Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM
Shawn White ... (virtually unknown prior to the 2006 Olympics)
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Haha... WHAT!?
Virtually unknown to whom? Unknown to the general media? Or maybe unknown to the casual olympic fans who actually know very little about the sports they rip into the athletes for?
Shaun White was far from an unknown prior to '06. He was the heavy favourite in Torino and delivered. He probably would have been at Salt Lake but was too young to compete and won his first X-Games medal that same year at the age of 15. He's been a member of Burton's factory team since the age of 10 or 11 while being "home schooled" by the team when he took time off school. His pro models began as kids models when he was too little to ride real boards. Apart from some hockey players Shaun White is the biggest name at this olympics and the same held true for the 2006 olympics at which time he was far from an unknown...
Anyways, maybe it's just me, but I get a little tired of hearing people criticize athletes that compete in sports that the critic really know nothing about. To say an athlete simply "mailed it in" is really unfair. I know there have been a few upsets but I would guess that there have been just as many for other countries at this point. There are a lot of Olympic athletes that really don't stand a chance at a medal and for them to be content with simply making it to the olympics, which is a huge accomplishment in itself, is fair in my opinion.