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| Olympic Marathon (Read 1149 times) |
| view log mmm... monkey brains |
posted: 4/14/2008 at 2:14 PM |
| Quote from adeel on 4/14/2008 at 2:12 PM: ...or in being unsure of how anyone could possibly beat Alan Webb.
Alan Webb has lost a race in his lifetime?  |
Drew
Road to the Monkey
Just run, baby.
Your hide will make a fine poncho. |
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Mr R |
posted: 4/14/2008 at 4:26 PM |
| Quote from adeel on 4/14/2008 at 2:12 PM: You're right that people should be proud of their country, but not to the point of ignoring the rest of the world. Americans suffer from an unfortunate myopia, which manifests itself in being unsure of where the Iraq and the Asian countries are on a globe or in being unsure of how anyone could possibly beat Alan Webb. Canadians have a problem with not being proud enough of our athletes and their accomplishments.
It's not spot on; it's a ridiculous generalization. Since it's impossible to argue about the collective character of a nation of 300 million, I'll focus on responding to the question of American attitudes towards our distance runners. Since the 90s, the American attitude has been one of universal pessimism. It's ironic that you selected Webb as your example, since he is the American runner who has been subject to the most derision by Americans, ever since his days at Michigan.
It's not myopic to say that Webb was the best miler in the world last year. He was. He had the fastest mile and 1500 times. He also won the most competitive 1500 of the season. He set records. He beat Lagat twice.
It's was also not myopic to say that Hall will run a 2:06, that he was the best 2:08 marathoner in the world, and that he's in a different league than Kibet. The events of yesterday showed that it was an accurate assessment. |
| What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that? -John Parker |
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| view log Ball Tongue |
posted: 4/14/2008 at 5:29 PM |
| Quote from Mr R on 4/14/2008 at 4:26 PM: It's not spot on; it's a ridiculous generalization. Since it's impossible to argue about the collective character of a nation of 300 million, I'll focus on responding to the question of American attitudes towards our distance runners.
I should have been more careful. I was affirming the statement about America being myopic with regards to Iraq and Asian countries, and didn't mean to comment about American attitude towards distance running in general.
We can all discuss the later after Beijing. |
| The Gaijin Samurai. a.k.a The attorney dissin' attorney.
Read and Listen
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posted: 4/14/2008 at 7:14 PM
modified: 4/14/2008 at 9:35 PM |
| I removed my post. This was definitely a go-nowhere discussion. |
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posted: 4/14/2008 at 8:44 PM |
| No one could fathom that Webb would lose? I kind of remember at least as many Webb haters as Webb sycophants on Letsrun last Summer. Not to mention the perils of using an anonymous internet message board as the barometer of a nation's overall knowledge of anything. |
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| view log mmm... monkey brains |
posted: 4/14/2008 at 8:59 PM |
At the risk of being a party pooper, I'm willing to suggest that we all put down the OGR (Over Generalization Ray) and play nice.
It's getting a little ridiculous in here. |
Drew
Road to the Monkey
Just run, baby.
Your hide will make a fine poncho. |
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posted: 4/14/2008 at 9:56 PM |
| Just like an Ohioan to poop on a party. |
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| view log mmm... monkey brains |
posted: 4/15/2008 at 12:45 PM |
| Quote from mikeymike on 4/14/2008 at 9:56 PM: Just like an Ohioan to poop on a party.
We've been doing it to the BCS National Championship game the past two years. Why not keep a good thing going? |
Drew
Road to the Monkey
Just run, baby.
Your hide will make a fine poncho. |
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