Oh, my dear Othello... Why aren't thee in the Olympics?

(Hat Tip: Expose The Left)
Well, Bryant Gumble put his foot into it this time. (Click on above link to view video) Bryant Gumble said that he doesn't watch the Winter Olympics for two reasons.
1)He doesn't believe that sports played on snow and ice have anything to do with the Olympics that the ancient Greeks invented. What Gumble doesn't know is that the Greeks actually did play an ancient version of hockey and other on ice sports. Regardless, I don't believe that the ancient Greeks competed in Judo competitions in their Olympics, nor were there equestrian sports, unless you include chariot racing. There was no wind surfing or kayaking, interpretive dance gymnastics, etc. So, for Gumble to say that since the ancient Greeks didn't play winter games or sports (which isn't true), we shouldn't be interested in watching the Winter Olympics is pretty ridiculous.

2) He calls the athletes of the Winter Olympics pseudo-athletes. He does this for two reasons. a) In figure skating, after the competitors finish their routines, they go to what is called the "kiss and cry area" where they await their scores. So, he says that if you have a sport where the "atheletes" wait in a "kiss and cry area" to be "subjectively" judged, then it's not a sport. b) There aren't any black athletes in the Winter Olympics, so these games are laugable. His exact words were,

So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss and cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won.

Let's address these second set of complaints one at a time. He calls the competitors of the Winter Olympics "psedo-athletes" because they're subjectively judged, because ONE sport has a "kiss and cry area", and because these sports don't have blacks competing in them. Where are am I supposed to start when I'm laughing at each one of them? Last time I checked, there are many sports in the Summer Olympics there are "subjectively" judged by judges, and a person wins by a judge's score; not by time. Oh, like gymnastics, diving, boxing, equastrians, etc. There are so many freaking sports played in the Summer Games that I don't have the strength to go through all of them to see all the events that are scored by judges. But, there are many, so this gripe by Gumble is completely unfounded and ridiculous.

Furthermore, I would like to see Mr Gumble ski 15 km, or snowboard with tricks, or not fall on his ass trying speed skating, or trying to play hockey. These men and women are finely tuned athletes. With the exception of the Curlers, these men and women are in peak physical condition. And, I'm sorry that Mr Gumble is so egocentric. But, just because many Americans don't care about much of the sports played in the Winter Olympics except for when they're played every 4 years, doesn't mean that they're not extremely popular in other parts of the world. These are NOT the American Olympics. They're the World Olympics. And, last time I checked, most Americans don't watch track and field and much of the other Summer Olympics sports except for when they're played once every 4 years.

Ah yes, and the piece d'resistance. Mr Gumble doesn't like to watch the Winter Olympics because of the lack of black athletes appearing in it. He makes an analogy between the Olympics and a GOP convention. (Nice way to get a biased political dig in there, Bryant.) Of course, what he's reinforcing is the democrat and liberal stereotype that Republicans are racist and don't have many, if any, blacks in their party. So to, the Winter Games descriminate against blacks because you don't see many of them. Now, in another video, Alan Colmes, of "Hannity and Colmes", and another visitor say that what Gumble said can't be classified as racist because he's black. Well, I don't agree with that. There is such a thing as reverse discrimination, and what he says just isn't true.

The Republican Party, especially under the current administration, has appointed more black and minorities to high offices of power than any democrat has ever done. There are more black Republicans running for office than ever before. To use the stereotyped analogy that if a black runs for office or plays a "rich mans's sport", like skying or hockey, than they're either not really black or don't really represent the larger black community. Well, that's just a shame if, either, the black culture views themselves in such a low light, or that they have allowed the liberals and demorats lower them to such a low standard. It's a sad state of affairs when a group allows themselves to be placed in certain stereotype and conforms to it.

What do I mean? Well, regardless of the politics, there are many blacks in winter sports. But, it would be a total lie to say that it's not a culture thing for not seeing that many blacks in the down-hill ski or nordic sports. That may not be what they're into. But, I have seen more and more black people playing hockey. There was a time when we didn't see black quarterblacks in football, and people would make racist comments about black quarterbacks. But, the open integration philosophy that has developed in sports like hockey is something to be emulated. When Russian hockey players first began defecting to the US in order to play in the NHL, there were some problems because it took place at the height of the Cold War, but these sentiments quickly died down, and we see players from all over the world playing in the NHL. So, when we began to see black players in the NHL, there really wasn't any problems. I have already seen black athletes win in these Winter Olympics, in speed skating and in the bobsled (from the last Olympics), and in hockey. Is it racist to say that it's not popular in the black culture to snow board? I don't think so, because it's just a statement of fact. Just like it isn't racist to say that in the Summer Olympics, other than track and field, boxing, basketball, and baseball, what other Summer sports are inundated with black athletes? I don't remember seeing many black athelets in the swim sports, only a couple in gymnastics, water sports, equastrian events, etc. Do you? It's not racist but a statement of fact. It has nothing to do with denying blacks the oppurtunity, that's just the way it is right now. Just as in hockey, where the black hockey players have gone back into their community and also poorer rural communities after their retirement to show black and any other underpriviledged kid the amazing sport of hockey, we now see their work paying off with an influx of excellent black hockey players and goal-tenders. If the same happened in skying or swimming, etc, I'm sure we'd see a lot more blacks in these sports that Gumble basically accuse of being racist. It's so ridiculous stupid, and he's the one who's the racist.

So, let's get off the high horse, Mr Gumble. If you don't want to watch the Winter Games, so be it. But, try to come up with more logical reasons than making up lies.