Some people are not as dissuaded by the notion of public scorn as others. My personal preference is that athletes have as little humility as possible.
I find it it really difficult to believe that they can’t figure out the issues with the pools. I would think it would be a couple of phone calls to sort it out. Change the chemical levels or add more filtration.
And some people are clueless gits who go through life wondering why they have problems in social situations.
Tomato / [del]Tamato[/del] cow patty.
That’s a curious leap to make.
It’s not really even about humility. It’s about not acting like a total fucking asshole. It is possible to maintain a level of sporting self-confidence and bravado and commitment to success without resorting to complete self-serving dishonesty, which is what Hope Solo did.
To call a team “cowards” for playing a defensive style of soccer, especially when the team in question is an underdog, completely misrepresents the nature of the sport. The Swedes played a style of football that is common at all levels of the sport, in both the men’s and women’s game, especially in cases where one team is heavily favored, or when the particular circumstances of the game mean that avoiding a loss is more important than going for a win.
To put it in North American sporting terms, it would be sort of like calling an NFL team with a rookie quarterback and mediocre wide receivers “cowards” for choosing to play a running game with the occasional short screen pass. That’s not cowardly; it’s probably smart strategy, and in the case of the Swedes, it worked.
You say, “show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” Hope Solo was, by definition, a loser yesterday. She was also not great in the preliminary rounds, making errors that helped Columbia draw 2-2 with the US. The only difference her comments made is that she now also a whiny, asshole loser. I’ll bet most of her teammates are as upset about the loss as she is, and are as committed as she is to succeeding in the future, but they managed not to act like five-year-olds in the process.
Is it dishonest if she believes it?
I don’t buy it; why can’t the smart strategy also be a cowardly strategy? It was absolutely a smart strategy for Sweden to play like they did. It was in their rational self-interest to play like that. Those two facts do not intrinsically cause their strategy to not be cowardly, depending on your working value of “cowardly.”
Both of those things are true; at no point did I imply that being a poor loser means that you’re not a loser. It’s just that one type of loser bothers me rather less than the other type, and it doesn’t appear to be the same type that bothers other people.
[ol]
[li]I object to the pejorative characterization of “five-year-old.”[/li][li]Mileage varies as to whether or not her teammates not being sore losers is a virtue, as such.[/li][/ol]
…
What in the world do you think it means?
The Swedes correctly selected and successfully executed a winning strategy; in this competition, on the stipulated terms, they were better than the Americans.
And Hope Solo just can’t handle it? It’s not the Swedish character that’s called into question here.
Translation: if your definition of “cowardly” embraces something that is completely within the rules of the game, has been part of the game for decades, and is considered by coaches, players, and fans alike to be reasonable and justified strategy, then Hope Solo was justified is calling them cowardly, as long as she truly believed what she was saying.
Well, sure, i guess.
But if words mean whatever you want them to mean, and if your personal definition flies in the face of the definition used by the vast majority of reasonable people, then maybe its yourself you need to be looking at. You and Hope Solo might consider that.
[ol]
[li]I don’t care what you object to. After all, by your own standards, if i truly believe that Hope Solo acted like a five-year-old, then this must be true. It’s my own characterization that matters, right? If there’s no objective, universally-agreed definition of cowardly, then surely there’s also no such objective definition for acting like a five-year-old.[/li][li]It is clear that your mileage differs. As i suggested above, however, if your mileage continues to diverge so noticeably from what most reasonable people believe, then you might have to deal with the fact that people will consider you unreasonable.[/ol][/li]Hope Solo is a sore loser whiny bitch. If you don’t believe that’s a bad thing, then you’re right: we’ll have to agree to disagree.
The object of a game is to win within the rules. If you’re doing that, the term “cowardly” is inapplicable.
No, then it’s just wrong. either way, she’s still an asshat.
It’s not a question of words meaning “whatever I want them to mean.” I simply don’t concede that it is axiomatic that acting in one’s own rational self-interests =/= cowardly. For example, in college basketball, zone defense is something that is completely within the rules of the game, has been part of the game for decades, and is considered by (many) coaches, (some) players, and (many) fans alike to be reasonable and justified strategy. I happen to think that zone is for cowards.
[QUOTE]
[ol]
[li]I don’t care what you object to. After all, by your own standards, if i truly believe that Hope Solo acted like a five-year-old, then this must be true. It’s my own characterization that matters, right? If there’s no objective, universally-agreed definition of cowardly, then surely there’s also no such objective definition for acting like a five-year-old.[/li][li]It is clear that your mileage differs. As i suggested above, however, if your mileage continues to diverge so noticeably from what most reasonable people believe, then you might have to deal with the fact that people will consider you unreasonable.[/ol][/li][/QUOTE]
[ol]
[li]Touché.[/li][li]In what way is having a higher-than-average threshold for bad behavior “unreasonable”? Perhaps I have articulated my position poorly and, if so, I apologize, but I’m not even arguing that it isn’t bad behavior. It’s just bad behavior that I happen to find acceptable.[/li][/ol]
Very well, then. Cheers.
LOL. This is instructive. I’d be interested to see a full list of things you think are cowardly.
Using the brakes in your car, perhaps?
Declining to eat uncooked chicken?
Refusing to call your boss an asshole if he tells you to work overtime?
Complying with the police officer who demands your license and registration?
That’s an opinion that doesn’t deserve any respect.
No fuckin’ doubt! It’s not rocket science!
I had to take care of a community pool when I was 14, and even I could manage to avoid that green mess! The plumbing was ancient and constantly breaking down, but its not like it can get that bad overnight. Someone is seriously screwing the pooch.
Hell, even now, you can dump in this crap called “shock” and clear up the water PDQ.
I’m watching diving right now. I wouldn’t jump in that shit! (but then, I’m not an Olympic diver!)
What’s the matter with it? 
The point of a game is to play to win while following the rules. Courage is irrelevant. The whole notion is just dumb. If you have won the game, and you haven’t cheated, then you have done what you are supposed to do. The idea that a player should even think about whether what he or she is doing is courageous is silly.
Courage itself is only a tool that’s useful when it helps you make the right decision or accomplish the task at hand. If a winning strategy contradicts with courage, then courage is not an appropriate tool for your situation.
You wouldn’t happen to be a Syracuse fan, would you?
I read somewhere that the green water in the diving pool was because they ran out of one of the treatment chemicals. I think you’re being a bit harsh, though; when you slap together an event like this at the last minute you’re bound to miss a couple little details.
In actual Olympic news, the Nigerians beat Denmark 2-0, and advance to meet Germany in the semi-final. That should be a good game to watch, although i think the Nigerians will have to be at the top of their game to make it truly competitive.
Honduras beat South Korea 1-0, and will meet the winner of the Brazil/Colombia match in the semis. Of course, all of Brazil is hoping for a chance to meet Germany in the final and avenge, at least in part, the 7-1 humiliation of the 2014 World Cup.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a Germany/Brazil final, but i’ll be rooting for Colombia tonight. ¡Vamos Cafeteros!