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Not Bad for the First Olympic Week

8/3/2012

15 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Above: Time lauds Douglas. Left: my wife's cousin in 1988: "To Herb, I'm glad this cover held up all of these years so I could sign it! Love, Debi Thomas."
Count me among those who consider the first week of the Summer Olympics as preliminaries to the main events that happen the second week. Don't get me wrong: I admire the talent, skill and dedication of the amazing athletes vying to be the world's best in gymnastics, archery, horseback riding, diving, badmitten, etc. But I eagerly await the track-and-field events – particularly the sprints – and the medal round games for men's and women's basketball.

So I wasn't paying attention to gymnast Gabby Douglas before yesterday. My wife, Mira, was beaming through the telephone each night from Atlanta about her performances. Still, I declined to watch NBC's tape-delay coverage. I did take note, though, when someone posted the other day on Facebook a digital image of Time magazine's cover featuring Douglas. I quickly shared it with others, then glanced at my autographed copy of Time's cover of figure skater Debi Thomas, who earned a bronze medal in the 1988 Winter Olympics. She's also Mira's first cousin!

Of course, when word spread across social media that Douglas had won the gold medal for the all-around competition, I knew what that meant: my night would be lost to watching tape-delay coverage. And I would be happy to do so. Any achievement by an African-American teenager on the world stage – especially a sporting event, even if gymnastics – is something I want to support. (OK, even if later rather than sooner.) I enjoyed learning about her family's bond and sacrifices and witnessing her humility and the collective joy amid Black America. As for the nonsensical matter of the athlete's hair, I'll defer to Monique Fields and her well-stated commentary on NPR.

I imagine many reporters across the country were assigned today to interview black girls about how and why Douglas inspired them, just as gymnast Dominique Dawes inspired Douglas and Thomas inspired her share. Indeed, I fondly remember telling my editors at The Press of Atlantic City, the day after the figure skater had won her medal, that should do just that story. It ran on the newspaper's front page the next morning. I'll post that story on this site later, just as soon as I find the scrapbook of press clippings packed away in storage.
15 Comments
Michael LoCicero
8/29/2012 01:27:06 pm

It's really unfortunate that such a stink was made about Gabby's hair, because it should never supersede her accomplishments in London. When I think about these Games 20 years from now, the women's gymnastics team, particularly Douglas, will certainly be in my top 5 memories.

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Ashley De La Torre
8/29/2012 02:18:06 pm

I really enjoyed this post. I love how you admit you didn't really pay attention to Gabby at first, because it happens all the time in sports when someone gets hot, and then everyone claims they always followed them.

The hair thing is very interesting, and Dominique Dawes had THE BEST response to that I saw/heard.

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Patrick Leary
8/29/2012 02:23:43 pm

I enjoyed watching gymnastics for the in my life this year because of how great the women's team was. Gabby, Mckayla Maroney, and Aly Raisman were all compelling competitors.

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Christopher Chavez
8/29/2012 03:01:28 pm

The last sentence of the first paragraph makes me so happy to hear that you appreciate track-and-field. Now all we have to work on is having you watch a little more than every four years.

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Jacob Born
8/29/2012 03:33:49 pm

Gymnastics were surprisingly entertaining to watch this year. The Men's Bars was really fun to watch with my friends, and when I was on vacation, my family and I watched Women's Vault. But I absolutely hated the tape delay. It didn't affect the viewers when the games were at Beijing because it was a 13 hours time difference, and social media was nowhere near as important as it is now. But with the major use of social media, tape delay can no longer exist.

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Ben Greene
8/30/2012 12:40:36 am

I have to agree with just about everything Jacob said. I always love the Olympics, but this year I got really into them. Unfortunately, since I was working in a newsroom this summer, it was really hard for me not to spoil the results for myself before I got to watch the games on tape delay in the evening.

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Ryan Ellerbusch
8/30/2012 02:55:46 am

While Gabby's accomplishments were impressive, I definitely agree with your point that "many reporters across the country were assigned today to interview black girls about how and why Douglas inspired them." For me, Olympcis are more about the stories and people whom they inspire more than the individual medals that the athletes may receive. The Olympics brings together a country and unites us through sports over a 17-day span.

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Courtney Johnson
8/30/2012 07:18:07 am

Post the Olympics I was happy that Gabby won a Gold metal, but I was disappointed by the negative feedback she was receiving on social networks about her hair.

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Stephanie Graham
9/2/2012 05:02:02 am

It was a joy to watch the women's gymnastics team this summer, even when I already knew the results (the woes of having a Breaking News app). Douglas was especially stunning, and I thought it was a shame that so many were distracted from her accomplishments just because she didn't look a certain way. Monique Fields' commentary on the controversy is so spot-on--thank you for linking it.

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Courtney Perry
9/2/2012 06:52:39 am

I was lured into watching the Olympics just like everyone else and I was pretty much hooked after the first couple of days. The entire women's gymnastics team did such an amazing job. As happy as I was for Gabby and her wins, I was disappointed by the feedback over her hair, it wasn't necessary. It was all entertaining but, I was also really anxious to watch the Track and Field events too.

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Matt Barbato
9/3/2012 12:07:43 pm

I didn't really pay much attention to the Olympics this summer. I know how unpatriotic that sounded but I really did not have much interest in any of the sports outside of basketball and swimming. Plus, when it was eight in the morning at my house it was three in the afternoon in London. The biggest problem with the Olympics is that the results of, for example, a 100 meter swimming race is pretty much spoiled before it is televised. I usually know who won and who lost hours before it is scheduled to televise. But back to Gabby Douglas I was really impressed by her humility and politeness. She is so young, yet very well-mannered.

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Caitlin Miller
9/4/2012 05:00:51 am

I found myself paying a lot of attention to the Olympics this year. It was a joy to watch Michael Phelps become the greatest Olympian ever and Gabby Douglas win the all-around gold medal. However, the tape-delayed coverage became a nuisance. There were many times when I would be on Facebook or Twitter and accidentally read a spoiler to an event. After that my interest in actually watching the event decreased.

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David Tukesbrey
9/4/2012 11:31:44 am

I'm not a huge Olympics fan, I never have been, nor will I ever be. With that being said, Gabby's moves on the floor and the beam this summer made me a believer.

It's a really annoying thing nowadays with Twitter and social media that everybody already knows the result of the event before it happens (with everything being on a tape delay - in America anyway). I feel it takes away some of the Olympic excitement in which families would gather around the tube and cheer for the USA. That doesn't happen anymore because of social media and results have already been spread across the globe faster than the speed of light. It's something that doesn't sit well with me, but that's the world we live in now.

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Casby Bias
9/4/2012 11:25:58 pm

It was great that Douglas won, but what upset me was the debate about her hair. Really, though? She just won an event, people. If she didn’t win, would you guys still have commented on her hair? People are always trying to mess with others who get a little something-something.

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Alexandra Whittaker
9/5/2012 02:18:11 am

I think the hair debate is absolutely ridiculous, but I think the backlash against it has been refreshing. I'm definitely more of a Winter Olympics person, however, I really enjoyed watching the gymnastics events this year. It was exciting to have such an amazing representation of the United States, and I am proud that Gabby Douglas is on our team, because she was phenomenal.

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    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

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