THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270398
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: OLYMPICS
From Atlanta
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: 70 lines
When Janet Evans whines, Kerri Strug has her head spun by promises of sudden riches and male gymnasts talk trash in different languages, it's a sign that world-class athletes are real people, too.
This should come as welcome relief to we mere mortals camped at the base of Mount Olympus.
Watching NBC's spin on the Games or reading some of the romantic fiction coming out of Atlanta, an observer of the quadrennial circus could easily develop an inferiority complex.
For months, we have been programmed as a nation and a world to bow our heads before the Olympians and chant, ``We are not worthy.''
Frankly, it can get tiring.
It isn't enough that these athletes are absurdly fit and attractive, that they possess incredible skills, discipline and desire. Before the image can be complete, the athletes must be portrayed as great sportsmen and women. We are encouraged to think of them as less selfish and more noble; in short, superior human beings.
People who believe this should watch the remainder of the Games with a squint. The sharper the focus, the less lovely the picture.
At her final Olympics, Evans, the swimming sweetheart, sounded like a fish out of water. A carp, to be exact.
First, she complained about the entry of Ireland's Michelle Smith in the 400-meter freestyle. It was cheating, Evans said. Not quite, though it was a case of sour grapes on Evans' part. The American, after all, failed even to qualify for the final.
Later, Evans' voice was among the loudest in the chorus of Americans trying to discredit Smith's success in the pool.
``Suspicion,'' about Smith's drug use, Evans said, was ``definitely the talk of the pool deck.''
Suspicion of drug use - human growth hormones, for example - is widespread in swimming, as well as in track and field. It is the Olympics' dirty little secret.
``There have been a lot of accusations, and I have not made any,'' Evans said Thursday after the 800, her memory as poor as her sixth-place finish.
When frustrated, Olympians sometimes do the normal, human thing. They lash out, talk without thinking, act like spoiled brats.
Honestly, this is refreshing to know after all the propaganda.
But success also creates challenges for the Olympic image. Strug had said that she would be accepting a gymnastics scholarship to UCLA when the Games were over.
But since her one-legged bunny hop captivated America, she's not so sure.
``We've got some really exciting offers,'' she said. ``I've never pictured my Olympic experience to be like this at all, to be a so-called hero.''
Strug's Olympic experience is for sale to the highest bidder. She deserves whatever comes her way. But by cashing in on celebrity, Strug is no different than the basketball players many criticize for accepting the quick buck over a college education.
``Everybody's saying I'm the next Mary Lou,'' she exclaimed.
Or Kobe Bryant in a leotard.
Speaking of basketball players, have the Dream Teamers been hanging out with Li Xiaoshuang and Vitaly Scherbo? The two gymnasts put on a display of dissing that would impress Dennis Rodman.
Xiaoshuang, who won gold for China in the all-around, sniffed his contempt for bronze-medalist Scherbo of Belarus. Loosely translated, what Mr. X was saying was, ``Scherbo can't hang with me.'' And he wasn't talking just about the rings.
Scherbo, who speaks English, shot back, ``He has no culture.''
This sort of squabbling is something the rest of us can relate to. It's nice to know that, some days, they breathe the same air at the top of Mount Olympus as we do down here. by CNB