Post by sk8er on Dec 6, 2009 20:58:30 GMT -5
After February I guess folks won't have Ohno to kick around any more! (OK for those of you too young to remember Richard Nixon's famous farewell speech to the press about his retirement, "You wont' have Di_k Nixon to kick around anymore." Sadly he lied then too!). Anyway in these dry times I thought I'd go ahead and post some thoughts here. I've followed speedskakting closely since 2002. I started skating with my local club in 2003. We've got a lot of older skaters and many of these folks have been around since before Apolo and Shani came on the scene. They've told stories about them both as young skaters so in that sense I've got a little better picture of what they faced when they first entered the sport.
Speedskating has always been a very small sport, one that some of my friends have jokingly referred to as incestuous. Most skaters come from the midwest and have a family tradition of skating. It's been a very small and clubby atmosphere in the past, though the remarkable Wilma Boomstra has created a powerhouse in Southern California and opened up the sport to new people. That wasn't the case 15 years ago though.
Speedskating was, and still remains, an overwhelmingly white middle class sport. Apolo and Shani were the first skaters of color to excel in the sport. Apolo did not come up through the club system, didn't "pay his dues" and didn't know a thing really. You recall that when he blazed on the scene and won Nationals at age 14 he said that no one from USS even came over to congratulate him. Shani has a little more history; his Mom worked for attorney Fred Benjamin and thus she had ties to the Old Boy Network. Both Apolo and Shani were raised by single parents who fought fiercely to keep their sons from being lost to the mean streets of the city. They saw speedskating and their son's talent as a lifeline when they were at a very vulnerable age. Apolo we know from his book was flirting with the sort of activities that could lead to no good. Neither parent was willing to give an inch in demanding what was best for their son. The unfortunate thing was the cultural differences resulting in the different approachs to their efforts.
Japanese culture is very reserved. A famous saying is that "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." Yuki Ohno may have been a rebel in his own culture but he is still Japanese. He is a very private man and never raises his voice in personal confrontation (except with Apolo!), though he never let up demanding from USS what he felt was necessary for his son. I've talked with USS officials in the past and they had no love for him. But as an outsider he was aware that Apolo was not a member of the club and he never for a moment backed down in a private way in advocating for his kid.
Shani's Mom is from Chicago. The urban culture is anything but reserved and nonconfrontational. That didn't play well with USS and charges of racism and favoritism and open demands quickly antagonized people. I've been told there was a racist comment in the locker room when Apolo was very young. How must both boys have felt? For their part USS didn't make much effort to accomodate their young stars. Imagine sending a 15 year old off to the OTC with no guidance or supervision. From what I heard they didn't do much to teach Apolo the basics of the new culture and sport he was joining.
The reserved, careful, keep a good face up culture of Japan has served Apolo well. The culture of urban Chicago has not served Shani so well. He is by all accounts a sweet natured and very likeable person. His mother has fought tooth and nail for him, sometimes to his detriment. But I have tremendous respect for both Cheri Davis and Yuki Ohno. They have absolutely given everything in their power for their children in the face of opposition, obfuscation and resistence. Shani and Apolo are remarkable athletes and great stars for our country. Whether they llike it or not, if they want to skate in the Olympics they have to be a member of the US team and that means they have to deal with USS. It's interesting and instructive to see how the two have handled that fact.
I hope that someday in the future a person who know the principals and the sport will write a book about this period in speedskating. I think that the story of Shani Davis will read like a Greek tragedy. He should have been the story of the 2006 games. He has a compelling story and one that could be instructive for people on many differnt levels.
That's just my two bits of personal reflection.
Speedskating has always been a very small sport, one that some of my friends have jokingly referred to as incestuous. Most skaters come from the midwest and have a family tradition of skating. It's been a very small and clubby atmosphere in the past, though the remarkable Wilma Boomstra has created a powerhouse in Southern California and opened up the sport to new people. That wasn't the case 15 years ago though.
Speedskating was, and still remains, an overwhelmingly white middle class sport. Apolo and Shani were the first skaters of color to excel in the sport. Apolo did not come up through the club system, didn't "pay his dues" and didn't know a thing really. You recall that when he blazed on the scene and won Nationals at age 14 he said that no one from USS even came over to congratulate him. Shani has a little more history; his Mom worked for attorney Fred Benjamin and thus she had ties to the Old Boy Network. Both Apolo and Shani were raised by single parents who fought fiercely to keep their sons from being lost to the mean streets of the city. They saw speedskating and their son's talent as a lifeline when they were at a very vulnerable age. Apolo we know from his book was flirting with the sort of activities that could lead to no good. Neither parent was willing to give an inch in demanding what was best for their son. The unfortunate thing was the cultural differences resulting in the different approachs to their efforts.
Japanese culture is very reserved. A famous saying is that "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." Yuki Ohno may have been a rebel in his own culture but he is still Japanese. He is a very private man and never raises his voice in personal confrontation (except with Apolo!), though he never let up demanding from USS what he felt was necessary for his son. I've talked with USS officials in the past and they had no love for him. But as an outsider he was aware that Apolo was not a member of the club and he never for a moment backed down in a private way in advocating for his kid.
Shani's Mom is from Chicago. The urban culture is anything but reserved and nonconfrontational. That didn't play well with USS and charges of racism and favoritism and open demands quickly antagonized people. I've been told there was a racist comment in the locker room when Apolo was very young. How must both boys have felt? For their part USS didn't make much effort to accomodate their young stars. Imagine sending a 15 year old off to the OTC with no guidance or supervision. From what I heard they didn't do much to teach Apolo the basics of the new culture and sport he was joining.
The reserved, careful, keep a good face up culture of Japan has served Apolo well. The culture of urban Chicago has not served Shani so well. He is by all accounts a sweet natured and very likeable person. His mother has fought tooth and nail for him, sometimes to his detriment. But I have tremendous respect for both Cheri Davis and Yuki Ohno. They have absolutely given everything in their power for their children in the face of opposition, obfuscation and resistence. Shani and Apolo are remarkable athletes and great stars for our country. Whether they llike it or not, if they want to skate in the Olympics they have to be a member of the US team and that means they have to deal with USS. It's interesting and instructive to see how the two have handled that fact.
I hope that someday in the future a person who know the principals and the sport will write a book about this period in speedskating. I think that the story of Shani Davis will read like a Greek tragedy. He should have been the story of the 2006 games. He has a compelling story and one that could be instructive for people on many differnt levels.
That's just my two bits of personal reflection.
Apolo and some other guys also put Sue Ellis through the wringer. 
Canadians just aren't accustomed to urban American boys. Sue is a friend and I think the world of her. She's a real straight arrow and I think she was very unfairly characterized in Apolo's book. Just didn't want anyone to think that I was laying EVERYTHING on USS. 
) thinks Colbert is giving them great publicity:
up front from their employees, but....
