Makes you hate American media. They need a face for the Olympics, they decided it was Shiffrin, just like they decided it was Bode Miller back in 2006 in Torino. And not delivering, despite being the overall best in the world, Bode was forever branded a loser, when in truth the Olympics are just one set of races, subject to the vagaries of the system, and the fact that Bode went on to win three medals in Vancouver, one of each color, was not good enough, the focus was now on Lindsey Vonn.
Vonn won gold in the downhill, and a bronze in the Super-G, so she became America's sweetheart. Julia Mancuso's two silvers in Vancouver, to go with her gold in Torino and bronze in Sochi...Julia WHO?
If you're a student of the game you know that Shiffrin has not been as dominant since her father died. But life intervenes. You also know that Annemarie Proser-Pröll, probably the best women's ski racer ever, not that anybody recalls, never mind remembers history, took a year off to take care of her sick father, otherwise...we wouldn't be talking about Lindsey Vonn challenging Ingemar Stenmark's record of 82 victories. Moser-Pröll won 62 times in 11 seasons. She won the gold in the downhill at the Lake Placid Olympics. Whereas Vonn won 82 times in 19 years, and there were two more events, the super-G and combined. Unlike Vonn, Moser-Pröll could win in all three events of the time, instead of today's five. But at first Moser-Pröll was not photogenic, she was significantly overweight. She ultimately slimmed down considerably and still won, but most Americans have never heard of her. The machine needs a new face, and they got it with Vonn, and they expected it with Shiffrin.
Shiffrin was a machine. She finished seemingly every race and won in slalom again and again. Once again, if you watch ski racing, you know this is essentially unheard of. Hermann Maier wasn't as good. Marcel Hirscher was the closest thing to Shiffrin, but he didn't ski downhill, with its higher odds of injury.
Now you can't completely count Shiffrin out in super-G and downhill, but the odds are very long, especially in the latter. As a matter of fact, Shiffrin skipped the speed events recently to concentrate on the so-called technical events, slalom and giant slalom, in preparation for the Olympics. After she recovered from Covid. She had to deliver for America, she was the great blonde, white hope!
But along the way, a new contender came along. She's just as good as Shiffrin in the slalom, AND NO ONE HAS EVER COME CLOSE! Petra Vlhova has already won five times in slalom this season, Shiffrin only twice. Psychologically, this is very difficult for Shiffrin, who always knew she was better, she could hold back on the first run and cruise to victory in the second, knowing she had just a little bit more in the tank than anybody else. But now she's got to go all out, all the time, which increases the odds of mistakes, like today.
Let's see... Today. A steep, icy course. Vlhova herself bungled. Shiffrin got past the first problem area, where others had fallen and bungled, but further down...she went over.
I'm sure Shiffrin's mind was now in front of her skis. She'd gotten through the hard part, she was on her way. But she lost her edge, her skis slipped out from under her.
Now if you watched it on TV, you were stunned at the angle she was at to begin with. Everyday skiers don't even come close.
But there's no joy in Mudville tonight, the mighty Shiffrin has gone down.
And if it were the normal season, Shiffrin would shrug and move on. Everybody makes mistakes. Never mind this race being on a new hill covered in manmade snow which is notoriously icy. Good for later skiers, but a bit tougher overall.
So the odds of Shiffrin delivering like Lindsey are very long. You won't see her on late night TV, she won't be on the cover of magazines and newspapers, she disappointed America, she's nothing but a LOSER!
Anything but.
It's one race out of the season. But America only pays attention to the Olympics.
Everybody knows that Shiffrin is a legend, superior in her skills to Vonn, even Bode testifies as to Shiffrin's talent. But she disappointed America, she blew it when the light was upon her, forevermore she'll be known as the woman who didn't deliver.
Forget her victories in the past, even gold medals. Doesn't matter, she was not in the spotlight, she was not carrying the weight of the entire country onto the slope.
Now in Europe, they know how good Shiffrin is. Bode too. They're heroes. They're Americans, but their legends really live overseas. And Shiffrin is one for the ages. But in the eyes of America, she's no Lindsey Vonn.
Shiffrin is 26. She could regain her edge and break Stenmark's record of 86 victories in 19 seasons. And sure, when Stenmark competed there were two fewer disciplines, but he, unlike Shiffrin, doesn't ski the downhill. But Shiffrin has even won in the downhill. She's a five event skier, like Bode Miller, a true oddity in this era of specialization. And Shiffrin has won 73 times in 12 seasons. Quite an achievement.
Now in truth ski racing is no longer the sport it was in the sixties, when Billy Kidd came out of Stowe, Vermont to challenge and beat the Europeans. Kidd was slight. Today everybody works out in the gym, year-rou
nd, something Kidd never did. Today's ski racers are jocks, they're about as similar to the average citizen as an NFL player. Because if you're not in the absolute best shape, you have no chance to win.
And in truth, almost all sacrifice their education to compete on the circuit. And when their careers are over, they can trade on their fame, or they could go back to school, but when they finally get in the groove they're a decade behind everybody else.
And no one is more regimented and focused than Shiffrin. Which is what makes her so great. She famously skied gates on powder days at Burke Mountain Academy, which is like showing up at school on a snow day, unheard of. That's what it takes to be a champion,
But no one sees all that, especially in today's world where everybody's hyping themselves online ad infinitum.
The fact that Shiffrin can compete at all with the weight of expectations upon her astounds me. You've got to be loose and flexible in ski racing, anxiety and pressure make you tense.
So I've got no problem with Mikaela Shiffrin falling in today's giant slalom, none at all.
Unfortunately, America does.
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