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Poor Paul Hamm. Poor poor Paul Hamm. Seems like every win he has is a bit bittersweet. The scoring of the gymnastics the whole night seemed a bit off, which was made painfully obvious by the ultra-low score of Alexi Nemov's high bar routine. Who, on a sidenote, is looking better than ever. I mean, he looked great before, but now, wow, he looks great.
Um, where was I?
Oh yeah. So everyone in the place is booing, and poor Paul has to stand there and wait for everyone to quiet down. He was all ready to get up there and win a medal, but the noise just wouldn't stop. Nemov sat on the side with a smirk on his face, every once in a while getting up and waving to the crowd and clapping. Though after a while he started to look embarrassed, too.
But it must be nice to know that you're so loved by the fans that they would do that for you. I mean, his routine looked REALLY good. I have no idea if there were any deductions, but I think it looked great. And doesn't he get bonus points for still looking ultra hot after all these years?
And so they changed his score. It still didn't bring him any higher in the ranks. But the crowd just wouldn't stop. Poor Paul was standing there waiting for people to quiet down, almost looking like he was going to cry, looking at his trainer like, 'Dude, what do I do? I think I need a hug!'
Finally, they look to Nemov, who jumps to the stage, bows to the crowd and does the universal 'Quiet Down!' gesture (didn't know it was universal until today - but since he's Russian, and he did it, and everyone shut up, it's universal, right? :-P ) And like the sheep that they are, following the shepard of gymnastics.
Not that I'm complaining. I'd jump around, pat my head and rub my belly if he told me to.
But Nemov was really a class act, though. He knew he got screwed. But he didn't cry, didn't scream, didn't throw a hissy fit. He just quietly enjoyed the crowd's support of him, and later, thanked them when it was time for someone else was up.
Then Paul Hamm got a super high score after blocking everything out (once again) and you know he's thinking in his head, 'Please, please someone else beat me! I don't want to win anymore!' How sad that he feels that the world is against him - he did nothing but try his best, it's not his fault that people can't count. And luckily, someone got the same score has Hamm, but a higher rating, which gave the gold to someone else.
And Waukesha breathes in relief.
:-P
Posted by Yano at August 24, 2004 02:59 AMyea... i saw that last night. sucks... kinda takes the fun outta the olympics for the athletes. and yes, Alexi is looking VERY good. hehehe...
Posted by: bumblebootie on August 24, 2004 05:12 AMI can't believe how good "Sexy Alexi" looked... and he's such a class act too - I'm in love. Too bad I jumped on that bandwagon too late and I have to get in line :).
Yahoo had a news story about how the crowd was booing Hamm and they wouldn't stop. My friend was watching just to see that and she was pissed/misled because the crowd was so obviously booing the score not Hamm. Yahoo News just needed a story I guess...
Posted by: Lucy on August 24, 2004 12:19 PMI understand why the crowd was booing and hissing, but when it was time for Paul to do his routine, they should have quieted down right away, I think. It seemed extremely disrespectful, very unsportsman-like...or I guess I should say, very un-Olympic-fan-like. (Does that make sense?)
"Poor Paul was standing there waiting for people to quiet down, almost looking like he was going to cry, looking at his trainer like, 'Dude, what do I do? I think I need a hug!'"
Oooh, I wanted to give him a hug then, seriously! People can be so mean...
Posted by: Joanna on August 24, 2004 03:02 PMI agree Joanna. Never ceases to amaze me how people can be so cruel, knowing how much they themselves feel when on the receiving end. And this for someone who has worked and sacrificed years of his life!
Posted by: SusanG on August 24, 2004 03:19 PMI agree. My heart has been breaking for him. As sad as Yang's situation is I honestly think Paul Hamm's is harder. The people should have taken responsibility left him to deal with all the questions and accusations alone.
And Paul Hamm's only 'crime' is being a less than media-savvy 21 year old. He should never have been put in this position!
Posted by: noelle on August 24, 2004 04:39 PM"He should never have been put in this position!"
No he shouldn't have. That Federation president who said it would be easier for him if Paul gave up his medal was a coward. Yes, it would be easier if Paul gave up the medal, but the question still remains, Should he? I think that's the chicken poop federation's job to figure out at this point.
"And doesn't he get bonus points for still looking ultra hot after all these years?"
I gave him bonus points, but the judges wouldn't count them. I protested but they wouldn't take my protest.
Sorry, Alexei. I tried.
Posted by: Trisha on August 24, 2004 06:15 PM
