Centro's throat slit

For one minute, can we all take a step back and try to have enough self confidence that we don't need to call out other people for being "soft" or "pussys" for not appreciating Centro's "badass" victory celebration. Let's be adults. Thanks.

Imagine if this were the NCAA basketball championship or the BCS championship game and, on national television, one of the players makes a huge play and celebrates with the throat slit. And not just any player, a senior leader. What would the reaction be? There would be in-game consequences (unsportsmanlike conduct penalty or tech. foul) along with the player being chastised for making such a stupid, freshmen-like decision that cost his team. ESPN would be sure to point out the boneheaded, selfish, 'look at me' move.

What Centro did was no different. Yes, he absolutely dominated the field. Nobody else had a chance. But to celebrate with a gesture that has been addressed and deemed inappropriate by every professional sports league in the country and the NCAA is childish and only makes the kid look like he is trying too hard to be cool. I know most of you are high school/ college kids who never leave your room covered in PRE posters, but in the real world in which the rest of us live this type of posturing is immature and foolish.

Before someone attacks me, I am not demonizing celebratory acts. Quite the opposite, I think there is nothing like watching an athlete who is taken over by the ecstasy of what he/ she has just accomplished. Think Sheila Reid winning the 1500- huge smile, obviously overjoyed with the emotion. Where Centro's is different is that it displays no emotion, comes of as rehearsed and planned, and looks corny. It makes him look like a no-class high school kid. If i were his father or his coach, I would be incredibly proud of the run, but equally disappointed that I have not taught Matt that actions such as these are not OK.

I am disappointed that everyone on this board is a pussy. Who cares what he does!!! Would you rather have him say "yes sir, great race, I am a pussy like lagat"!!!! lagat isn't even American!!!! Centro JR is the man!!! Seriously if you are offended you are probably a nerdy runner and wonder why everyone hates running!!!!

financeandaccountingstudent wrote:

I am disappointed that everyone on this board is a pussy. Who cares what he does!!! Would you rather have him say "yes sir, great race, I am a pussy like lagat"!!!! lagat isn't even American!!!! Centro JR is the man!!! Seriously if you are offended you are probably a nerdy runner and wonder why everyone hates running!!!!

Get back to me when you can read past the first line of what I posted. Or when you are done watching Without Limits for the 15th time and updating your Facebook statust with your PRE quote of the day. I'd be happy to respond to a logical, rational reaction to what I posted. As an aside, nobody in their right mind would call Lagat a pussy, and if you do so, you reveal that you are confused as to what is actually important in sports. It's about performances, not 'putting on a show' despite what you have learned in the movies.

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Could not agree with you more. Way to wear the Oregon jersey Centro.

toro wrote:

Well the NFL, NHL and NBA have sent memos about and fined players for making the throat slash gesture.

Those sports are for fatties who play with balls like children, not a real sport like long distance runner.

This is all part of a long tradition of non-sissy fake PC feminized humbleness in long distance running. Just at Oregon:

Pre with his in your face victory laps (something that he began, as Dellinger said, didn't exist in his day before), Rupp's shirt snapping and sticking out his tongue and various hand signs, Centro with the throat slit, Lukas V. pimp walking across the finish line at Footlocker.

Once he saw Centrowitz was not punished, he felt free to do it several times. As of now, the NCAA has officially sanctioned it as a allowable celebratory gesture; a big bonus to those who don't think it's a big deal. Congrats. Us old-timers may disagree whole-heartedly, but the NCAA is OK with it.

the smartest letsrunnerrn wrote:

joho wrote:

his throat-slit means, THE DEED IS DONE. ENOUGH.

Very dramatic. Very much bullshit.

Nowhere on earth is a THROAT SLITTING gesture a signal that "it's done."

EVERYWHERE, it is a signal for death.

In the case of Centro, it is a case of a nerdy distance runner trying to look badass and instead just looking like he has embarrassingly bad judgment for a college grad.

Although Alfred Yego did it on worldwide TV at the WC 800. Much more badass, though, since he put something on the line and did it during intros BEFORE the race...and then backed it up.

Your confusing me. You sound like you were perfectly fine with Yego doing the gesture but not Centro.

If a chick had done it, it would have been totally hot.

Pre32 wrote:

Anyone ever consider the gesture wasn't directed at the other runners, but the media and message boarders who have ripped on him since he graduated high school?

When has "the media" cared enough about track to "rip" on him?

If You Win, You Can Strut wrote:

toro wrote:

... the NFL, NHL and NBA ...

Those sports are for fatties who play with balls like children, not a real sport like long distance runner.

Just keep telling yourself that ...

stupid rican he is wrote:

LetsHateDotCom wrote:

Letsrun is full of a particularly weak ass group of bitches. Who cares??

Almost as big a bunch of bitches as Centro and crew. What a pr piece of shite he's turned out to be.

Such a weak ass bitch thing to say.

SomeActualData wrote:

I don't think it's all that uptight to say, "Celebrate however you want, but just leave literally killing people out of it."

Who did he literally kill? Cause I only saw a gesture.

Centro means "Bullseye" in Italian.

He “killed” the competition and unfortunately became a champion you idiot. Thank God this scum isn’t running cross country in the fall.

calling someone scum...while posting about people you don't know on the internet? if that ain't hilarious hypocrisy, I don't know what is.

Where do you guys get off calling this kid a tool? He's never been a tool in an interview (please correct me if I'm wrong), he doesn't have a history of being unsportsmanlike and he's had a wonderful career so far. People on letsrun have a self-important complex that these runners wake up in the morning contemplating their awesomeness, spend their days swaggin' around and go to bed at night agonizing over the opinions of nobodies on the internet.

They don't. They're normal college kids, and if Centro is anything, it's an endearingly geeky, skinny dude who won a race.

Chill out.

Sometimes its very easy to see how ego-centrric sports primadonnas are created. Some of the comments seem to be since he won he has "earned" the right to be disrespectful to his competitors. Lets not give him a pass because he is a gifted runner.

This might be a good time for the adults in the room to step forward.

What if Lebron did this during ther finals. Could you see any of the Mavs doing this when they won? Of course not.

Some one with a set needs to look the boy in the eye and tell him that's not cool. Its not a big thing but the boy does need to learn how to respect others.

Centro, you're better than that. Think of all the great runners who have preceded you. None of them ever pulled a stunt like that. Live and learn. Just handle your business on the track. Drop the theatrics.

Centro, yes listen to the adults. You had this great achievement which was worthy of respect and admiration from others and then you do a silly little gesture which diminishes the respect that some have for you.

It just made you look silly and small. Now think about it, some people went from "wow did you see that great run to "huh? why did he do that?"

Learn and move on.

Here's an interesting look at it:

http://www.sportsimagewire.com/2011%20Photo%20Albums/2011%20NCAA%20Track%20and%20Field%20-%20Saturday%20Sampler/album/slides/2011NCAASath-023.html

It would be amusing to see Ulrey ace out Centro for World's, and give the slit back to him in the process (I like both of them, it would just be comedic).