OT: Dutch Speed Skating Coach Advice to US: Stop Wasting Talent "in a sport that sucks"
Coach Jillert Anema is talking about football, and he does have a point. If the US dropped football and had everyone instead focus on speed skating, I'm sure the US would be better at it than it is now. I don't think it's a stretch to think that someone like Denard Robinson, if he were a speed skater from childhood, would be quite good at that sport. .
"You have a lot of attention on a foolish sport like American football and you waste a lot of talent, athletic talent, on a sport that is meant to kill each other, to injure each other. ... You're so narrow-minded, and then you want to compete against the world [in other sports] when you waste a lot of time, good talent on a sport that sucks," he said.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101431838
OTOH, I doubt football linemen would have much success as speed skaters, and of course there's the whole thing about his claim that the most popular game in the US sucks. To each his own I suppose.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:15 PM ^
So our lesser athletes have more medals than your best athletes? Interesting.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
It helps that we have almost 20 times the population of the Netherlands.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:40 PM ^
Then you would think a sport that we love would carry more weight than the one they love.
Beauty is in the eye, etc. etc.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:38 PM ^
But there are people outside the Netherlands who speed skate, whereas very few people outside the U.S. or Canada play football.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:05 PM ^
So what? There are very few people outside Japan that watch Sumo Wrestling or outside Austrailia that watch Oz rules football or outside Ireland that watch Hurling. Who cares?
Why does everyone think that their favorite sport is the only one the whole fucking world must watch? Let countries like the sports they like without trying to shove something else down their throats.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^
Hey, I'm not a speed-skating zealot. I couldn't name any of the Dutch medalists.
I'm just saying that it is more of an international sport than football, which is why it's in the Olympics and football isn't. I'm sure the USOC wants football in the Games, but there isn't enough support elsewhere.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:22 PM ^
Yes that's true. Not every sport belongs in the Olympics. American football does not. It needs to be a sport that a good portion of the world's countries participate in.
Another poster had an insightful comment about why the Dutch coach was so anxious to wake up the sleeping giant that is the USA in long distance speedskating, which the Dutch dominate. There is a danger in being too dominant in an olympic sport that is not participated in by a large number of countries (like softball or long distance speed skating). It may get dropped. He may be thrilled with winning every single medal, but he knows long term it is a recipie for removal in a sport that is still a niche sport.
Personally, I love that there are regional sports that are unique to certain areas of the world. That's a good thing, Olympics be damned. I don't give a rat's ass if the rest of the world cares about college football or not. I don't want it diluted to appeal to other countries' tastes. It's bad enough that it gets diluted by the influence of the NFL.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:25 PM ^
I don't think the Dutch are usually this dominant. Shani Davis won gold for the U.S. in the two previous Olympics, for instance. They're pretty fanatical about the sport but usually there is stiffer competition than this.
February 22nd, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^
It must be like Mardi Gras in the Netherlands today.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:54 PM ^
Did you read my comment and immediately think that you just had to point that out? You think you're better than me?
February 21st, 2014 at 9:58 PM ^
I think he's better than you.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:05 PM ^
Thanks, I knew that I was better than him.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:09 PM ^
You think you're better than me?I don't think it. I know it.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:11 PM ^
I already said thanks.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^
I think he forgot that Eric Heiden, American Speedskater, won 5 Gold Medals in the 1980 Winter Olympics. His argument is irrelevant.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^
euro-trash talking about a sport that engrosses how many tens of millions of spectators and billions of dollars of revenue annually, versus a sport that makes golf look scintillating and has a following nearly as large as what, dwarf tossing?
February 21st, 2014 at 8:48 PM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
sukkel
February 22nd, 2014 at 12:43 AM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 8:38 PM ^
Strange comments considering their best athletes play soccer or race bikes.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:48 PM ^
Yeah, but we have Johnny Weir.
Seriously, the Dutch won all of their medals, so far, in speedskating. Specialization helps, a lot. They don't excel in any other winter sport.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:01 PM ^
He really means long-track speed-skating, which isn't even the entertaining version of speedskating. I wonder if he thinks watching people run around a track one at a time would be a great sport as well. Makes you wonder why the summer Olympics doesn't have that yet. Oh wait, no it doesn't, because that would be boring as hell to watch.
February 21st, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^
February 22nd, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
You'd(rightly in my mind) excoriate him for it. I don't understand why you are defending an arrogant prick from a nation that has exhibited that arrogance for far longer then America has?
The Murica meme needs to be complimented by an self-righteous arrogant European meme because the latter is every bit as prevalent as the former.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:14 PM ^
some of the American residents.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:28 PM ^
Funny how he complains that American football 'meant to kill' each other. The Dutch have quite the history of kickboxing.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:39 PM ^
Its kind of like if NASCAR races were actually just qualifying laps, minus the super fast car...
He's from the Netherlands though, he's probably high.
February 21st, 2014 at 9:48 PM ^
February 21st, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
Maybe he's worried about this ... http://ifaf.org/
It may be the small seed from which mighty trees can grow. Rugby is popular world wide and that took about 150 years, so if the NFL keeps in existence and players can still earn millions of dollars each year, if the rumored London team comes into existence, and if the IFAF continues on, then we might see American Football become popular in Holland.
February 21st, 2014 at 11:02 PM ^
I don't think football is likely to seriously catch on beyond North America. There is a lot of competition around the world from other tackle sports - rugby union, rugby league, Australian football and Gaelic football. Most of the developed world follows one of these sports, and people tend to be very loyal to their particular code - rugby fans generally hate football, and vice-versa.
The NFL might try to put a franchise in London, but I suspect it would not do all that well once the novelty wore off. Brits are used to making short roadtrips to seeing their teams play, and having all games go on in the same time zone. The NFL could not offer this. It also would face a lot of hostility from the established rugby leagues, which aren't as high-paying but have a long tradition and field mostly home-grown players. They'd be sure to play the xenophobia card.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^
I don't understand why everyone thinks football players would immediately be just as good at any other sport they play.
At every level it is true: Skill beats athleticism. The only exceptions are maybe the NBA and maybe a few positions on the football field.
Whatever sport you excel in, you need to be an athlete. But it takes years of training at the specific skills to be elite.
something something Michael Jordan something.
February 22nd, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
February 22nd, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^
You win the internet today.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
the Dutch.
February 21st, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^
He's the kid who brings his own video game over to your house and then talks shit when they ended up winning at it more than you do.
Like seriously man, no one cares that you're the only one still trying to make Sega Genesis happen.
February 22nd, 2014 at 12:45 AM ^
February 22nd, 2014 at 12:58 AM ^
Michael Caine said it best:
"There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch."
February 22nd, 2014 at 1:47 AM ^
You figure he'd rail against hockey. At least those sports compete for ice time.
February 22nd, 2014 at 7:35 AM ^
February 22nd, 2014 at 8:50 AM ^
Borges is gone. What the hell else do you expect us to do?
February 22nd, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
...there is something downright comical about a speed skating coach talking trash.
But beyond that, he does make a good point about America's fanatical interest in a sport that maims so many of it's participants (physically & mentally). If American leadership really cared about it's citizenry then it would make more sense for them to steer athletic participation into sports that build a healthier citizenry.
Activites like skating, biking, running, skiing, etc. are sports that can be undertaken throughout ones lifetime in order to remain active and fit. But even at the high school level a disproportionate amounts of resources are directed into football (a short term sport with a high burnout rate) and often at the expense of other healthier pursuits.
I like football. It is fun to watch. But the Dutch coach is correct in asserting that it is not a very wise use of resources.
February 22nd, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^
If America was about central planning from on high, that's what would happen. But it's not.
People like Football and Twitter and Kate Upton, wise use of resources be damned.
February 22nd, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
People have died in skating, biking, skiing, etc. All physical activity carrries with it a certain level of risk. Obviously, football carries a much higher risk than most.
I am curious as to why you didn't mention hockey. That sport too maims its participants. How could it not? It involves body slamming yourself against other participants on ice with helmets that offer less protection than a football helmet does. Why do Canadians invest so much in such a health-eroding sport?
To take it beyond sports, people drink beer, smoke cigarettes, take hard drugs, and have unprotected sex with multiple partners. All of these decrease a nation's life expectancy.Far more people die as a result of these activities than from playing football or any sport for that matter. How then can a government permit these to be legal?
The answer is that what is wisiest or logical is often times a odds with the concept known as liberty.A liberal society is one where citizernery can do what it pleases so long as it does not harm others.
February 22nd, 2014 at 5:00 PM ^
Yeah, getting steered by leadership into "approved" sports is an idea that just creeps the hell out of me. Participating in a sport and watching it for pleasure are two very different things. I live riding my bike, but I'm not all that into watching a bike race.
February 27th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
...because that wasn't what the Dutch coach was talking about but it's similar to football in this regard.
And perhaps my use of "leadership" wasn't the best choice of words. Government and leadership is largely a reflection of the will of the people. But it's hardly any better to think that American people collectively choose to celebrate running their young men into each other until their knees blow out. Not very wise. But if America chooses to bludgeon itself into oblivion then so be it.
February 22nd, 2014 at 11:02 AM ^
He actually makes a really good point (whether or not he's trying to)
News flash: not every person is made for football/basketball/baseball, but that's what we push our kids toward. I don't have a fast twitch fiber in my body and sucked at football. I am, however, above average with endurance sports (particularly cycling). I often wonder how many tremendous endurance athletes we never discover because they flame out of pee-wee football and don't pursue other sports.
TL;DR- we probably miss out on a lot of endurance talent because we're too focused on big money sports.