Bode Miller creates a stir every time he opens his mouth, and sometimes when he doesn’t. Daron Rahlves is the better U.S. skier at the moment after a big win last weekend. And Michelle Kwan has a place on the Turin team-for now.Even so, the early edge for a starring role in this year’s Olympic soap opera goes to, of all things, the skeleton crew.
“I would say, generally, that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all,” said David Wallechinsky, Olympic historian and author of “The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics.”
“With Michelle Kwan back in there, you’ve got some of the star power,” he said Monday. “I don’t think the negative publicity is really going to detract. Once NBC starts selling their version, their product, we will learn about all sorts of athletes you haven’t heard of yet, and the publicity will be good.”
Winter Olympics and the athletes who participate in them have traditionally been overlooked. The games are far smaller than the summer version, and they’re not nearly as universal. People living just about anywhere in the world can go swimming or play basketball, but it’s a good bet only a tiny percentage in any country can say they’ve taken a ride on a luge.
So while the Summer Games might be on everyone’s calendar, people tend to forget there’s a Winter Olympics until the TV ads roll out in full force a few weeks before they begin.
It seems to be a little different this year, though.
“I think there is a greater level of awareness and recognition of these athletes further out from the games than we’ve seen in the past,” said Darryl Seibel, spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee. “I think that phenomenon really began before Salt Lake City.”
Anyone who’s paid any attention to the news in recent weeks is on a first-name basis with Bode by now. One of the best American skiers ever, if not the best, Miller has landed on the covers of Time and Newsweek, but more for his renegade personality than his skills on the mountain.
Skeleton is still a fringe sport, made up of thrillseekers who slide headfirst down an icy chute with nothing but a helmet to protect them. It would draw attention for a day or two in most Olympic years, then slide back into oblivion.
Coach Tim Nardiello has been suspended while the USOC investigates the sexual harassment allegations made by athletes which he has repeatedly denied, but the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation went ahead and nominated him as its coach. He’s already taken his case for reinstatement to court and lost and is now turned to an arbitrator.
Zach Lund, the top American slider, was busted for taking Finasteride, the primary ingredient in the baldness treatment Propecia that also is known to mask certain kinds of performance-enhancing drugs. Lund says he was using the drug to grow hair, not add bulk, and he didn’t realize a rules change last year made it illegal.
Lund is facing a suspension and expects to go before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency by Jan. 23.
“If we had our preferences, of course we’d like all the stories to be good, strong positive stories,” Seibel said. “But even when we’ve had stories that are something other than that, I think the situations are being handled the right way.”
For all his bluster, Miller is still one of the top skiers in the world. Rahlves was the first American in more than a decade to win on the famed Lauberhorn course last weekend, giving him his third World Cup downhill of the season. The U.S. women’s curling team is so popular it has its own Web site, http://www.curlgirls.com.
