This isn’t just about excessive celebration.
There are going to be ugly displays directed at U.S. athletes and the resulting response (or lack of it) will be televised around the world. A show of class by American Olympians wouldn’t hurt at all.
People really do pay attention to this stuff (or crap, if you prefer).
Hoo!
Hah! (experiences uncontrolled merriment, rolls on side, pounds the floor) Hee! (develops hiccups, is saved by the Heimlich maneuver). That’s a good one!
If MY garage burned down, I’d probably be careful about storing old paint thinner in it when rebuilt, too. What kind of moron would recreate the same (or a more dangerous) situation than one which already led to disaster?
I thought of one other thing, Milum… aren’t Christians supposed to be, like, humble? Or something?
I remember a U.S. swimmer at the Olympics spitting in another swimmer’s lane, I remember a U.S. basketball (a professional at the time) player taunting and then making fun of a smaller African Olympian.
Do I think these actions are incorrect. Yes, I do. Do I think maybe someone should possibly inform these representatives of the United States that the behavior should be modified? Yes, I do.
There is nothing wrong with being proud, but, at least in my mind, that pride becomes a negative when it is at the cost of the self-respect of others.
We should probably keep in mind that lately our celebrations have not come off too well. Remember certain guards celebrating at Abu Ghraib prison.
TV
Milum is obviously forgeting what the idea behind the Olympic Games is.
An excerpt from http://www.athens2004.com/:
That is not true. One can be an American and not give a whit about sporting events. More importantly, the USOC never said anything about not showing elation, it merely is providing training for amateur athletes to act respectfully while representing our nation.
Christian Love had nothing to do with the founding of our nation. And it’s hard to conceive of a “God directed journey” when there is no evidence that there is such a being as “God”.
Again, there is no “God” to help anyone, and we are already failing horribly in terms of maintaining a good relationship with the rest of the world. BTW, that’s where the remarks about President Bush come from— he is single-handedly doing more to ruin our nation than anyone since Benedict Arnold.
Maybe its the (juvenile and really quite '80s) ‘thumbs up’ sign which seems so popular in recent images, which the USOC is worried about.
Personally i look forward to the American celebrations - most ammusing and not at all OTT.
sin
Hmmmm? It seems like the larger message is being missed here. The purpose of people banding together in national units is not to get along willy-nilly with other national units. The purpose of the banding is to support the collective fundamental beliefs of those with whom you band. When you reach the point where you no longer find bindings with the elementary tenents of your birth nation, migrate.
Until then, support those who represent the core beliefs of your nation on world stages such as the Olympics. Or a battlefield, or in any dispute involving we vs them.
And until then, don’t apologize and cower in the face of less worthwhile governments for their exuberence and unabashed pride in their represention of a most worthy nation that rules with the rule of law under God’s most merciful blessings.
What hypocrisy! What arrogance! Letting athletes of other nations celebrate as they please. While in your fear you ask your boys and girls to hide their enthusiam.
Apologize.
“I don’t care how the other boys and girls behave. I expect you to be a graceful winner and display good sportsmanship like a true American!”
Yeah, Mom sure was a fascist.
the key here is good sportsmanship . Accepting defeat or victory, yours or someone else’s, with good grace, and not turning international sporting competition into ‘war without the violence’ which the media increasingly like to represent it as.
Lord help me, but I’m kinda with Milum on this one.
It reminds me of the Olympic boycotts of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Geopolitics are NOT the athletes’ concern. Performing to the best of their ability agains their peers in the chosen set of events is.
If the USOC has decorum at the top of its list, then the athletes they select should have a track record of representing the behavior they value.
Example: Dream Team. Mr. Barkley has never been known to keep his negative opinions to himself in any forum whatsoever. The USOC should have known that a world stage would be irresistible to him. If representing Olympic values of sportsmanlike conduct was their goal, they should have said: “Sorry Charlie. Your skills are there, but you’re a loudmouth, and we can’t let you represent this nation.” But they sent him, because they knew he was among the best, and could stomp all over the other players. When he essentially said as much, suddenly they were all surprised nd dismayed.
Yes, I think it’s shameful when American victors display a lack of graciousness. But if decorum is the main goal of the USOC, if the athlete can’t play nice, they should be let in to play at all. Chiding them afterwards is closing the barn door too late.
Just another example of good old-fashioned American hypocrisy that we tell ourselves the rest of the world is too dumb to notice.
Milum has obviously never heard the expression, “be the bigger man”… either that, or he has no clue what it means. Come to think of it, he probably thinks it means “beat them up and celebrate”
This isn’t about chiding them afterwards - it is about warning and preparing them beforehand to prevent it from happening. A little education isn’t a bad thing - think of it as sensitivity training at the office. In addition to possibly preventing some issues, it also gives them an out, saying, “we tried.”
Do the math Einstein. 2 1/2 years ago would put us right after 9-11. And yes, for a brief shining moment, the US was the most loved and respected nation on Earth.
Milum: While in your fear you ask your boys and girls to hide their enthusiam.
Really? Could we get some specific guidelines here on what kind of “excessive celebrations” are being discouraged? I don’t see anything wrong at all with requesting our athletes to be gracious winners and not insult other athletes or moon the audience or anything like that.
I think that should be standard policy no matter what kind of PR shithole our political leaders have put us in. And I think it’s ridiculous to suggest that requiring good sportsmanship and good manners from American athletes somehow makes one un-American or anti-American.
I agree with rjung, though, that the behavior of US Olympians is not likely to have much effect on extricating us from our current PR shithole, no matter what. Still, as Jackmannii points out, an American display of class and good sportsmanship (which are not incompatible with showing enthusiasm about your victory, your team, or your country) certainly wouldn’t hurt.
I’m sure Milum knows that there’s a difference between “enthusiasm” and the kind of behavior parodied in this SNL sketch.
stares into his crystal ball
hmm…
i see… a waste of time, money, and effort. turns out they still know we are American.