Your thoughts on Bode, now that the games are over - Page 4

WQUOTE=huckingfellers]Who the hell cares if you agree. I am sure he don't so save your breath. You see tht is the great thing about America being a free country. He is entitled to his opinion and you are entitled to yours. So respect that![/quote]Who died and left you in charge????

I guarantee no one asked for your opinion on what I post! Do me a big favor, if you don't like what I have to say, don f----ing read it!

John & I have been discussing this for quite a few posts now. I told him long agohe was entitled to his opinion. but I ma entitled to mine.

Huck this: You are way out of line, loudmouth! Mind your own business unless you have somehing constructive to say!

What are you the post police?

I don't really think John needs you to speak for him. he is a big boy, punk!

huck - I respect you for who you are and what you have done to further my mantra of "welcome to America, where you do not have the right to not be offended", but yes, I can defend myself in a war of words on the internet (thanks for the help, though, and don't hesitate to back other people you agree with , afterall, Atomic didn't bust Rick for backing him, did he? ).

Rick amd Atomic - I think you are confusing dedicated atheletes with professional atheletes. If you don't think Professional football players exist solely for our entertainment value, then we'll have to agree to disagree. Just look at the USFL. A flop, for sure. What was the point of it??? To try to bring in money and create more professional football players solely for the viewing audienceand to make money for sponsors. Where are those players now? High school coaches? Flipping burgers at McDs? Did they continue the league without corporate sponsorship and tv deals?

And those speed skaters and XC skiers? In other countries, the professionals are entertainers. People pay good money to sit in the bleachers (same as watching the Rolling Stones) and these guys get paid. They are professional competitors. Professional wrestling, same thing.

Other atheletes, maybe such as bobsled (sleigh: ) drivers and pushers, who compete for the fun and glory, are amature atheletes, same goes for NASTAR and Master's racers. Noone is paying them to show up and race (usually the opposite - it costs a lot of money to race)

so you made your point, I made mine, we each had a backer. Call it a draw and we're done (as if we could stop beating a dead horse on an internet forum)

Who died and left you in chage????

I guarantee no one asked for your opinion on what I post! Do me a big favor, if you don't like what I have to say, don f----ing read it!

John & I have been discussing this for quite a few posts now. I told him long agohe was entitled to his opinion. but I ma entitled to mine.

Huck this: You are way out of line, loudmouth! Mind your own business unless you have somehing constructive to say!

What are you the post police?

I don't really think John needs you to speak for him. he is a big boy, punk![/quote]

LOL, hahahahahaha FISH on BOYS we got a big one.
Punk, now that is funny. Loudmouth , you bet your ass! I figured I would go trolling since I am so sick of the Bode shit. Man were you an easy target. Punk, hahaha.
Hows about you give me a blowme samich little boy Short fuse on you eh. LOl man you are easy, gonna have to pick on you more!

John. fair enough!

You're both right. Sports existed long before people started getting paid to do them.

LOL, hahahahahaha FISH on BOYS we got a big one.
Punk, now that is funny. Loudmouth , you bet your ass! I figured I would go trolling since I am so sick of the Bode shit. Man were you an easy target. Punk, hahaha.
Hows about you give me a blowme samich little boy Short fuse on you eh. LOl man you are easy, gonna have to pick on you more![/quote]

Entertainment? Ha Ha! got ya!

Entertainment? Ha Ha! got ya![/quote]

That is my post! Good job on capitolizeing on my mistake.

hahahaha I am proud of ya. But I still want my blowmesamich:lol

dumb poll.

dumb to be discussing Bode as if EpicSki people's discussing Bode means ANYTHING in the world's scheme.

dumb to live vicariously through Bode.

dumb to expect Bode to do anything except what Bode wants.

it's Bode's life, you hypocritical judgmental jerks. he owes YOU nothing. he owes ski racing nothing.

and he's definitely not immature, no matter what the moralists allege. they're just threatened by his refusal to be someone else's man. in some people's eyes, being a servant to another, or a principle, is the best of life. obviously, people can disagree on whether being someone else's man is a good value.

Welcome back.

thankee suh. how's your ski season?

A little overblown...
Geez- you guys are friggin' vultures. My point- fast skiing comes from talent, first, and training, second- which is paid for NOW by the USST. Skiing ALONE, without support, goes nowhere. Maybe beer gets paid for after the Tuesday night races...

Bode is a great skier- we saw that last year. He at least looked motivated then. I'm not claiming to understand what is going on in his head. But, I mean c'mon- filming nike commercials about how great it would be for sport to see him come home empty handed? Did he film that before or after? I don't know, actually. So, flame away- I'm sure you are ready.

JohnH,

I can certainly understand where your logic comes from. But the fact that you are entertained by certain sports doesn't mean that those who participate in those sports are entertainers. Far from it. I was a two sport prefessional athlete, and never, EVER did I think of myself as an entertainer. I would like to hear from other professional athletes on this topic. I can only think of a select few who thought they were entertainers, and those were individuals who would not have the term "greatness" thrust in their direction.

Diana Nyad swimming from Bimini to Florida may have been entertaining to you (all 24 hours of it, or however long it took to swim 100 miles), but I'm sure when she undertook this mission, her thought wasn't, "Hey, I want to entertain some people." And yes, she's a professional athlete.

Many of the guys that climb Mt. Everest get paid to do so, so I guess you can consider them professional athletes. I'm sure their thoughts when they are up there is not how entertaining they are.

Greyhound racing is entertaining for many. Greyhounds are not entertainers. They are fast dogs chasing a mechanical rabbit.

Secretariat wasn't an entertainer, even though you might be entertained by horse racing.

I am constantly entertained by my two dogs playing with each other. That doesn't make them entertainers.

But like I said, let's hear from some other professional athletes. I can tell you that none that I know of consider themselves entertainers.

How about we compromise: Athletes are athletes, and you are someone who is easily entertained.

Dumb for thinking that a FORUM isn't for discussing whatever the hell we wish.

whatever you think you've exposed, or contradicted, or shown me... give up. you offer nothing I haven't thought already.

They were rhetorical questions, asked to illustrate how ridiculous the nationalism espoused really is. There's no double speak involved. The fact that you compare it to Clinton's word games demonstrates your inability to make logical comparisons, while showing how you like to lump together things you find unfavorable. Impressive.:

Actually you jumped my case and then I responded, dickhead, so go crawl back into your foreskin.....oh BTW that was sarcasm (by your definition), get it?

I'm done now.

Then why are you shouting?
I never ski raced but i played rugby for my university (and we were lucky we didn't have to buy our own uniforms), ran XC in high school and played water polo at age 8 to 14. So i think i know quite a bit on what motivated me or my team mates! But i have a friend that is currently working less hours for less pay so he can study acting! And if you'll ask Tom Cruise he'll say he is an artist not a "mere" entertainer. The Rolling Stones wold say they would play even if only allowed to do so in their own garage and Bob Dylan thinks he's there because he has a message! This does not change the fact that the money they receive comes from people paying to be entertained.
How many hours of hard work and dedication takes to make a great pianist? Is it easier than to make a great ski racer?
About what is entertaining - i'd rather wach people puke than a Britney concert, but that's just me.
Many pro athletes receive direct pay to show up just like movie stars (all ball players, last time i checked had such contracts), so this is not the difference.
The fact that many pro athletes do not view themselves as entertainers does not change the fact that they are paid to entertain!
Why are golfers, basketball players etc receiving more money than XC racers or skeleton racers? Because their sport is more entertaining (err, interesting?) to more people, and not because they are more motivated, work harder or any other reason.
Why is Ana Cournikova stiil getting money form ads? Why is John Mcenroe more popular and making more money than Pit Sampras? Why is FIFA (the soccer governing body) considerind rule changes to make the pace faster with more goals? Why is Mancester United (british soccer club) traded on the stock exchange?
The money comes from people willing to pay to be entertained! Without their money you have a more competitive beer league but no WC and TV coverage.

I guess that my point is to go out train and compete hard. This is what matters. The intristic satisfaction. What Bode does should interest us from a technical skiing point. The rest will be soon forgotten
And couches should thank him for giving a live example to what happens when you have the talent but not the right state of mind. A good example to show that attitude is just as important as aptitude.

Forgive me if this was already discussed, but once the name calling started I jumped to the end.

I for one have no problem with where he finished. It is hard to win, especially at this level. What disturbed me was the attitude. This was not just about Bode Miller. A lot of people invested a lot of time and money to help him get where he is/was. Whether he wants to face up to it or not, he did have an obligation to Team USA. They payed a lot of money and provided everything he needed. It was his responsibility to take it seriously. Bode is a business. He made that decision himself when he sought sponsorship.

There are times to party and times to prepare. If your kid bombed his final exams because having a good time was more important, would you be as sympathetic? You party AFTER the race/exam. Is it to much to expect our atheletes to behave as adults?

Watching this I see a depressed guy who may be burned out, but rather than quit, he will force someone to fire him. Very self destructive in my opinion.

well it's nice to see that Square Boy Daron looks down on Bode. his comments make me dislike him where before, I had no opinion. well done Daron. way to be a condescending, judgmental prick.

HAHAHAHAHA Yeah, that a boy. Now that was funny, seriously, I am laughing myhead off Volantaddict! I particulary enjoyed the foreskin part, hehehehe Proud of ya! LOL Man, that was very good.

Get your belly button binoculars off!

Rahlves comments were in response to Bode's brillant (rolleyes) comments about Rahlves.

Additionally, Rahlves comments were not negative, just the truth. He said he'd rather hangout with his wife then party and chase women and that Bode likes chasing women and partying and that is his normal mode of operation.


A little sensitive about your poor little spoiled whiner, Bode?

Your screenname fits you! You are a grumpy bastard.

Don't you realize that UC is the man (in his own world).
What he says goes and that is final. Very entertaining "boy" he is.

For the record, does anybody know how much the USST actually spends on Bode? Furthermore, how much of that is from donations/memberships and how much is from the official credit card, lip balm, truck, car, bike, moped, shoe, soda, beer, underwear, burger, investment agency, etc of the USST (all of these companies just happen to benefit directly from slapping their banners on Bode btw)?

I suspect most of his salary is from (1) winning races and (2) sponsors. I fail to see why he would consume significantly more of the US Ski Team's resources (even press conferences are often run by his sponsors) than any other racer since he travels in his own RV and trains at home during the off season.

In fact, last year Bode harshly criticized the disparity in pay between the top racers on the world cup and the other guys who dedicate their lives to the cup, finish in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and have next to nothing to show for it besides what their sponsors provide. I assume he means the cash prizes for races but I'm not sure if FIS or the event hosts coordinate that.

edit: added the quote i forgot

Rhalves calls it like he sees it !

The Bodester is the architect of his own demise

oops, Sorry, I forgot!

Yesterday's news. Nothing to see here, move along folks.

Welcome back UC. Was it hard time?

grow up Aman. we all know you think Bode sucks arse. it's patent. you've said it about a thousand times since the olys began.

usually I like your posts, but on this subject you're being a condescending blowhard who wants to control others. that, my friend, is acting like a royal suppurating infected penis.

if the condom fits, wear it.

thanks Lucky. you know how it is when the moralists play their High Hat card. never fun, always more disappointing than angering.

More the latter, I think. The prize money is relatively modest. Bode's entire take (the biggest) from the World Cup last year was about $340,000 (probably a little more, since I've converted from Swiss Francs to Dollars at today's rates, and he presumably did it last year). And it drops off fairly quickly. Rahlves is 5th on the list with about $136,000. Sarah Schleper (15th among the women) raked in about $53,000 in prize money.

The prize money only goes to the top 10, and 10th is usually worth about $800, so lots of racers get very nearly nothing in prize money.