Now that China’s obsessive compulsive disorder and U.S. commercialism are yet again in a tight race for Olympic medals let’s remember how Jim Thorpe got screwed. Today, he would be raking in big bucks to promote hair care products, or whatever (he did have good hair).
Thorpe lost his 1912 Olympic titles because it was discovered he got paid to play semi-professional baseball before competing. You see, in those days the games were just for amateurs. These days, multimillionaire pros like Lebron James get to play, along with athletes who seem more loyal to their corporate sponsors than their native countries.
In 1983, 30 years after Thorpe’s death, the International Olympic Committee restored his medals. While a good thing for his legacy it was more about finally and fully acknowledging the abandonment of the ideals that these games once represented.
Oh, and by the way, the modern day Olympic torch relay was started by the Nazis.
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67 Responses to Remembering Jim Thorpe
Now on The Trail
All over Nashville recording studios are cranking 24 hours a day filled with would-be songwriters and producers attempting to come up with the next hit country record, “The Ballad of Chick Fillay”.
They all seem to start out with “woo-hoo”.
Jim Thorpe’s story is simply another brick in the wall of “all that stuff is phoney-baloney buncha crap-ola”.
sturge, i liked your moon last night. well done.
I keep envisioning this really weird Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan situation connected to the Dressage event.
I had government assistance with the moonshow…..I could never have done it alone……
organised sports can be at times a most unsavory proposition…..and the olympics…..between the parents and the coaches….wo, them kids go thru the mill…most of them they’ll come out of it looking like they been beat thru hell with a soot-bag.
wiki’s take on why medals were stripped:
sturge, in your “really weird Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan” dressage event, is it merely an unladylike crop whack across the rump or is it a nasty horse kick with fallen rider?
It’s all very vague….I keep seeing this 3rd Actor galooley coming in from the wings somewhere wielding a stout cudgel…..or perhaps….a lead pipe.
Do they even have lead pipe anymore?
sturg, w/out a doubt you could find oodles of lead pipe in my little town and the ticky-tacky little houses from the turn of the century (the one before last) -- just in case you needed one for a dressage attack.
If you have a business based on selling pics over the internet, taken with a camera designed in Japan and manufactured in China, did you build the he business yourself?
Thank you, Craig for posting this story. I grew up near Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe, PA.) and my Father always told us Jim Thorpe was robbed. Mauch Chunk is an Indian name for Bear Mountain. It was on the mountain trails that Jim Thorpe trained and he brought much honor to the US.
If we did not have our minority althletes, the US would not be as great.
yeah… it’s all professionals now. It was the way the communist countries such as China and the Soviet Union operated (like your link from yesterday, Craig) that precipitated the change. They didn’t give their athletes a salary… but they did pay for their living expenses, coaches, equipment, etc. They didn’t have to beg their citizens to donate to Olympic teams like the USA did back then.
Now they all have corporate sponsors. They’re all career athletes. It’s a wonder you don’t see decals ala nascar on those skimpy swim suits.
I’m all packed… just waiting for Rick to finish packing his truck. Leaving to set up my booth in a few minutes….
yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaw……
Blondie, if we did not have our minority athletes, no one would give a crap about pro or college football, baseball or basketball. We’d probably be watching dressage and swimming. yippee.
Is this a case of, say what you mean and mean what you say, or is it more of the same beating of the chest? Time is running out.
http://bit.ly/RfblVM
They must be soooooo sad. GOP report: No connection between White House and Fast and Furious
Not the Obama Whitehouse ..what about the Shrubians
Awesome post, CC! Blowing the lid off s*&^, I like it!
Jim Thorpe is a nice place to go kayaking, incidentally.
“Not even sure if you are the original champ ,
Or some imposter” -MQW
That may be the most flattering thing anyone has ever said to me on a message board. Thank you.
…and speaking of imposters, I think “Movingon” may have participated here before under a different moniker, hm, Mr. Ak47?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
For unemployment it looks like the best occurred during 1953 and the worst 1983 and 2009.
on.wsj.com/N5wmlL
“I had government assistance with the moonshow…..I could never have done it alone……”
You on moonstamps? And yes, apparently lead pipe is still commercially available:
http://www.santarosaleadproducts.com/Lead_pipe_solder_heater_pans_stands.htm
Well, I’ve been packing and packing and packing and washing and washing before the packing. Many of KumCho’s things that I think that others will like, I’ll be taking with me. Fortunately, my baggage allowance includes three 70 pound bags. I won’t come close to that.
Toots will be picking me up at 0630 tomorrow. She will be guarding the home front while I’m gone but I will be met by plenty of family on Saturday when I arrive in Seoul. And then we will have another ceremony at Arlington this Autumn.
I wish I had Renee’s energy.
Flatus,
I hope that you have a swift and uneventful flight through the airport lines.
May you go and return safely, with many memories to share both ways.
IxC,
Thank you so much for the link. I have been looking for a few inexpensive lead pipe cinches.
Iiiiiff in the old days you actually were Champ, I must say, I like you today and am glad you are back. So, I shall.
I like you and am glad you are back.
I can’t remember who came up with this gem :
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
It was neither here, nor there.”
Clearly, it was some person not unduly burdened by respect for the opening pairings of A Tale of Two Cities.
I wish the Olympics were back to the good old days when you had to be an armature to compete, sadly those days are long gone. Remember when the US lead hockey team, not a pro among them, beat the Russians at their own game…that was very big deal. Not very long after that most of our hockey team came from the NHL, just as our basketball players come from the NBA. But with that said I am very delighted that our female gymnastic team will all be making 7 figure salaries in the not too distant future as their reward for years of hard work and dedication.
Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.
Not the best opener but one of my favorites, nonetheless.
Anyone going to the Democratic Convention? I’m not just wondering if anyone is? Friends of mine who live nearby are hoping the police can contain the demonstrators from venturing into several of the large residential development that are within a stone throw of the convention center. Don’t need another 1968 Chicago.
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, General Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” - A Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez
“Once there was a tree…. and she loved a little boy.” -- The Giving Tree by Silverstein
Two dear friends of ours are going to represent MN at the Dem Convention. Our hearts go out to them.
It’s a dam’ shitty job, but someone has to do it.
If Jim Thorpe had had a good Phillie Lawyer, he could have argued that baseball is not athletics, is not even recognized by the old limp icky committee as a athletic event, and therefore, Thorpe hadn’t damaged his amateur status.
Baseball was no more athletics for Thorpe than marching in a 4th of July parade, carrying a corporate banner would have been. It was product promotion, pure and simple, and in it Thorpe played a dramatic lead role.
Ignoble exChamp……(ok I call you Ig?)
What’d you ever do with that guitar?
Canton, Ohio is where Jim Thorpe played football and the team did very well.
Thorpe is still being exploited after all these years.
Scanning right wing radio today ,
Now I understand pretzel logic ,
They want big war , but insist on smaller government ,
Those two ideas are incompatible , they can’t coexist together , if you have war you must have big government and more taxes ,
They want regime change in Syria , but don’t want to support the rebels because of the al-Qaeda amongst them
Twisting themselves into a pretzel
That was for those who say the south has a monopoly on racism , looks like California has its own problems
When I was a kid, maybe 10 or 11, Jesse Owens was a special speaker at our neighborhood YMCA. It was a father/son function. Talking with the other kids the next day at school, we all had a lot of gee-whiz things to say, but I, for one, didn’t understand the import of his celebrity. I’m sure the adults in attendance were much more moved by what he had to say.
Police riot. It’s time for the National Guard to temporarily replace the Anaheim P.D.
To protect and serve , hah
Where the hell is Eric holder when ya need him
Oh that’s right he’s busy busting the chemo-therapy pot smokers
Great first line for a short story :
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect”
-The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
Another great beginning for a novel :
“In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
-The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams
MQW,
Wow. Bitter much ?
Lol, not really, just my usual cynical self today
I don’t get the Obamarama position on pot medical or otherwise at all. He has completely reversed himself and annoyed a lot of people who otherwise might be enthusiastic voters. I have yet to hear any explanation yet alone an adequate for the complete about face on the issue.
Waste of time and money
Michael Tomasky:
here, for example, is the “plan” for how President Romney is going to ensure that the middle class has “The Skills to Succeed”:
*Give every family access to a great school and quality teachers
*Provide access to affordable and effective higher education options
*Focus job training programs on building valuable skills that align with opportunities
*Attract and retain the best and the brightest from around the world.
Well, mirabile dictu. That’ll fix everything!
This of course is in stark contrast to the incumbent, who wants families to have access to mediocre schools, dreams of ineffective higher education options, has his bureaucrats scrambling to ensure that job-training programs do not match opportunities, etc.
Hey, psst! The British Olympic Committee just leaked me its plan for winning more gold medals than anyone else. Items include:
*Get faster times than the other people
*Finish first, second, or third more often than everyone else
*Recall at all times that British culture makes our Olympians the best Olympians
Pssst, Sturgeone,
That’s Anglo-Saxon culture. Welsh, Irish, and Scottish cultures need not apply.
He prolly leaves the Geordies out, too.
Pew national poll…
Obama 51
Romney 41
It could be said that the British are still fielding only amateurs, eh?
Once that dressage horse hits the first obama campaign ad romney becomes toast, politically. more toast than palin “whaddya read?” toast. more toast than dean’s scream, kerry’s windsurfing, Dukakis’s tank and bill’s glow-job….toast.
b’dia b’dia b’dia—-that’s all, folks.
“I just don’t know, can’t see the average Joe, ever having an influence in a campaign that is costing upwards of a billion dollars.
If our campaign system is not the laughing stock of the world, it damn sure should be. WTF?” http://craigcrawford.com/2012/08/01/outsourcing-the-presidency/#comment-294125
Jace, don’t give up or let this affect the things you hope for and believe most in. Maybe we’re not in the position to make a difference at the highest level at this time, but we can always make a difference at a lower level: those things within our reach. I respect you so much for coming forward and facing the truth, but would hate to see it take away your enthusiasm.
No matter what, I feel so privileged and grateful to have been born and raised in this great country of ours. It’s not perfect, but it’s offered us opportunities we would not have had in many other places. The most important: freedom of speech (without that one, I would have been executed long ago.
So, our elections aren’t as fair as we believed them to be. That became glaringly obvious during the last primary election. The world is full of injustices: we have to just work with what we’ve got, and in doing so hope maybe we can make a difference in some way.
Disillusionment is tough, but none of us got this far in life without suffering through them. I’ve so much enjoyed reading your upbeat posts here. I hope you keep them coming, but it’s a great place to do a little griping too.
Jack…. Come back!
(I’m a poet, and know it!)
You’re upsetting the natural order of things by not being here. The balance is going wacky.
“Not even sure if you are the original champ ,
Or some imposter” -MQW
“That may be the most flattering thing anyone has ever said to me on a message board. Thank you.”
LOL!!!
Maybe we’re ALL imposters. Of what, I have no idea.
Safe travel Flatus.
I hope you’ll find some peace in this important journey. Gonna miss you!
Gonna miss you too, Renee.
Nemo,
Thanks for your 9:14 PM.
All that you say is true and I know it.
I have two choices. I can either stay from politics altogether (no way in Hell) or I can put up with the occasional disaffection that comes with being a political junkie.
Yesterday was one of those times when I just wanted to shout “fuck it all we deserve what we get ”
I’m better today.
XR,
Thank you for your kind offer of cyber libation.
I was a bit off my game yesterday and the offer cheered me up and made me LOL.
I look forward to the day when those drinks can be shared in person. Until that time I raise my glass to you.
jace
Jim Thorpe was an amazing athlete.
Like so many amazing athletes before and since his time in baseball was cut short due to one simple short coming.
He couldn’t hit a curve ball.
Time for my daily dose of jingoism, the Olympics are on.
Flatus,
Wishing you safe travels my friend.
jace
RR,
Hope you sell everything. Good luck. Sounds like fun.
Mr. Geone,
It mostly sits in a corner, looking pretty, and whatever is fine.
Thanks to my adoring throngs for the kind words. A “throng” is just one person, right?
“I don’t get the Obamarama position on pot medical or otherwise at all. He has completely reversed himself and annoyed a lot of people who otherwise might be enthusiastic voters. I have yet to hear any explanation yet alone an adequate for the complete about face on the issue.” -KGC
Um, some friendly folks at Phizer and Merck made a call and said,”‘Hey Bud, you do want campaign contributions this year, don’t you?”, would be my guess. I suppose some politico more adept at that type of research could verify or dismiss that suspicion, though.