04/26/24
September 19, 2005
Vote for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame: Sports fans are being offered the chance to select six individual athletes, one team, and one coach for the next class of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
I'd vote for Dan O'Brien. You might remember him as part of an old Reebok ad campaign called "Dan and Dave" (his rival, Dave Johnson). The campaign ran for a while and was supposed to build up excitement for the two athletes, the decathlon (their event) and the 1992 Olympics. Except that Dan O'Brien failed miserably at the Olympic trials and didn't qualify for the 1992 Olympics. Ooops. However, he took this very public humiliation and used it to drive himself even harder, winning the Olympic gold medal for the decathlon in 1996. For providing a very valuable lesson about media-created hype, public failure and overcoming both of those demons to be a winner.
posted by grum@work at 03:33 PM on September 19, 2005
...he would get my vote to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. (I don't know where the rest of my sentence went the first time.)
posted by grum@work at 03:34 PM on September 19, 2005
I can think of quite a few athletes that were not an option I'd vote for. Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, Eric Heiden. The 2004 Women's Softball team. That's just off the top of my head.
posted by scottypup at 04:20 PM on September 19, 2005
I have to assume that some of those people (Owens, Spitz, Heiden) are already in the USOHOF. Of course, I can't find any way off that page to actually VIEW who has made the USOHOF, so I'm just guessing...
posted by grum@work at 04:32 PM on September 19, 2005
True. I looked for a link also and couldn't find it.
posted by scottypup at 04:49 PM on September 19, 2005
Here is a list of current members. Note that elections don't seem to happen with any kind of regular period. Just to spark some discussion: I voted for Greg Barton "Bullet" Bob Hayes Mary T. Meagher Shannon Miller Roger Kingdom
posted by Amateur at 06:00 PM on September 19, 2005
Seems pretty sloppy. What are the criteria supposed to be, anyway -- who was candidate for the Wheaties box? Twirl girls and track, twirl girls and track...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:30 PM on September 19, 2005
.. and wrestlers, too! lbb, this is a vote open to the general public. What would be the point of having criteria?
posted by Amateur at 07:17 AM on September 20, 2005
I think the question is, rather, what's the point of having this "hall of fame".
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:33 AM on September 20, 2005
Obviously, the primary purpose of this particular hall of fame is fundraising for the USOC. That's why they only proceed with an "election" when they have a sponsor. They'll also make a bunch of money by selling tickets to the induction dinner. If experience is any guide they'll hold a silent auction, too, and raise some more money. While the USOC is making money, (some) people will take some pleasure in recalling past U.S. Olympians, (some) people will enjoy being part of the selection process, and (some) people will enjoy getting a chance to meet their sporting heros. Should there be some higher purpose?
posted by Amateur at 08:49 AM on September 20, 2005
This is the most dominant team in Olympic history.
posted by mayerkyl at 12:13 PM on September 20, 2005
Note that regular joe fan votes will count for 20% of the deciding score.