Geek, you have passed this comment up after it has been made a couple times now.....HOW could Reese have put Hall on the relay, if he wasn't even at the pool?:D
Originally posted by aquageek
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I imagine some people will hold this against Hall (both his lack of conformity on the warm up outfit, resistance is futile, and his behavior at the relays). Many of our greatest athletes have some bad moments. I still think he's a pretty remarkable guy and will give him a break.
If I was a coach, I would have to consider his actions when selecting future relay teams. I would also have to consider his incredible speed and ability. Weigh it all together and ..... well, despite the fact I don't like what he did (the relay thing), I would be hard pressed to leave him off a relay in the future if I wanted to win.
And he has accomplished many remarkable things. I doubt if anyone would argue against that. I certainly have a bit of a jealous streak for anyone with that kind of ability.
I also agree with Arm. I don't like what Hall did, but boy did it ever get us talking. I also hate the Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers, Mr. Moose..... you name it. But these teams certainly generate a lot of interest in their sport. I agree that ultimately this may good for the sport of swimming in a sort of backwards, convoluted kind of way.:confused:
Originally posted by tjburk
Geek, you have passed this comment up after it has been made a couple times now.....HOW could Reese have put Hall on the relay, if he wasn't even at the pool?:D
I could be wrong, but we are talking about him not being on the 100 relay and then skipping the 200 relay (for which he was an alternate) in protest/anger/frustration?
Ok Swimr4life, fair enough. I will revise that statement. Swimming needs a major kick in the trunks if it doesn;t want to fall victim to lack of interest(yawn), and the bigger "money* sports.
Originally posted by Sam Perry
He did not swim the 200 free so he wasn't even considered for the 800 relay. Only the 400 free relay was what he was considered for.
Back on page 2, I read this:
Originally posted by Tom Ellison
Had I been Eddie Reese; Hall would have NEVER swam again in the Olympics because HE was the backup swimmer on the 4 X 200 relay when he decided to sit at the Olympic Village during that race….
So before we add another car to this highway accident, maybe someone (who knows for certain) can clear this up. Is Tom correct, that Gary Hall was the backup swimmer for the 4x200 relay? (If not, who were the backup relay members? Just curious.)
I could be wrong, but we are talking about him not being on the 100 relay and then skipping the 200 relay (for which he was an alternate) in protest/anger/frustration?
He did not swim the 200 free so he wasn't even considered for the 800 relay. Only the 400 free relay was what he was considered for. He did not show up to the finals on night 2 to watch his team contest the relay.
Originally posted by tjburk
How could Reese have put Hall on the relay, if he wasn't even at the pool?
According to NBCOlympics.com, Crocker had a sore throat for three days before the relay finals. Reese would have had plenty of time to make the substitution. It was a judgment call (assuming he even considered using Hall). Arguably, it was a bad call.
He still should have shown up to watch.
Kudos to organizations that turn athletes into robots. And, if you don't think college coaches choose their own, you live in a chlorine induced fantasy land.
I'm glad Hall stood up for himself and didn't wear the beurocratically prescribed outfit. I was proud of him and his performance. Maybe we should make all our athletes the humorloess automatrons that characterize the Chinese team or the former Soviets, that's the way to go.
