have saved countless thousands of lives among those fortunate enough to be able to afford insurance, and she is responsible for neither US train running on time.
Shame, shame. I would suggest we draw and quarter her, except no one around here can sketch worth a darn.
I know! Let's stone her!
This seemed a good idea until I had visions of my mother, a deeply religious woman, reminding me of the old chestnut, "Let those of you without sin cast the first stone."
Oh, the shame! Yes, at age 9, in my exuberance to tell a story I thought was hilariously funny, a narrative which absolutely demanded the inclusion of magnanimous gestures, I manage to whack not one, but two glasses clean off the dinner table. My parents glared at me like they were my skating coaches and I had missed a simple double toe loop.
"Do you always have to make a spectacle of yourself!" my father exclaimed loudly, his hand raised as if he were going to knock me to what our family quaintly called "kingdom come" (which I understand is closer than ever now--and I hope not because of my mistaken exuberance way back then).
But wait. The Olympics is a spectacle. It's a dramatic public display of not only what humans can do, but what they actually do under immense pressure.
Wasn't the television picture of Bode Miller streaking downhill on one ski, the other flailing around in the thin air until he could nurse it back safely to the snow, the most interesting part of the competition? I mean, c'mon, you see 25 guys take pretty much the same line through the gates and finish within a second of each other--how boringly similar!
Bode, you're my favorite screw up. Thanks for making a spectacle of yourself. Have a beer on me.
And Lindsey, you can be my second favorite. Playing it safe has never been my favorite game--and I'm glad it's not yours, either.
And mom, you raised a wimp. That stone felt so darn smooth and deadly in my hand.
Comments
youthful exuberance is a part of the culture of snowboarding and one of the qualities that we revere as we get older.lindsey made a mistake and i am amazed it the number of people that are in line to criticise, most of whom never will even get close to the sucess she has had. shake it off lindsey!
Maybe it’s just because Lindsey is so darned cute, or maybe it’s just me. A momentary mistake the likes of which have never happened especially by a 20 year old on the world stage for the first time in her life. Amazing to me are the amount and depth of the derogatory comments.
Somebody please tell Lindsey - you are still the best women snowboard cross in the world, even when you made a mistake.
Seems NBC (& CNBC) are giving a lot of air time to Americans that screw up or lose the competition. I’ve been looking at the results in advance so I don’t have to watch another “so close” US loses portrayal by this network.
Has anyone noticed how beautiful it is that the Olympics, those we actually get to see, are not smeared with logos and advertising. How refreshing is that?
Tell that moron commentator that bobsledding and golf have nothing in common. Stop refering to par, birdies and boggies….SHUT UP about the golf analogies
I felt sorry for Lindsey. She hardly disgraced either the United States or the Olympic team. She took a chance and lost. It’s not even clear that she made a conscious decison. Most of the time we’re rewarding Olympians for taking chances. She was gracious and appropriately modest in interviews. We should be proud of her, not critical.
Way to go, James. A public stoning, Brilliant! My sentiments exactly, leave them all alone, they’re basically all young kids in a pressure cooker fishbowl, and we should all cut them all some slack, and just enjoy the games.
What we should be enjoying, as I’m sure James is totally aware, is how well the host country is doing , and the Italians are having a blast.
We need to get on that ship….
Bah. I’d have had more respect for her if her story didn’t keep changing every time she opened her mouth, from “I had to do it”, to “Well maybe I was celebrating”, to “Oh well”. You don’t have to be a gold medalist to know what’s right and what’s wrong. I took this on in my own blog (shameless promotion: http://olympicrants.blogstream.com)
I wish I was 30 or 40 years younger. Snow boarding would be a blast!! I particularly liked Hannah Teter. She’s just into her sport - half pipe.–no bathing suits or proper English for her. She’s part of the snow boarding culture and I love that. Wouln’t you like to be so relaxed and able to work so hard for your sport?
Seth Wescott pulls a method air and nobody notices. The Italian anchor man in the x-c relay stops to get a flag before the finish line and it’s endearing. Kelly Clark blows her shot at getting a medal by trying to go really big on her last trick and botching the landing, and she’s praised for “taking the sport to the next level.” Celebrations like what Jacobellis did happen all the time and nobody says a word. Because she fell, because she committed the mortal sin of failing to think a gold medal is the most important thing ever, she is vilified. I don’t care if she’s 20 or 40, she did nothing wrong. And she certainly doesn’t need other people’s help to understand that she goofed.
To those who say that she let her American family down, isn’t a family supposed to support each other when they screw up?
I have had the utmost respect for Bob Costas for many years and he is one of my older sons idols - well, if I have any say in it -which hopefully I do - not anymore. His unrelenting, ambush interview of Lindsey Jacobellis was an embarassment to all. As the father of two teenage boys who play competitive ice hockey and soccer at a pretty high level, I have been shocked at the behavior of so-called adults who have chastised players, coaches and referees and then claim to have the kids best interests at heart. Clearly, Bob Costas has become the poster “child” for all that is wrong in sports today. By the way, didn’t Costas recognize that the 20-year old girl admitted she made a mistake? Isn’t that we teach our children to do? Isn’t that we expect our public figures to do? Isn’t that what we expect our Presidents to do? If only Nixon or Clinton had fessed up and admitted they made a mistake rather than covering them up…….. What Jacobellis did was handle her mistake with class and dignity, which is way beyond what Costas and his fellow NBC colleagues did, despite the fact that they were “professionals” who have had many more years to perfect their craft on the world’s stage. It is Costas’ reputation that should be irrevocabably harmed, not Jacobellis’. Instead she should be heralded as someone who made a mistake in front of the entire world yet did not run and hide. That is the lesson our children should take away from this. Actually, that is the lesson all of us should take away from this - that is, all of us, except, of course, those who of us who have never made a mistake. Of course my words are meaningless and in this country the only thing more important than winning,is money. The only real justice here is that Costas’ arrogance ultimately leads to his professional downfall and that Jacobellis ends up with millions of dollars of endorsements. Either that, or Costas could admit his mistake in front of the world with the same class and dignity that Jacobellis admitted hers. Surprise us all Bob.
I am proud of all our U.S. Olympians for their efforts put forth to earn their place in the Olympic team. As long as they are not having “wardrobe malfunctions”, I support them in enjoying their moments at the games. Getting a medal is just a bonus!
I used to be glued to the TV during the Olympics - I loved the stories of the athletes - their courage, country and team pride. This year, I’m tired of spoiled brats and showoffs like Lindsey and Wier. This Olympics is the least watched ever - think about it! Corporate sponsors are!
No medal at all for Bob Costas for his interview with Apolo Anton Ohno after the 1500 meter race, where he tried to bait Ohno into blaming the 2 Koreans for conspiring against him and keeping him from winning. And a gold metal to Ohno for saying that he lost, only because the Koreans skated a better race.
This message is mainly for SHANI DAVIS. “You may have the GOLD for the 1000m but YOU DO NOT DESERVE THAT GOLD because being an athlete means being a sportsman and a TEAM PLAYER. You are selfish and self-centered.”
After watching Bodi Miller’s performance tonight, I’m especially convinced that this poor guy has an alcohol dependence problem. As a physician who treats many substance abusers, during this whole Torino experience he has displayed typical alcoholic behavior. And I’d be willing to bet that if you ran blood tests on him today you’d find elevated liver enzymes (indication of liver damage). At the beginning of the games I was pissed at him and didn’t want him to carry our flag and represent our country because of what I initially perceived as over-priveleged disdain. However, in closely observing him and his physical condition, I would like to say to Bodi, PLEASE don’t have a Bud on anyone. Get your ass into treatment and back onto the hills where you so obviously belong!
snowboarding = wild girls having a blast. I love Lyndsey she is everything girls should be. brave honest make their own rules have fun be powerful. the sponsors should be fighting over her - if I was 12 I would want to emulate her. Yay!
Kudos to all the athletes! These people are human beings who make mistakes, fall, win, astonish us….over and over. We should be ashamed of ourselves for judging them - do you think they don’t feel bad when they don’t do well and if you feel so sore about them why are you even watching the games. No one is forcing you to turn your TV set to watch the Olympics. Let’s quit belly aching and support these athletes many of who are just kids. How many of you who are sitting in judgement can say that you would have been more responsible if facing the same set of circumstances.
The only think we should be judging are the terrible jobs being done by people like Bob Costas, Jimmy Roberts, Katie Couric….does everything have to be turned into a tabloid headline, can’t we just get the facts reported and not feel this need to insult and undermine the atheletes.
All these negative comments on Bodie is not deserved. His problem, if any, is that he skis too much. He is getting older and obviously not keeping in top condition which includes resting. His recovery and athleticism cannot be deniged. Who else could recover and ski down at that speed while getting his leg back in position? Lindsey fell in love with all the attention and expectations from the press. Better to leave the young hopefuls alone and not give them such huge egos that they think they are invincible.
in response to the doctor’s comments regarding Bode Miller, on what do you base your conclusion? i haven’t seen or heard much at all that he has been partying THAT hard. to say that he has an alcohol dependency problem is a bit far fetched, don’t you think?
Shani Davis is not selfish. It was perfectly ok for him to perserve his strength for the 1,000m and secure a gold medal for himself. After all, isn’t that what he worked so hard for. His teammate was selfish for assuming that he would possibly sacrifice his gold so that he could be considered the 2006 Olympic golden boy. Chad this message is for you…. you are SELFISH!!!! and you lack sportmanship.
I too was shocked by the bone head mistake she made - but not surprised. I really find the care free attitude of the snowboarding generation rather disconcerting. Their “oh well” outlook on life is reflected in their lack of concentration at the starting line of just about every snowboard event I’ve watched. They’re high-fiving and “Hey Dude”ing everyone while just about every other Olympic athlete is totally focused at the task at had when they’re standing at the starting line. I’d like to see a little more “I care if I win” attitudes tahn what I’ve seen from the snowboarders. But, hey dude, one of them will probably be a future President of the US - now there’s a scary thought!
All this being said, it was little refreshing on how she handled some of the post race interviews. Pretty good after just making an international fool of herself. And certainly a lot better than Mike Weir (the skater). Now there’s a real fine role model for your kids. What an embarrassment.
Why are’t we honoring Linsey for the silver medal she won for the USA? She handeled herself beautifully both before and after her wonderful race and deserves our support more now than ever.
Yeah, I’m glad people are getting off Lindsey’s back. She is obviously the best at what she does, and made a mistake. While I agree in part with the statements about the snowboarding generations “carefree attitude,” I think Lindsey has set herself apart. She knows she lost it, but she’s not out there being obnoxious or non-chalant. She’s being very humble and as Americans we should support and encourage her.
You are all a bunch of” HOMERS!”
Bode, Shani, and Lindsey lost and or quit due to lack of,” heart.”
If one loses so what; it is how you lose that you are judged.
It is about competition not just showing up. If crashing and burning, taking your skates and going home, and not winning at all are your standards, fine, admire these self-indulgent people. HOMERS!
After watching the skiing, I cant believe that the US Team had Bodi Miller on it. He is a cocky, aragant, ass. He should stay in NH skiing drunk as he is better at that than at competing. What a waste of an olympic space on a team. Hopefully next winter olympics the coach for heart not mouth.
Bode Miller’s problem wasn’t alcohol it was attitude. Without a doubt he has the ability. If he can get his mind right he has 4 years to prepare for the “2010 Games”. America loves a winner and adores an “Underdog” with the will to win. Coming from a Canadian all the best to Bode and it would be great to see him in Vancouver.
As a New Englander I was so glad to see Lindsey Jacobellis mess up the way she did, I was so sick of seeing her every five minutes in a dunkin donuts commercial. She went out like most New Englanders, without dignity
Lindsay, im cCanadian and i just wanted to say, YOU SUCK! NO im just kidding, i know how it feels, great job out there!
WOW!