Winning with grace

Following sports lately has pointed me some talented young people rising to the top of their professions. These are some of the young guns that have made headlines in the past few months:

• This NHL season marks the debuts of hockey players Alexander Ovechkin (20) and Sidney Crosby (18)
• Dutchman Jelle Klaassen debuted at last month's Lakeside tournament, and became Darts World Champion; he is 21.
• 2006 NBA All Star Game MVP LeBron James is 21, the youngest in NBA history.
• Ireen Wust (19) from the Netherlands won an Olympic gold medal in the 3000 m speed skating event.

As you can see I've mentioned two Dutch talents and three guys who were groomed and prepped in North American professional sports. This serves a purpose to show how young people react after winning.
Klaassen and Wust could hardly believe they won. Their sudden and unexpected success just overwhelmed them, and it was extremely hard for journalists to interview them. At that moment both Klaassen and Wust had a vocabulary size of maybe, at most ten words. They were extremely annoying to hear and listen to. Like watching Kids Say The Darndest Things, but without the inherent fluffyness of toddlers.
However, seeing them winning was very good television. Jumping around, hugging their coaches, their families and loved ones, that was pure and real.

On the other hand, the LeBrons and the Sidneys of this world have been groomed for life in the spotlights. When they are interviewed you don't hear a nineteen-year old boy. You're listening to a grown man who has seen it all, heard it all and experienced it all before. They are cool, collected and provide strong interviews, thanks to extensive media training.

However when they win, the audience, the crowd, the media doesn't see the real them. They have publicists, personal secretaries, bodyguards who protect the superstars from everyone else. The message they send out must be controlled, and that often makes people find them arrogant, aloof.

Of course given the bigger salaries and the larger audiences involved (than darts and speed skating in this case) people do tend to like these athletes for other reasons than their prowess on the field, court or rink. Protection seems to be more of a necessity here.

Still, I would like to see the Klaassens and Wusts be a little more eloquent during interviews, and the LeBrons and Ovechkins show a little more real emotion. I mean, few people care if you lose; but even fewer people care if you win without connecting with the crowd.
Read full article