those crazy aussies are at it again
love it.
5 months ago
ant1
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why ignorant?
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
There are some that think that the Aussies are picking on the riders chosen
They chose Angel Madrazo last year and they nicknamed him McLovin
by Vlaanderen90 on Jan 13, 2012 11:49 AM EST up reply actions
Didn't know that
Must be an obscure movie.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Jan 13, 2012 1:34 PM EST up reply actions
Nah, just a movie (mostly) for the 16-25 year old crowd
One of those brash comedies like 40 Year Old Virgin or The Hangover
I NEED MOAR MUD
by Douglas Ansel on Jan 13, 2012 11:04 PM EST up reply actions
A rider on a pro team in a World tour race is hardly obscure
Especially when he’s been around for a few years and has a decent palmares. This tells us more about the people behind the idea than the riders.
And yes, I think it’s condescending.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Jan 13, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe you didn't read Arthur Vichot's comments.
I tried to enjoy it whilst staying focussed on the race and above all trying to be available and open to all the Aussies, it was the least I could do when I saw the effort they used to encourage me.
Reads to me like he was enjoying the notoriety rather than feeling like a victim of a gag gone wrong.
Or maybe I did
and don’t thinkt it matters very much. If they want to cheer on a rider, fine. But they shouldn’t belittle them.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Jan 13, 2012 1:32 PM EST up reply actions
i see
now i don’t know any of the people involved, or their motivations, but i look at it as them picking someone, who while maybe not obscure (like you say, being around for years and having won races), is one of the lesser known riders. they’re not picking someone who is well known to most cycling fans. i can see how some might look at it as condescending, but i see it more as a nice thing to do for someone who would otherwise not get much, if any, fan support at the tdu.
full disclosure – back in the day, my friends and i did something similar for a buddy’s sister, so i may be projecting my motivations onto the adelaide folks. she was playing a soccer game and we painted our chests with her name and very vocally supported her during the game. there were maybe a couple dozen parents and the 5 of us acting like she was the biggest star in the world. probably super embarrassing for her, but it was a ton of fun. getting paint out of chest hair on the other hand…
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Ah, this old cultural sawhorse
It’s not intended to be condescending.
Broadly speaking, it’s like picking a VDS 1 pointer. Fun to follow someone who’s probably not working for themselves and hopefully fun for them to get a bit of attention.
This also matters because as far as most Australians know there are only 2 bike races a year. There’s the TdF and the TDU. So it’s also a chance to point out to our larger population that the sport’s actually quite a bit bigger.
Nicknames are always affectionate.
Australia is a country where we give absolutely everyone a nickname. If your name has more than two syllables we’ll usually take the first one and attach an O or Y to it. Unless there’s some other feature that is striking or funny. But it’s never meant to be insulting. In fact, actually identifying a specific nickname is an indication of real acceptance.
Cultural translation’s always complex, but I think it’s unfair to paint what’s meant to be fun in such a negative light.
I'm not just a smartarse. Other parts of me are sometimes clever as well.
by omnevelnihil on Jan 13, 2012 6:07 PM EST up reply actions
Things are rarely intended to be condescending
And yet they manage to be condescending anyway. And I don’t really see how it’s like picking a VDS 1 pointer, I wouldn’t call the obscure (is that a common nickname in Australia?).
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Jan 13, 2012 6:19 PM EST up reply actions
Ah fuck it,
I can’t be arsed getting into an argument over a bit of fun. You don’t like it, fine.
Condescend towards an entire nation all you want.
I'm not just a smartarse. Other parts of me are sometimes clever as well.
by omnevelnihil on Jan 13, 2012 7:53 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
oddly enough
(North American ice) hockey nicknames are formed pretty much the same way if you include the -er and -sy or -s suffixes as well. I suppose neither population is the most creative lot.
This is more the mole we're used to...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bi3-VxmWkA&feature=related
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
only watched the first ten seconds or so
but it seems like they transported ja’mie from Summer Heights High back in time twenty years
Yes, that was the precursor of a genre.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Let me see.
Greipel FTW Absolutely obscure and unknown racer. :)
" I like that Cav got his wins…"
JJY 10/20/11
.
As the article says, the idea is to take someone promising but relatively unknown / not a top name draw
and turn them into a household name. Qatar or not, he’s not one of the top 10 best known riders there. No harm giving him some extra exposure.
"It is unfortunate that the Wall is not plugged in correctly."
I think is a nice thing to do.
+1 to the action!!!
Strava...? We are going for the TOP 10 this year...! Are you going to be part of something great or not?
Lastras? Ultrasun? What Pablo?
Strava...? We are going for the TOP 10 this year...! Are you going to be part of something great or not?
So I am a "donut" ???
Yeeeey me FTW..! 1 Quilmes for you..!
Strava...? We are going for the TOP 10 this year...! Are you going to be part of something great or not?
I give this a thumbs up.
I don’t recall it so much from last year but definitely recall the year before when there was wild cheering for Vichot.
When I go with my girls to a sporting event (soccer, minor league baseball, cycling, whatever) where we didn’t know the players we always adopt one randomly as our favorite for the day. It pulls us a little more into the action and makes it all a bit more fun. If our cheers ever reach “our guy” I hope they make him smile.
I'm on record as being very supportive of this idea, and I still am, but I think Mol is a strange choice.
That said, it may be a good move to avoid picking a neo-pro, who’s probably already a little overwhelmed.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
I vote for Ted King. I think he'd love it if the Aussies picked him.
He’s fairly obscure unless you are an American fan.
I like the idea. I enjoyed it last year while watching the TDU.
I'd like it to be one of the Japanese riders. They would love it. Beppu though is already something of a favourite here.
His wheelies are up to McEwen’s standard, although whether he could manage one atop the Tourmalet has yet to be seen.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Seems cool to me.
I can see how you could take it as condescending. But perhaps that’s projecting onto the recipients a feeling of inferiority that they don’t actually have. In our eyes as jaded fans, yeah, a Wouter Mol may be insignificant compared to the big stars. But just to be in a World Tour race, he’s incredibly talented and he’s probably paid his dues. He’s among the elite, and I hope he knows it. I hope he hears these folks cheering for him and thinks, Yeah, about time I got the attention I deserve.
Start fast, finish fast, and hope you're fast enough-- Cadel Evans
His twitter account suggests he's not unhappy.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Or that he's the sort who would have a bit of fun in the same way,
if the situation were reversed.
Why be suspicious of enjoyment? Sure, those “fans” mostly don’t really know who he is. But many of them don’t really “know” much about the big names, either. At any big race, some fair percentage of the folks are there to stand in the sun, drink a beer, and yell when everybody else yells. If they shout his name, no harm to it.
"It is unfortunate that the Wall is not plugged in correctly."
They know enough. They are cyclists and for them it is a welcome mat.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
It was either Walter or...
“where’s Arthur’ T-Sirts and Road Graffiti. The decision on who to follow is made by who is indeed, very knowledgable about Cycling. It was a difficult choice this year…we know most of them really well.
next time....don't forget the gravy!!
wasn't there a sort of unwritten stipulation that the pro shouldn't speak English?
it seems Mol has already figured out what is going on. Although this way is probably fairer for the rider and less belittling/distracting. The other way it seems like an ambush and could make the rider uncomfortable and not included in a “laughing at” instead of “laughing with” way, sort of like an animal at the zoo isn’t “in” on the spectacle.
I wish they’d picked a more obscure rider, but I’d say selecting Mol will let them meet their goal of celebrating a relatively unheralded rider.
His website suggests he's fairly chuffed.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
I bet HWMNBN wished
that the guy who dressed up as a giant syringe would chase after an obscure rider for a change.
Unofficial top 10: Stage 1 Santos Tour Down Under.
1:Andre Greipel (GER) – Lotto Belisol Team 2:Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) – Lampre-ISD 3: Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR) – FDJ-Big MAT 4: Fabio Sabatini (ITA) – Liquigas-Cannondale 5: Daniele Bennati (ITA) – Radioshack-Nissan 6: Christopher Sutton (AUS) – Sky Procycling 7: Jonathan Cantwell (AUS) – Team Saxo Bank 8: Xavier Florencio Cabre’ (ESP) – Katusha Team 9: Mark Renshaw (AUS) – Rabobank Cycling Team 10: Manuel Belletti (ITA) – Ag2r La Mondiale
I’m more than a little concerned about GE being caught up in the accident.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
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