Sorry Missy and 'Dude

[Papasteeze]

I just don't think it's cool. I think it's tragic and a horrible example for kids.

 

Then quit feeding the fire and ignore the negative and focus on the positives. I think his accomplishments are fantastic and worthy of praise, not bad mouthing. Badmouthing in itself also sets a bad example.

[Ski]

Then quit feeding the fire and ignore the negative and focus on the positives. I think his accomplishments are fantastic and worthy of praise, not bad mouthing. Badmouthing in itself also sets a bad example.

 

Don't badmouth someone that is drunk at a ski race? EVERYONE should jump on his ass for that. Maybe a little intervention?

 

I also believe in strong discipline for kids on my teams. We had a 16 yr. old kid with a bottle of vodka in his gym bag...you should have heard the head coach "badmouthing" his ass right off the team Maybe it won't ever happen again.

[Papasteeze]

Don't badmouth someone that is drunk at a ski race? EVERYONE should jump on his ass for that.

 

 

I believe he deserves our praise. And I totally agree with you! He is getting slammed just at a time when he needs building up. If there was a way I could show Bode some support right now, I would. I think reporters and know-it-all fans and all sorts of others are trying to build themselves by criticizing the best thing ski racing has had since Picabo retired.

 

Just another portion of a quote from someone well inside the racing industry.

[Ski]

I'm a Yankee fan and I hate it how fast other Yankee fans boo longtime players too fast when they are in a slump. For anyone else who is a Yankee fan, could you imagine ever hearing boos for Bernie? Well, it had started and gone on for a while and it was just wrong after what Bernie had done for us. For Sox fans, that's the equivalent of booing Schilling or Papi.

 

But Bernie never struck out because he was drunk.

[mbike-ski]

I'm a Yankee fan and I hate it how fast other Yankee fans boo longtime players too fast when they are in a slump. For anyone else who is a Yankee fan, could you imagine ever hearing boos for Bernie? Well, it had started and gone on for a while and it was just wrong after what Bernie had done for us. For Sox fans, that's the equivalent of booing Schilling or Papi.

 

But Bernie never struck out because he was drunk.

 

I'll bet he would get some boos (not booze) if he did, then after the game said he might do it again!

[Papasteeze]

Here is some more info/rebuttals:

 

Here are some comments Bode wrote in the Denver Post ( http://www.denverpost.com/snowsports/ci_3386469 )

 

" I got a lot of attention last week for telling "60 Minutes" I sometimes race while impaired by the effects of alcohol. They made it sound like I raced when I was drunk...

 

If you wait to celebrate until after Sunday's slalom, everybody has to leave for flights back to the U.S. and half the people are gone already. So we partied on Saturday night. Then I raced the slalom the next day. That's the story...

 

Being hung over is a form of impairment, though. It's really hard to race that way.

 

I probably should not have raced that slalom at the finals, even though I won the top split of the first run, won the second run by .3 of a second and finished sixth in the race...

 

Racing downhill is different. You'd be insane to race at the speeds we achieve in downhill while impaired in any way. I never drink the night before a downhill. "

 

Huh. Not really that controversial. He's the first US man in two decades to win the World Cup, so he went out and celebrated (too much) while his family/friends were there. Bad role model? Think of other great racers. Should we all jeer Tomba for his apres ski activities?

 

Eh, I'd say Bode's "crime" is a lack of discretion when deciding what to disclose to 60 Minutes.

 

But one-on-one's with the USSA President? Ultimatums from coaches? Why would the USST start peforming in this circus?

_________________

[mbike-ski]

What did he think they were going to do with that tidbit - they're job is to sell commercial spots with "news"? He should of known that going in - he could have spun it any way he wanted ("I f'd up and kids don't try this at home") or just say F it, I ams what I ams, but don't whine about the media now. I think he'd be better off laying low with the media for awhile and let his skiing do the talking..

[Papasteeze]

What did he think they were going to do with that tidbit - they're job is to sell commercial spots with "news"? He should of known that going in - he could have spun it any way he wanted ("I f'd up and kids don't try this at home") or just say F it, I ams what I ams, but don't whine about the media now. I think he'd be better off laying low with the media for awhile and let his skiing do the talking..

 

Maybe... truly... he is a really naive honest country bumpkin.... not that there is anything wrong with that. I say give the guy a break and be positive in support, there is a huge event coming up and the USA is poised to do well. Bode is capable of doing well. I am sure that if we was given everything he asked for or removed this type of bad press that his results would be better.

 

Does anyone know exactly when that 60 minutes interview was done? Maybe... he knows he f'd up and that is why he has had lesser results since Birds of Prey. Who of us really knows? None! Be supportive to all our team players, don't degrade. closest parking should always be for paying customers

[mbike-ski]

I really do want to see him him do well. Last year and at the beginning of the season he was the greatest thing since sliced bread (or the Mahre Bros any way) and it seems like he (not the media or nike or anyone else) is turning himself into toast quickly...

[skidude]

Be supportive to all our team players, don't degrade.

 

 

is he a team player because when a group of USST members goes to a mountain to train with a mountain team, he 'doesn't feel like it' and goes off and skis by himself. Or because he wants to creat his own racing league, and not race on the USST anymore?

[skidude]

An artical in Ski Racing Mag from the USST

 

 

http://www.skiracing.com/news/news_display.php/3048/ALPINE

 

"U.S. Ski Team coaches giving Bode Miller an ultimatum

By Nathaniel Vinton

January 10, 2006

 

The head coach of the U.S. men?s ski team said Tuesday that Bode Miller could be excluded from the team if he doesn?t distance himself from comments about drinking and skiing.

 

?It?s grown to a place where it?s no longer about being opinionated and outspoken,? McNichol told The Associated Press. ?It?s about how much do I really want to be here.?

 

Alpine director Jesse Hunt was en route to Wengen on Tuesday when Ski Racing reached him by cell phone.

 

"At the end of the day, whether a skier is a star or not, they have to be prepared to live within the values of the team," said Hunt.

 

The coaches' hardline is only the latest in the strange fallout from comments Miller made in on the CBS News program "60 Minutes."

 

McNichol said Miller needs to ask if the ?values and methods and image and the methodology? of the U.S. Ski Team are something he is ?proud of and wants to be a part of.?

 

McNichol was visibly drained Tuesday when he visited reporters in the Wengen press room. ?There?s been an overwhelming response of ?Is this the poster child you want for your organization,' '' he said.

 

Asked if he thought the U.S. Ski Team was overreacting, he said the team had failed to react to a lot of things in the past, and suffered because of it.

 

?It?s important in an individual sport to have an individual approach,? said McNichol, ?[but] to be part of an organization like the United States Ski Team, there's quite a bit of obligation and understanding of this system of how it works and who does what, what needs to get done and it's not doing it on your own.?

"

[Papasteeze]

Well, with that. I still would go see a Bode Tour De Whatever..

[JohnnyP]

I'm pretty disappointed with Bode right now even though he is one of the greatest racers on the face of the earth. Just like my disappointment with Pro athletes being nailed for drugs and being in trouble with the law for playing with shotguns (albeit Bodes was a little less serious) I wouldn't want my kids to be looking up to a national star who says he competes while wasted. In recent years there have been a passel of pro athletes who have shown us that they are not worthy of being role models or icons to todays youth or a good representative of a nation and he is fast becoming one of that group. If he doesn't clean up his act and start at least playing the part, he will continue to receive bad publicity. Now I know that supposedly there is NO bad publicity, but when one has the center on the world stage already, bad PR can be....not so good. Especially in a sport that endeavors to keep a clean image and promote superior health.