Thursday, September 11, 2008

To Roxic2:

To tell you the truth, i really didn't care who won that night. I believe that if Shawn would've gotten fair scores on beam and bars, it might have been a closer contest. but, honestly i think that nastia deserved it too. She proved everyone wrong and came back to beat the 2007 World Champion. But to tell you the truth, i think it's unfair that on that one night, nastia was just a little bit "better" since shawn has been beating her all this time. And for that matter, where's shawns award for crzy consistenency? she NEVER falls. EVER. and i think she should be rewarded for that. that's a big thing in gymnastics but the media doesn't pay attention to that because, well, they don't know too much about gymnastics do they? they just see the gold medal around nastia's neck and she's an instant hero. while shawn is pushed to the side regretting that stupid step on her amanar. I'm not saying that nastia shouldn't be regarded as a hero either, she should. It's just that the media is regarding her as a hero for reasons that aren't neccesarily reasons to be called a hero. Just because you win a gold medal, doesn't mean you should be automatically a hero. Nastia should be a hero because she was down, badly. She made a huge embarrsassment at the 2007 US Championship. That gave the media time to put her down, count her out, and time for her to prove everyone wrong later. She's worked through the good and the bad, and still came out on top. She is a hero. But the ordinary person at home doesn't know all that... if only they knew...

6 comments:

Taylor Paige said...

Its not just the gold medal around her neck they see, its the fact that she walked away with the MOST medals out of all the gymnasts and the second most out of all the american athletes! She has been put up as one of the greatest bodies on earth, she is part of a breast cancer program with Saving Jane, she does all kinds of things that makes her popular. Personally I can't stand Shawn Johnson. Yes her gymnastics is amazing but at the same time boring. Nastia's execution is what sets her apart and even with a stuck amanar Shawn wouldn't have won. Yes she is consistent but gymnastics is about who hits that night and Nastia just happened to be on her game. But hey, Shawn walked away the Olympic Champion on beam! She was on an episode of the Secret Life of the American Teenager, she has appeared on talk shows. She has fame and isn't going away:) And did you see the car she got for her 16 birthday?!?! WOW!

p.s. I love your blog:)

Bleh said...

GIIIIRRRRRRRLLLL, whatchu talkin about? Shawn's bars and beam scores WERE fair, but she got a huge gift on vault (her Amanar really wasn't complete and I'm shocked they gave it to her)

I'm glad the US went 1-2, though I would have loved Semyonova to have gotten the AA bronze

Rawles said...

The truth of gymnastics, especially under New Life, is that the person who wins is whoever is best on the night. And, frankly, there have been situations where that stung a lot worse than the Beijing Olympic AA.

I think that sucks most when people make mistakes and then lose to those who couldn't touch them without those mistakes; when they give their titles away. Is it actually UNFAIR? Maybe not. But it's unfortunate.

But the Beijing AA had the top contenders hitting more or less to the best of their ability. It's hard to go OH THE HUMANITY of Shawn losing to Nastia this time since it's not like Shawn fell all over the place and Nastia was just the last woman standing. Shawn has never actually beaten Nastia when Nastia went four for four.

She got outperformed, plain and simple. Which sucks for her, especially since her overscoring in the US might have led her to inaccurately believe that it couldn't happen, particularly not at Nastia's hands. But it's far from an injustice. And the writing was on the wall when Nastia was only .3 behind her in prelims with a fall.

The Couch Gymnast said...

Yeah, the media make it hard for people to see what gymnastics is really like. Those of us who love it, and really, really know it, understand that on that night it could have been Nastia OR Shawn winning that gold, and, I hate to quote the daft NBC commentating trio, but IT IS about who is best on the night. That night, it was Nastia. But Shawn is an incredible gymnast too. They should both be considered heroes.....

Meredith said...

I wish people would recognize that Nastia deserved the AA gold more than Shawn, because Nastia had, indeed come back from so much, therefore working 30 times more than what Shawn had to work. I'm not putting down Shawn by any means, nor am I saying she hasn't dedicated herself or worked harder than most people work in their life, I'm saying that she hasn't worked nearly as hard as Nastia has had to work, due to the injuries, people disregarding her, etcetera, etcetera. Nobody ever doubted Shawn. I didn't, for sure. Shawn's never had to work through a bad injury, like most of the girls on the Olympic team.

Just my opinion, I'm not trying to start a fight, don't worry.

Kathryn in NZ said...

I wish there was a special award for consistency over multiple comps too, cos Shawn is so the best for that and really really deserves something for that alone! It got to the point with those two that I desparately wanted them both to get gold in the AA (I know I know, they tie break things now so it was an impossibility).