Costas on Bode

Last night, NBC aired an interview with Bode Miller (conducted by Tom Brokaw), since Miller completely failed to live up to expectations. If they had been expectations placed on him by others which he had tried to downplay, his medal-less Games might have been more easily explained. But his persona isn't like that. He's the one who's been telling everyone how great he is. Now that he's going home without any podium finishes whatsoever, he's trying to say it's no big deal. Chris and I are no fans of Miller's, so we were pleased when, after the Brokaw interview piece, Bob Costas did a smidgen of editorializing on the subject. We were recording the broadcast, so Chris transcribed it this morning.

So, Bode Miller making some valid points and sounding a bit humbled after his Olympics end without a single medal. Still, while it’s corrosive to look at sports in general – and the Olympics in particular – as simply a question of wins and losses as if there is no value in second place or in just competing honorably and well, Miller has set himself up for much of this.

He claims to disdain attention and commercialism and hype, yet made himself available for the covers of Time and Newsweek and for 60 Minutes and for the JoinBode.com campaign which invites you to go to the effort to find out that Bode doesn’t care so much. Well, Miller will now find out, no matter how he looks at it, if you don’t care enough to consistently give your best and at least sometimes do your best then pretty soon no one else will care either.

Go, Bob, go.