Why Wallisch should be going to the Olympics

TYW 's acceptance makes this situation all the more shitty. If pipe palcement is going off pure results, which is how the slope team was decide, TYW would NOT be on the team. He didnt compete once, yet still made the team. To me thats complete bull shit. And i mean no disrespect to Torin, because I was extremely bummed when I heard he was injured and not going to the Olympics. Then the discretionary position came into play appropriately, and i couldnt be more hyped for him, hes my boi.

You are being hypocritical when you say a spot should be given to TYW due to a special circumstance, yet Joss "earned" his position. If anything, Wallisch is the special circumstance.

 
Fuck guys, FUCK. Dick riding the pretzel man aside, this is one of the worst news i've heard in a while. How shitty is this. You work your ass off, you get teased like a 14 year old boy at a senior house party and you get dropped. Fuck these guys.

Not to say i'm not psyched for the olympics, but FUCK. They done goofed...
 
Thovex, Dumont, Wally.. the way I see it, Adreas Håtveit is the only legend left in that field with a bunch of teens, haha.. I know who I'm sharing for!

 
Goepper is definitely an absurdly good skier. But he;s only what? 19? He has the chance to compete in 2018 and probably 2022 as well. Tom's been getting older and although I'm not a fanboy if his, I think that he should get a chance to compete. Just because he hasn't competed well lately, does not mean he won't in Sochi
 
I'm blown away. not by tom not being picked, but by the massive reaction in the community here.

I mean come on. Yes Tom is an icon since his Superunknown edit. but other people have said it on this thread and I think they're right: he has not improved that much in the last years, these last two seasons or so his slope runs were the same pretty much for every comp. and the whole talk about how his filming achievements should have been counted...why? I don't consider myself a comp skier either, but the olympics WILL be a comp and only that. it is about who's the best skier now and I certainly think Joss tops Wallisch there.
 
I don't necessarily like tom, but I respect him. The US team has been using him to promote the sport of freeskiing and he looked like a lock for Olympic gold not too long ago. Now he's not even going. Goepper and Bobby better throw down at the games and I hope Tom kills it in aspen
 
Honestly, Joss should straight up drop out because he should know that, clearly, Tom is the better choice and deserves to go so much more. Like some other guys said, Tom has been promoting the US Freeski team and slopestyle at Sochi for over a year now and has done countless interviews about how stoked he was to go. I am actually contemplating not watching the Olympics now. They even chose TNF (Tom's major sponsor) for all the gear for the US skiers, further emphasizing that he is a favorite. Until about three weeks ago, I assumed that he was going no matter what and they already had decided who was on the team. When I realized that the team was not finalized, I continued to assume that he would be on it no matter what.

This whole thing is fucked. Straight up fucked. Tom is the reason why I got into freeskiing and he deserves better than a fucking slap to the face by the so-called "coaches".
 
I can't say I care about the Olympics much at all but that's just a damn shame. Tom is the only person I would have liked to watch. I would feel so shitty if I was one of those Other three who got picked over Tom, it's not their fault but it's pretty disgusting. None of those guys can touch his style or bag of tricks in my opinion. Now I really don't think I will go out of my way to watch the games at all.
 
First off, Tom did say he would throw triples in his run, so if I am not mistaken that is a change.

Plus, this is, as Steve said, a SUBJECTIVE position which is opinionated. For all the progression he has put into skiing, and stoking everyone out (he got me into park skiing) he deserves a spot in the olympics. Before this, the only place anybody really payed attention to Joss Christensen was in the I Ride Park City Edits, but then again, Tom was usually the focus of those. No disrespect to Joss, just saying that Wallisch would have been the better choice.
 
just out of curiosity; who are the US coaches? I've seen Skogen Sprang mentioned in this thread a couple times, but who else? And do they actually coach anyone on the team, or are they just given the title because some olympic rule requires them or something?

I know the norwegian snowboard team is an actual organized team that travels all over the world to practice and compete together, but as far as i know this is not the case for the US ski team.
 
I completely agree. I love TYW but it just gives all the more reason for Tom to be picked. Also, no disrespect for Joss. It's just that a part of me died when I found out Tom wasn't going.
 
Today marks the beginning of the end of freeski slopestyle. RIP ?-2014.

Seriously Tom is everything slopestyle should be, everything park skiing should be. I only really watch slope to watch his run and see what the biggest tricks people are currently throwing are. Rattled
 
There are 4 American skiers. Not all 4 of those skiers can win a medal. Why not send the biggest American freeskier of the past 7 years, who has not only represented America in freeskiing but the entire industry in North Face commercials, Scott commercials, Dicks commercials, etc.

He is more than a skier. He is a winter sports icon. Sometimes you have to break out of the comp mindset that revolves around the difference in a few points and remember that if you really want the sport to progress and be noticed that you promote great individuals over great skills.

Shaun White is a household name, why don't they think Tom Wallisch deserves to become one too?
 
Tom Wallisch singlehandedly defined an entire generation of freeskiers... In my mind he is the face of this sport.

This is fucking stupid.
 
Joss is a great skier but hes barely ever made podium let alone be on top of the podium. Tom has won so many pro comps. He is such a consistent skier. Such a shame to not have him representing the US when he clearly deserves it
 
Man, I was really hoping to see Tom slay the olympics course :( That being said, I can see the reasoning behind the coaches decision. Still, I would rather have seen Schlopy than Joss in Sochi, since he has some real future spins in his bag. Joss lays down an impressive dub 12-sw10-sw10-combo, but I doubt that will cut it in Sochi. As to the people arguing that Tom would have thrown triples: I am as sad as you are, but I can see how talking about doing tricks nobody has seen you try in a run won't get you a spot on the team. Truth is that Joss absolutely stomped a run that was basically Tom's run on steroids.

Anyway, I really am less stoked for the Olympics now than I ever thought I'd be. No Simon, no Tom, no Jon (in racing, although that wasn't a surprise) and an injured Torin. Damn.
 
this is just an overall shit show

Joss gets unwarranted hate from people who blame him for stealing toms spot

wallisch is obviously devastated

and everyone else misses out on watching wallisch in the olympics
 
Tom was the only flower in a massive pile of shit that is the US slopestyle team. As a 21 year old fanboy, I'm pretty disappointed.
 
I hear ya, but no context lost. Were Goepper, Bobby, Gus's triples slope tricks? Nope. Have they all done them within slope runs? Nope. Pretty sure they all did them on large photo/video jumps. I think it's just assumed that jumps will be large enough (time will tell i guess) and competitors won't hold anything back and chuck 'em anyway in Russia.

I think the fact that this decision seems to be made solely off of the past 5 contests this year is a huge mistake.
 
Hopefully the russian terrorists bomb the olympics then we will still have Tom Wallisch here in Amerikkka safe and sound. Thanks government officials for fucking the entirety of the US citizens that go over there over.
 
We need to make a petition for Tom to be on the team and send it to Joss. Wallisch deserves it way more anyway
 
What a bummer. Seemed like he was the one skier who was OBVIOUSLY going to be there.

Guess there's always Team Sweden.
 
Fly Wallisch to Sochi, break into the slope course, throw down a huge naked triple.

What this accomplishes:

1. Pays respect to Shane and the roots of "freesking"

2. Reminds the establishment that its a FUCKING joke

3. Reminds us to never take this sport too seriously, because seriousness ruins skiing

4. Makes Tom a legend
 
As much as I would love to see Henrik take gold, I really hope Andreas takes it. He's the most OG skier in the contest, and lets be honest: He is the perfect guy to represent freestyle skiing.
 
Let me start by saying this: I do not care at all if Wallisch is going to the olympics or not. Because the gold is clearly coming home to Sweden.

Though I get your point it's in fact not only a one shot contest. It's the Olympics. It's taking place every fourth year and in a lot of other sports the biggest possible thing you can achieve is a olympic gold. Since it now exists "national free skiing teams" working in the same way as their equivalent in lets say, cross-country skiing, shouldn't they treat Olympics the same way?

With the Olympics pretty light scheduling, the most fair would be to look back the past four years when choosing your team. We all know how really small details can take a perfect run and make it not so perfect anymore. Well, knowing that, shouldn't you value consistency over the past four years competitions more then anything else? Because it's, like you said, a one shot contest. So it's not really fair to athletes who has three seasons of champagne-cuz-he/she-won-the-championship-game and then one season with fairly lower results if you base there chance of winning the Olympics on the most recent one.

If we are going to be in the Olympics, we should start treating it like the Olympics, not just another competition. If we are able to do so then maybe, just maybe, we'll be able separate the Olympics from the "real" competition scene and keep evolve the "rules" of freesking on our own, rather then people bitching over skiing loosing it's integrity.

 
Actually I don't think there's been much hate on him, in fact most posts state that they're stoked for him or something similar. We're not blaming him for being picked, only the coaches for being a bunch of dipshits.
 
who the fuck are the coaches that make this decision? Some punter skiercross or mogul coach? Mike Douglas and Uncle E? Sounds to me like whoever made the decision is unqualified to do so.
 
Tom is the best rider i've ever seen for sure. This is totally unfair. Olympics without Tom are not going to be the same.
 
I'm not surprised, the US cant have some wannabe thug park rat representing them on the olympic stage. anyone who doesn't already know who tammy wammstick is gonna youtube his name and come up with stuff like this

I dont doubt that his punk attitude, Profaine gangster rap choice of music and obvious disregard for authority has landed his perfect switch dub 10 in hot water with the US olympic comittee. This edit is also a testament to his immiturity.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6910904

Also his most recent athlete profile isn't doing him any favors. He's talking to his pets, joking around and not taking his "Olympic Profile" seriously at all. He's also saying how you can be successful through the internet and not doing competitions. Well, if ya didnt know the olympics ARE a competition, and a pretty big one at that. Team America is looking for people who are not only successful competetors, but skiiers who have made a name for themselves through the competetion scene.

Finally, his style is no exactly what olympic judges will be looking for. you might get away with baggy pants saggy tall tee's and bandana on yer belt loop at the breck dew tour, but sochi?? no way.

TL;DR: Quite simply, I believe our beloved Tom Wallisch is simply too dirty for the olympics.
 
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