- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I do not believe any skater is patriotic except briefly on the podium. Skaters have enough on their minds to get on the podium.
Joe
Joe
STL_Blues_fan said:I am not sure how the patriotism thing came into this thread, but I agree 100% with sk8er1964 (and I am not a skater) that skaters skate first and foremost for the love of the sport, and for themselves. Maybe it meant something back in the Cold War era to represent one's country (and only to exetionally idealistic individuals).
sk8er1964 said:Thank you for understanding what I was trying to say
(Oh, and OT -- how dare you beat my beloved Red Wings??? :no: )
Mathman said:About patriotism, I think the only time it plays a role is at the Olympics. At the Olympics the big whoop is to win as many medals as possible for your country ...
Of course everyone should be polite to their hosts when they are guests in a foreign country. But that's not patriotism, that is just showing that your parents raised you right ...
MM
No, actually I think the opposite. IMHO "patriotism," like "school spirit," is a lot more likely to goad people on to idiotic behavior -- like setting cars on fire when your team wins (or loses) a football game -- than to lead to anything good.attyfan said:Do you think tying "proper behavior" to patriotism might work to improve matters?
sk8er1964 said:All skaters, whether it be an adult in learn to skate or a national senior level competitor, skate for themselves. It's not about country or money -- it's about our love for the sport. There are thousands and thousands of figure skaters across the globe who will never have the chance to represent their country and chase Olympic glory. Yet we go to the rink every day, sometimes at obscene hours, to pursue our sport because we love to skate and are doing it for ourselves. We endure the pain and the disappointments, because there are also the triumphs and the happiness. It is too much of a personal sport to do it for anything else but yourself.
(Maybe you have to be a skater to understand....)