I had a national uniform long ago.
I wore it in the few international competitions I entered, and it was my proudest moment, to put on that uniform. It may as well have had a big "S" on the front.
I had a national uniform long ago.
I wore it in the few international competitions I entered, and it was my proudest moment, to put on that uniform. It may as well have had a big "S" on the front.
Um, yeah wrote:
Silly Old Fossil wrote:Perhaps I place TOO MUCH reverence on the national uniform.
What is your definition of the 'national uniform'?
Is it a design that has been explicitly produced to outfit a national team (World's, Olympics, Pan Ams, World Cross, NACAC, etc)?
Or is it any shoe company produced outfit that has the letters 'USA' on it and is some combination of red, white and blue?
Obviously I mean the uniform issued by USA T&F, but apparently Nike is issuing them independently now.
Silly Old Fossil wrote:
Obviously I mean the uniform issued by USA T&F, but apparently Nike is issuing them independently now.
So can you confirm that the singlets you are complaining about worn by Meb, Ritz and Nelson (apparently different colour schemes) and by Bairu (Canadian) were actually USATF authorized and issued uniforms for some national team?
Or are you basing your argument on the fact they look similar to previous national team uniforms?
For what it's worth, I saw a guy on the street wearing a NY Yankees baseball hat. He obviously never played for the team and wearing such an iconic article of clothing when he didn't earn it was an absolute disgrace and insult to the prestige of the team.
He just laughed at me when I told him so.
Silly Old Fossil wrote:
One of the greats wrote:You keep flipping back and forth. Is your problem with anyone wearing a USA singlet while running? Or just the elites who earned it?
The elites who earned it can wear it to the movies and the gas station, who the hell cares.
If you're complaining about anyone wearing the singlet, what about someone who wears a singlet that says NY on it, should we look down on them since they never ran for the state of NY. I'll make sure to tell the guy running in my turkey trot that he shouldn't wear a t-shirt that says USA on it because it cheapens it.
Let me give you all a slightly different scenario that may help you understand my position a little better.
You competed for THEE Ohio State University back-in-the-day. You kept your team uniform (even though you were supposed to turn it in to the team manager). Would you wear that TOSU singlet in a road race, years after you graduated, and the fact that you no longer compete for the TOSU collegiately?
My position is you shouldn't be wearing that old college vest....unless you write ALUM in crayon underneath.
Remember, you don't compete for Thee Ohio State University currently.
Now, doesn't that clear things up for you?
Not at all. It's still a useless argument. Whether or not that person actually does write alum on his jersey has absolutely no effect on anything... ANYTHING. So why do it? The way I see life, we're all human beings and we have interests, and if yours don't agree with mine, I don't care. However, these people that absolutely MUST divide people into countries, states, colleges and forever maintain loyalty to one or the other is just silly and naive.
Silly Old Fossil wrote:
I have stated my position/opinion eloquently and to the point of repetition.
Perhaps I place TOO MUCH reverence on the national uniform.
Perhaps you place TOO LITTLE reverence on it.
My feeling is you should be wearing the USA uniform when you are representing the USA (plain & simple). Obviously your feeling is different.
You people have still not answered the question - why haven't Bairu, Nelson, etc worn the USA uniform prior?
Why suddenly now?
I still don't understand your opposition to the flag-draping thing....how this that much different than the uniform thing????
My question to you is... why does it matter? What's ultimately going to happen as a result of this?
SOF
1. If you place reverence on the uniform then you should also place reverence on the people who have earned the right to wear it and their right to decide when to wear it.
2. Your telling me that Ritz, Meb, Nelson were not representing their country during the marathon?? So when do we represent our country??
3. Tim Nelson earned his blue uniform for making the 2009 World Championship team in the 10K, Ritz earned his for making 2 olympic teams and a few world teams on the track and XC, Meb earned his singlet while WIINNING an Olympic medal for our country. Bairu earned his singlet by representing Canada at the IAAF WORLD XC CHAMPS (he finished 13th by the way!).
Your argument is a joke and holds no water...it is just your OPINION.
The sanctity of the USA uniform was lost the day they went on sale at Footlocker in 1984. For $85, you too could look like an Olympian.
My national team uniform is tucked away in a drawer, awaiting the day I can pass it down to my kids, if they want it. I never wore it after my only international competition, but if they ask me to come out of retirement, I'll gladly dig it out.
:-)
I left mine at my parents' home.
When I returned and tried to find it 10+ years later, I found out they had taken it to Goodwill along with boxes of other "old clothes they found lying around".
Sprint Geezer wrote:
I left mine at my parents' home.
When I returned and tried to find it 10+ years later, I found out they had taken it to Goodwill along with boxes of other "old clothes they found lying around".
OUCH!
Some people and actions deserve reverence.
An effin symbol does not.
you besmirch what it means to earn one of those jerseys and take pride in representing america by even raising this topic. when they look at collections filled with prestigious collegiate, club, and sponsors' singlets, they chose the one that they hold in highest esteem and would most like to glorify with a solid performance; it is literally their "sunday best". have some class and respect athletes' decisions to put america before a shoe company.
I wear this whenever I am intimate with a woman.
John Walker in 1975 setting world mile record wearing New Zealand national uni:
http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/U1844577.html
Seb Coe in 1979 setting world mile record wearing GB national uni:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8651/index.htm
Both in European non-championship meets. Sure there's a bunch more examples.
i am sure anybody can get a USA uniform.
people can pretty much get any kind of uniform, i mean for example how many people have lets say a los angeles lakers jersey, shirt, uniform, whatever, it in no way means they are playing for the lakers, and it does not mean the lakers have given them a contract.
in some ways just by being born here and/or having citizenship you are in a way representing the USA.
this is not a big deal
Not even a 4:30 miler wrote:
http://www.usatf.org/store/showProductDetail.asp?item=412911-419I wear this whenever I am intimate with a woman.
That is exactly the shirt Tim Nelson was wearing...exactly.
The Real UncleB wrote:
Some people and actions deserve reverence.
An effin symbol does not.
Tell that to U.S. military vets.
misdirectedhostility wrote:
you besmirch what it means to earn one of those jerseys and take pride in representing america by even raising this topic. when they look at collections filled with prestigious collegiate, club, and sponsors' singlets, they chose the one that they hold in highest esteem and would most like to glorify with a solid performance; it is literally their "sunday best". have some class and respect athletes' decisions to put america before a shoe company.
Misinformed hostility, it is actually coming to light (thanks to me) that it was actually the shoe company (Nike) or NYRR that was "directing" them to wear the USA/Canada uniform. I highly doubt Tim Nelson made this decision on his own. Remember, Tim has never worn the USA uniform previous in non-championship competition. I even said in my initial post that I didn't think this was the athletes own, original idea.
douglas burke wrote:
i am sure anybody can get a USA uniform.
people can pretty much get any kind of uniform, i mean for example how many people have lets say a los angeles lakers jersey, shirt, uniform, whatever, it in no way means they are playing for the lakers, and it does not mean the lakers have given them a contract.
in some ways just by being born here and/or having citizenship you are in a way representing the USA.
this is not a big deal
Douglas Burke, so you are saying the fat, loud American tourist in Europe (the ugly American, if you will) is representing the USA....yes????
silly old fossil wrote:
douglas burke wrote:i am sure anybody can get a USA uniform.
people can pretty much get any kind of uniform, i mean for example how many people have lets say a los angeles lakers jersey, shirt, uniform, whatever, it in no way means they are playing for the lakers, and it does not mean the lakers have given them a contract.
in some ways just by being born here and/or having citizenship you are in a way representing the USA.
this is not a big deal
Douglas Burke, so you are saying the fat, loud American tourist in Europe (the ugly American, if you will) is representing the USA....yes????
yes, he is representing America.
.silly old fossil wrote:
The Real UncleB wrote:Some people and actions deserve reverence.
An effin symbol does not.
Tell that to U.S. military vets.
This is your proof that a symbol deserves reverence? Surely then the Nazi swastika does as well because those in the German army at that time believed in it.
You could do with a little more clarity of thought, a little more common sense and a little less propaganda induced emotional Pavlovian response.
Sometimes you have to think Right Wingers missed out on the evolutionary train