From: John Tserkezis 
Reply-To: Fidonet AVtech Echo 

Brenton wrote:
> Hi Folks,
> 
> Let me preface this message by saying that I have absolutely no interest in
> sports, so whatever the outcome, I'm not really bothered one way or the other.

  

  This is my take on it:

  As far as I'm aware, there are only n number of places for a given country 
for sportspersons go to the olymics.

  That other bloke was plenty good enough to go, but, owing to the probability 
that Thorpe is better, the team managers had every intention of having one of 
those spots occupied by Thorpe.

  Generally speaking, if you fuck up on one of the trials, providing you're 
still otherwise eligible to make it to the olympics, they don't send you, 
because, well, you fucked up.  And if you fucked up once, you can fuck up 
again.  And there's no chance the team managers are going to send a fuckup to 
the olymics, when they have a eligible champion Thorpe on their hands.

  While technically, he *could* have told them all to fuck off and just gone on 
his merry way to the olympics, he didn't, he gave up his spot to Thorpie.  But 
I don't think for a second the media had anything to do with it.

  Keep in mind, these's guys swim for a living.  That's all they do. 
Technically speaking, they're not professionals, because that's apparently not 
permitted in the olympics, but every country is happy enough to pay them a 
"living", so all they do is swim, that's their life, that's ALL
they do all day 
every day.  But it's not a job, so they're eligible for the olympics.
  My point for bringing this up is that the media is only a tiny part of what 
they're involved in.  The team managers tell them what happens, not the media, 
the team has a vested financial interest in sending the right person in for the 
job, not the media.

  However, if this other guy was YOU, and YOU had your very own spot on the 
team to go to the olymics, would you give it up?  Hell no, you'd have to be a 
stupid lunatic- you are after all good enough for the team, you're good enough 
to compete.

  *I* think, they "sweetened" his stay home deal with a bit of
money rather 
than fame, and that, coupled with the "exclusive" TV interview
deals (which pay 
more), his arm would have been twisted enough for him to stay home.

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