Alexi Pappas Article--why is the NYT so dumb

mol21 wrote:

True story:

In May of 2016 I kindly asked Alexi Pappas to write a poem for a Czech running magazine (https://www.instagram.com/b_running_mag/) and she said YES (no money asked). Months passed..I urged her many times and always got a reassuring reply. Then September comes, we were almost ready to go to print..so I wrote her one last time and this was her answer:

https://i.nahraj.to/f/1yRa.png

.

I know it’s not much of a substitute for the real thing, but would you please allow me to humbly submit my Alexi Pappas tribute poem, “Leaves,” for publication? I'm not sure how it comes out in Czech. My literary agent said it would be okay.

I've always wanted to be a leave,

but leaves are not like people.

Leaves change,

but people don't.

Well, some people change,

but not like leaves.

Leaves fall, in the fall,

which is also called autumn.

People fall sometimes,

but not like leaves.

When people fall they get up.

Leaves don’t get up,

not like people.

They just lie there, like leaves.

And just die there, we bereave.

Just like celebrities, in threes.

Some people are called Autumn,

but not leaves.

Leaves are called leaves.

Most people called Autumn are strippers,

whose panties fall down, like leaves,

leaving them bare, like trees,

in autumn.

Not a fan, but I can see why she's a hero to high school girls in particular. She markets herself as "artsy" and "quirky" (whether it's an authentic or a calculated act, I have no idea) and that makes them feel artsy and quirky too. Of course the fact that she's technically an Olympian is inspiring to them. And her "art" isn't much more than banal cliches of "believing in yourself" in "perseverance through obstacles," which they eat up. That's how teenage female brains work. I'm sure they don't want Shakespeare or Dostoevsky and Alexi Pappas is no Shakespeare or Dostoevsky.

kmaclam wrote:

True story: You are a lazy sod. Write your own poem. I kinda like Pappas. She certainly stands out among the dearth of 'personalities' we have (not) in Track & Field.

The article was trying to feature Alexi and give fans her work. She agreed to something and changed her mind when it was no longer convenient to herself.

It's not about a poem, it's about her inconsistencies, and how she rubs people as fake and self seeking.

Whoa. She certainly has made some connection with the NYT, as she is endlessly featured there. Any ideas on who in particular she knows? I can't see how her continual involvement with them could be anything other than some sort of personal connection. I'm not saying she's a bad writer, but let's be serious.

thisguy wrote:

Whoa. She certainly has made some connection with the NYT, as she is endlessly featured there. Any ideas on who in particular she knows? I can't see how her continual involvement with them could be anything other than some sort of personal connection. I'm not saying she's a bad writer, but let's be serious.

She's a bad writer.

LOL the Atlanta TC had an auction of some items and 1 was a t-shirt autographed by Pappas - only 1 bid - bet she bid on it herself

14 pound baby wrote:

LOL the Atlanta TC had an auction of some items and 1 was a t-shirt autographed by Pappas - only 1 bid - bet she bid on it herself

jamin bid on it.

Oh boy jamin.

Mercenary Alert wrote:

She writes about another athlete and she mentions her own Olympics 4 times. Her narcissism is off the charts. Sad to watch.

Classic lib. Reminds me of the girl in elementary school obsessed with drawing cats on all her notebooks.

Resurrecting a 2016 thread is silly.

She's smart, fast, and talented. And cute as a button like her friend Jordan.

jjjjj wrote:

To me, this narcissistic, high school level essay is really an expression of the self-replicating operations of privilege that give a national podium to Ivy Leaguers independently of merit.

Have you not seen letsrun.com before?

Why are you talking to someone who is probably dead by now?

hipsterglasses wrote:

She's smart, fast, and talented. And cute as a button like her friend Jordan.

1) no

2) yes, but there are faster

3) in running yes. Artistically? No.

4) sometimes I think so. Sometimes I don't.

kmaclam wrote:

True story: You are a lazy sod. Write your own poem. I kinda like Pappas. She certainly stands out among the dearth of 'personalities' we have (not) in Track & Field.

All these so-called elite runners who look, act, and apparently think alike wish their racing and training posts netted even 10% of AP's SM following and then wonder why they are jammed into stupid contracts that get them reduced if their performances don't improve exponentially, even with justification. We're now in a time of unprecedented two-way access and content choices, you can see many 'athletes' (and non-athletes, like that Kardashian woman) who with a little thought and planning have cultivated far more SM traction and thus far more lucrative endorsement contracts than almost all who have major talent for running. AP is the rare one who has both. She connects with common perspectives and emotions, she'll be a wonderful spokesperson for running brands for a long time to come. There's no secret trick to any of it, wooden and laconic lose out to authenticity. Plenty of fans of more accomplished runners who wind up with no career in the sport once they age out of being athletes will be bitter about this, of course.

And Alexi continues to find ways to connect and inspire while her completely self-absorbed colleagues make goofy dance videos and such. Be better, people, be more like Alexi!

Shouldn't she be doing this for a Greek prison on some Greek TV channel?

You're thinking of someone who speaks Greek, like Suzy Hamilton.

All the readers here are such bitter wannabes. Pappas deserves every bit of the accolades she receives. You losers, do not.

I don’t know why, but I find it really funny that you made this chest-puffing post but then had to edit it right away. No idea why, but I laughed.

Anyway, the article the OP posted way back when gets 100 times better if you imagine Cecily Strong reading it to you in that kind of throaty half-swallowing voice she used when she played dumb characters on SNL. Imagine her doing the mildly bug-eyed expression she often used for such characters as well. …now that I think about it, if runners were famous in the way athletes in the big four leagues are (i.e. famous enough to maybe get parodied on SNL), Cecily would have definitely been the one they picked to play Alexi.