Mar 15 2008
Gary Hall Jr Enjoys Stirring the Pot
If there’s one thing Gary Hall Jr. is good at, it’s making bold predictions pertaining to the Olympics.
I’m not sure giving the Aussies bulletin board material is the best idea, even if it does look like Team US has the upper hand on paper. Regardless, that’s what GHJ has done with his latest comments.
“You know as well as I do that it isn’t going to be close. The US team will win more Olympic medals than any other country. It’s not patriotism, it’s an insider’s perspective on the odds.
But tell us how you really feel, Gary!
Does everyone remember the big blow-up when Gary guaranteed results at the 2000 Olympics? I sure as hell do. In Sydney, he predicted that the USA 400 Free relay would beat the Aussie squad and “smash them like guitars”. That didn’t end well…
Confidence is a very good thing. But it’s best to let your swimming do the talking because actions always speak louder than words.
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14 Responses to “Gary Hall Jr Enjoys Stirring the Pot”
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preach hunnie!
lets us keep the “smash them like guitars” comments to a minimum this time around. no need to jinx the team
Seriously. Thank you for posting this! Oh, and I love the photoshop by the way. I really thought it was him for a second (okay, for a minute!)!!
Photoshop and I get along very, very well.
I’m not gonna lie, the only reason I FINALLY figured out it was photoshopped is because his head looks so crazy large… lol
oh and the comments about the photoshopping… otherwise, i would have never known.
I actually had to make his head that big because the original dude’s head was rather large to begin with. So GHJ’s head had to be even bigger! True story.
Fits him well.
You’re kidding! Hahahahhahahaa that’s ridiculous!!
I feel obligated to point out that the “smash them like guitars” prediction actually referred to the US dominating Australia in general in the pool at the Olympics and had nothing to do with the relay. And, of course, the relay lost but we did dominate in Sydney.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/news/2000/08/22/hall_five/
Seems like semantics to me, lol. The point of this post was to state that predicitions like his do more harm than good. And he’s at it again. What is to be gained from saying that? Nothing. Just swim.
I think you are confusing semantics with context. Hall’s prediction in 2000 turned out to be absolutely true (USA: 33 medals; AUS: 18) and I don’t see what harm came of it. The relay was one of the greatest races in Olympic history, regardless of who won.
I understand what the point of the post was. I think you missed the point of Hall’s comments. Trash talk is one of the more entertaining parts of sport and I think the lack of it in swimming helps explain why so few people care. Not to mention that barring a serious disaster, there is no way the US will be outdone at the pool in Beijing.
But what he said was used as ammo when the team did not dominate the Aussies in everything. Did it matter that he meant overall? No. It still created a firestorm of negative press that team USA didn’t need raining on its collective parade. So again, I ask, ‘what good came from it’?
The US has been winning the overall medal wars for a long time. There is absolutely no need for him to make comments like that. Maybe if he changed the delivery of them to what some of the other Natll Teamers are saying (e.g. We feel very confident, this is one of the strongest teams ever) it would be better.
I didn’t miss the point of his comments. Not at all. I don’t think they’re necessary. Like the post said, even if it does look like we’ll dominate “on paper”, they’re not needed. Maybe it’s because I’m a female who never participated in trash talking in my basketball days. Never saw the need for it. I always thought hitting that jumper or lay-up was the best way to show the other team what was up. And for the record, I don’t think the lack of trash talking is why the general public is disinterested in swimming.
A Steelers safety guaranteed a win over the Pats last season. The prediction didn’t come to fruition and the player was raked over the coals. So why did he offer up a guarantee? To get more people interested in Steelers football? Doubt it. Media had a field day with him as well as his own teammates. The next game he was snatched out of the starting lineup. I bet he wishes he’d never made such a comment.
You and I will just have to agree to disagree. I will never think that coming out and making predictions like that is harmless or good for the sport; especially when the words are coming from Gary Hall Jr. Then again, maybe my issue is with the fact that Gary is the one who said it. I wonder what my reaction would be if someone else on the Natl Team made these statements…Hmmm
Lack of trash talking is not the reason why swimming isn’t popular here in America. We just have too many other sports that dominate our TV. I think swimming is more of a family friendly sport because there is no trash talking.
Just sayin’ my two cents!
I agree, Carrie. Swimming can be made “more appealing” to the masses without trash talk. I think Ryan is doing a great job of that simply with his personality. It’s starting to shine and a lot of people are drawn to him because of it.
There are many factors at play as to why swimming isn’t a major sport in the US, and I don’t think trash talking is a big one. How, then, do we explain the appeal of golf; a “gentleman’s game”?
Again, we just aren’t going to agree. Discussions like this have been going on within the swimming community for years. We don’t all see things the same way and that’s fine! It’s great that we can talk about these things amongst ourselves
BTW, I wanted to thank czecher for registering and commenting. We’re used to ‘talking amongst ourselves’, so it’s nice when someone else joins in!