tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post2967882967088655618..comments2024-02-29T23:31:03.341-05:00Comments on Out Of Left Field: Beijing 2008 wrap-up: The what do you mean they don't give medals for fourth editionsagerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757652892056684490noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-90759931150253424602008-08-15T07:24:00.000-04:002008-08-15T07:24:00.000-04:00Our athletes dream of gold too. We just don't prov...Our athletes dream of gold too. We just don't provide them with anywhere near the support needed to make that goal realistic. So, they adjust their expectations.<BR/><BR/>Our points aren't that far apart Greg. I'm just not prepared to throw the athletes under the bus when the problems are far deeper than that.Duane Rollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16512076277116230020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-38508710901842492002008-08-15T01:58:00.000-04:002008-08-15T01:58:00.000-04:00Then guys, explain to me why Beavers openly admitt...Then guys, explain to me why Beavers openly admitted he "dreamed of swimming in an Olympic final."<BR/><BR/>Athletes from other countries dream of gold. We dream of being there. That's the difference.<BR/><BR/>Money aside, the apathy toward the Olympics and our failures is rampant.<BR/><BR/>Athletes from other countries are embarrassed to lose — did anyone see the USA gymnastics team interviewed the other night? The captain held back tears through the entire thing. <BR/><BR/>What do Canadians do? Smile. Say "hi mom" and "I tried."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-52474647998869265642008-08-15T01:39:00.000-04:002008-08-15T01:39:00.000-04:00Duane hit it right on the head there. The goal's t...Duane hit it right on the head there. The goal's to win, but you don't go from last to first without a substantial investment of time and money. Fourth, sixth and seventh are steps along the way. The end goal should always be to get gold, but our athletes who dedicate their lives to training and acheive a lot with considerably less resources than athletes from other countries should be recognized for what they've done. Being in the Olympics is an accomplishment in itself, making the semifinals a bigger one, appearing in a final even more so, and then comes medaling and winning. Just because the first steps aren't the ultimate accomplishment doesn't mean they aren't progress and aren't worthy of recognition, in my view at least. Guys like Brown who do far better than anyone expected them to are still impressive, even if they don't have a medal around their necks at the end of the day.Andrew Bucholtzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156615450275929751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-65820692490218356862008-08-14T23:02:00.000-04:002008-08-14T23:02:00.000-04:00Greg,I'm a big proponent of the argument that that...Greg,<BR/><BR/>I'm a big proponent of the argument that that the goal should be to win. It's what it's all about. If you've read me in the past you will know that it's a bit of a theme of mine.<BR/><BR/>But finishing fourth at the Olympic Games is not a failure. <BR/><BR/>The swim team has a long ways to go. But, I'm not going to jump off the bridge. In Athens we were struggling to make the semi finals and when we did we were in the outside lanes. Now, we are consistently making semis, but struggling to make finals (and typically drawing outside lanes when we do). That's an improvement. It isn't yet acceptable, but it's an improvement. In Athens, Brown was an exception--he made the finals and finished sixth. In Beijing, he's been an exception as well. And, although I'm not going to rejoice over a fourth, I can acknowledge this:<BR/><BR/>Mike Brown isn't the problem. He's actually gone beyond what was expected.<BR/><BR/>Road to Excellence only started last year. And we can all see what Own the Podium is doing on the winter side. We won't get into the top three nations in the Summer Games like we have in the Winter (we might actually win the medal race in Vancouver, which, if you've followed amateur sport in this country over the years you'll understand, is insane). But, we'll probably see a marked improvemet...<BR/><BR/>In 2016. <BR/><BR/>Now, you are seeing what the spending cuts in the '90s (ironically about the time we were having our best summer games ever, in 1996*) did. Those of us that love this stuff saw this coming a mile away, I'm afraid. <BR/><BR/>We will medal in China. Probably a couple this weekend, actually. But, how does that saying go again? <BR/><BR/>Oh yeah, you get what you pay for.<BR/><BR/>*1984 doesn't count because the Russians and East Germans weren't thereDuane Rollinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16512076277116230020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-85198546552748427712008-08-14T22:56:00.000-04:002008-08-14T22:56:00.000-04:00Beavers just lost — by a lot — in the 200m IM and ...Beavers just lost — by a lot — in the 200m IM and said "This is what I dreamed of."<BR/><BR/>And there folks is the problem. Canadians dream of an eight-place finish in an Olympic final. Americans, Russians, the Chinese, etc., dream of a gold medal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-45945418627855170772008-08-14T22:29:00.000-04:002008-08-14T22:29:00.000-04:00Yes, he was fourth. Yes, that’s not a medal. But, ...Yes, he was fourth. Yes, that’s not a medal. But, Jesus people…what are you fourth best in the world at?<BR/><BR/>You're kidding right? The point isn't to finish fourth. It's to win. If you want to finish fourth, and you're happy with that, ask for participation medals for everyone.<BR/><BR/>Remember, it's our tax money that pays (in part) for the facility, training, travel, etc. for these athletes. <BR/><BR/>You may accept fourth, failure or the status quo. I don't. And we shouldn't as a nation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-68004123792253931922008-08-14T22:07:00.000-04:002008-08-14T22:07:00.000-04:00Maybe I'm too much of a stats geek, but I didn't f...Maybe I'm too much of a stats geek, but I didn't find that reference obscure at all. Plus, Poz <A HREF="http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/08/13/sickness-and-the-miracle-mets/" REL="nofollow"> already made</A> that connection...it's a good comparison, though. I don't think the state of swimming is as dire as some have portrayed, and Duane makes an excellent point about how well Brown did. You're right to question Canadian records and personal bests due to the LZR and the pool, but we still have a lot of swimmers placing top-10. Keep in mind that summer Olympic funding and the swimming program only really got back on track in the last few years. There's still a long way to go, but it's not a short road to success, and I've seen lots that makes me hopeful for the future.Andrew Bucholtzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156615450275929751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-14866967400921429632008-08-14T22:04:00.000-04:002008-08-14T22:04:00.000-04:00Yeah-I am tired of this Canadian swim record jive...Yeah-I am tired of this Canadian swim record jive. If so many of our swimmers are setting national records and still can not catch a third place olympicf medal, it just points out how far behind the other swimming nations we have fallen.<BR/> Funny that those who have been repeating the--but we broke a Canadian record--- mantra,did not seem to realize the they were reinforcing how poorly we have done in recent years--and are still doing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538424.post-32438236516602659032008-08-14T21:44:00.000-04:002008-08-14T21:44:00.000-04:00Good stuff ... especially nixing the "Canadian rec...Good stuff ... especially nixing the "Canadian records" jive. The water cube in Beijing is to fast times what Coors Field was to Colorado Rockies batters in the 1990s. Now there's an obscure reference!sagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08757652892056684490noreply@blogger.com