Grete Eliassen: The Bullshit of Freestyle Skiing

t_rob

t_rob

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http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/10/sport/grete-eliassen-sochi-2014-olympics-slopestyle/

How the fuck does Grete get CNN to write articles about her? She hasn't won xgames since 2006 and doesn't stand a chance against any of the top women but still the uninformed non-ski media loves to write about her...

Canadian Media has embraced Roz who actually is a medal contender... Why doesn't the US media go out and embrace athletes like Maddie Bowman or any of the US pipe girls that are actually on the top of their sport? Is it Grete's influence as a roll model and not actually her skiing? Or is Grete seriously the US's best hope in women's slope?

 
I seriously need to stop following women's skiing. I have such high hopes for it and want it to be further legitimized but nine times out of ten I am severely disappointed by what comes out of it.
 
Grete is hot and an American. In 'merica we like to be nostalgic so there is a market for news about Grete even if she's not the front runner. My guess is we will see more stories about Bode Miller and Picabo Street than any pipe or slopestyle athlete. If the old timers don't win maybe they'll take the pressure off the younger skiers. Really all that matters is that someone beats the Russians and hopefully that someone is team USA.
 
Red Bull is the reason. Both the Canadian and US media have been worked by Red Bull's PR people. Kaya has been on every major Canadian TV interview show and magazine recently. Red Bull have done a great job of promoting their people. The media don't know who to interview (don't do their homework usually) so when a good PR person puts someone in front of them, they agree. And they've worked the media to believe that if you are on Red Bull, you are the one at the top of your sport, no exceptions. (So maybe keep following female freeskiing but stop drinking Red Bull? Drink water?) Have you not seen that Devin Logan has gotten a ton of press? She is always posting a recent TV/media interview.. Though she is definitely a contender for a medal, she was promoted to the media by someone because she didn't have any results last year (so the media wouldn't have picked up on her without someone putting her name in front them).

 
why is this a bad thing? any international media/news about skiing is good news about skiing.
 
To clarify (in case those questions were partially directed at me), I was just answering his question about why did CNN interview Grete and not others who are medal contenders. I don't think Grete is a bad representative to the general public about freeskiing. But if he thinks it should be a medal contender (which makes sense), they have paid a lot of attention to Devin and a lot of the guys too.
 
Well yeah, but can we just be idealistic for one second and pretend that the people that get coverage should be the ones that deserve it?

Kaya's 7 gold medals in the last 8 x and euro x say loud and clear that if there is anyone to talk to, it's her. Without RB PR or something like a Yaps Parade, she'd still be getting this coverage if a media outlet said we want to talk to the new ski kids.

 
The us womens ski team should have Maggie Voison and Alexi Micinski instead of Meg Olenick and Grete. Washed up skier chicks still getting paid on pro teams is a joke. I don't even want to know how much Grete makes a year.
 
I think it's just a poor article.

The author probably went to The US Freeskiing Website and started googling each skier. Grete has a "storied" career that has been -- yes, at the hands of redbull's marketing scheme -- well documented over the past decade.

She's (been) visible, has a strong skiing background, and is a pretty face. As an outsider, yes, it would seem like a logical pick. A lot of the coverage from non-endemic media seems to focus on talent that comes off as clean-cut, Darling-of-America-esque harbingers of what mainstream media thinks they need to sell the general public on a new sport.

It's all fuckin stupid. It will continue to suck, and even more glaringly so, in the next two months. It's a new sport most easily likened to snowboarding -- which at over a decade out from the first inclusion in the Olympics has fully been conceptualized by Joe Schmo from Pensacola, Florida -- which carries a dirtbag rep.

No article, interview, or web-piece will show any personality -- unless it's from an endemic source or written by someone who came from our small community (Rogge, Harvey, etc.)
 
I like the idealism. I agree with everything you've said. But your questions was how the fuck did this happen so I gave my perspective. And it is a shitty article with nothing interesting/new about Grete or her perspective on freeskiing--makes it that much worse. I guess I'm on the "drink water" side of idealism so thought I'd give you something else to blame, not the idea of following female freeskiing.

 
Don't even try to bash those ladies when you are still supporting Tanner Hall. Maggie will have her time to shine but no one knows who she is yet. Just wait until after Dew Tour.
 
It is good to have long term skiers on a team. Even if they don't have the results of the young ones, they can be a great resource to everyone. They've been around and seen it all. The team doesn't pay anyone--just their coaches and trainers. Any money that anyone makes is from their sponsors (and prize money). Sponsors like RB and Oakley like to have skiers with maturity who can speak well, handle themselves in situations, bring perspective that goes back further than yesterday. The young skiers haven't been injured yet, been trashed by newschoolers, had a run a bad luck at comps, and all those fun things. It will be good for them to have the long term skiers to turn to for advice and support.

 
Bash? I apologize I think its lame there are girls 10 years younger then Grete with twice the tricks and no chance of going to the Olympics . And I hate to say it but with sponsors like red bull I expect more progression then left mute 5s. And supporting tanner has nothing to do with women's skiing or this thread.
 
You don't know what you are talking about. All the US skiers competing at Dew Tour and the rest of the WCs this month and next were given those spots so they could compete for a spot on the Olympic team. Maggie has a great chance at grabbing it after her performance today. And did you know that the USSA identified some young skiers as talent and sent them to NZ this past summer to train? Grete will have to earn her spot on the US Olympic team, just like anyone else. The comps this month and January (starting with this Dew Tour) will determine the team, not sponsors or past results. Pipe and slope will each have 4 females and 4 males so it will be highly competitive.
 
I'm glad someone said it.... olympics aside- I am getting really sick of seeing grete and kristi leskinen still all over the place. Not that these girls weren't at one point slayers who dominated the sport, but in general I haven't seen either of them throw anything larger than a 3 or 5 in years. boooorrrringggg.
 
I totally agree, but don't forgett she has the world record for highest femail air of a hip which was around 35ft or something. Yeah she did a "running man" straight air, but still...This was some years back... the year after dumont set the record in QP i think. Correct me if im mistaken, not so sure about the year and hight, but it was close to 35ft i think :)
 
Context of being on the Olympics team aside, I do not understand how or why you girls in the freeskiing community are hating on Grete? paved the way for many skiers to come and is still better (maybe not at park/slopestyle) than most female skiers in the game. She's a great, positive face for the sport and is a way better skier than Leskinen.

Would you be hating on Burke now too if she made the team? Someone had to fill Burke's OG shoes.
 
Dont compare Burke with these two... Burke was lightyears beyond every female skiier on the planet, i remember when she attempted the first ever 1260, and that was in x-games not on some custoum 100ft kicker.

But i get where you want, and i kinda agree.

Here's Gretes run from X15. As you can see she's not only doing 3's and 5's only.

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I think this is way more "The Bullshit of Media" and the way things are shown on news, and I reaaallly don't think situations like this are unique to freestyle skiing.
 
So let's give dumont more coverage because he and Tanner carried their sport on their shoulder's for years and ignore Wise and Torin? I really don't like your line. That is basically what it sounds like you are saying. It has nothing to do with respect or disrespect to innovators and everything to do with media over-senstationalism to the point that it is misrepresents her sport and who she is. Grete is the face of the sport to outsiders and she doesn't lead the sport on the inside. At least Shaun White wins pipe comps every year.

Grete has never been slope queen ever. Her x games golds are both in pipe. Yet the media paints her as someone else.
 
Do you have the reading comprehension of a 5th grader or what? I intentionally prefaced my post with "context of being on the olympics team aside" AND added that she's not the best at freesking/park for that very reason. I said I can't believe her fellow females are hating ON Grete instead of hating on the choice of the USA team in picking Grete to be on it instead of younger, more promising athletes for the discipline.

I love Grete, but I also agree with you that she no longer belongs on the slopestyle Olympic Team. I've seen unsponsored girls throw down better runs than she can do but to this day I still haven't seen very many girls slay big mountain better than her.
 
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