Everyone Loves Olympics Redemption Stories Except Jay Mariotti
Let's be honest: not many people tune into the Winter Olympics because they are avid fans of bobsledding or ice dancing. They tune in because they are fans of athletic competitions or because it's all that's on TV or because they like to be inundated with stories about interesting people that will become stars for a second and then fall back into seclusion for four years.
Bode Miller fits into that last category. As a favorite in the 2006 Olympics, the brash American skier made a name for himself by being outspoken and by never turning down a chance to party. People kind of liked him for this before the games — he was different. Then he promptly went out and failed to medal in any of the five events he was in. He became an immediate punchline, then faded into Bolivian.
Well, he's re-emerged in Vancouver and won three medals so far. Great, redemptive story, even if the guy's kind of a loudmouth sometimes, right? Not so fast says fellow loudmouth Jay Mariotti:
Not that anyone disagrees with his basic theory, but it's his annoying way of trivializing a medal that brings tears of joy to athletes, families and countries. Four years later, it seems Bode still can't be Bode without trying too hard to be cool and above it all.
Or maybe the guy just happens to be kind of douchey and a great skier. Nothing to get worked up about.
There's a great myth about the Olympics, one that Mariotti is desperately trying to perpetuate and romanticize, that the games are some big, unified, combined effort of team, athlete, country, etc. that propels people to victory. In reality, most Olympic sports are about the individual. Bode Miller not being excited about winning gold medals does nothing to trivialize the importance of other athletes winning gold medals.
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