Why? Blame Jerry!!! From http://www.isteve.com/ , here's Mr Seinfeld's take on Olympic Medals.
Jerry Seinfeld on the Olympics: From "I'm Telling You for the Last Time:"
I enjoy any sporting event where nations get involved, I find that the most exciting. The Olympics is really my favorite sporting event, although I think I have a problem with that silver medal. I think if I was an Olympic athlete I would rather come in last than win the silver, if you think about it. You know, you win the gold, you feel good. You win the bronze, you think "well, at least I got something". But you win that silver, that's like:
- "Congratulations, you... almost won."
-"Of all the losers, you came in first of that group".
-"You're the Number One loser".
- "No one lost ahead of you".
And they don't lose by much, you know, these short races, 3 hundredths of a second, 2 hundredths of a second. I don't know how they live with that the rest of their lives. People ask:
"Wow, congratulations, silver medal ... Did you trip? Did you not hear the gun go off? Tell us what happened."
"It's a hundredth of a second [you lost by]; What was the difference in the margin there? What was it?"
"Well, it was like [trying to orally express the shortest measurable length of time] from now... from now, [stuttering instantaneously] n-now, now, n-now, n-n-now, n, n, eh. That was it. It was it, eh, oh.
"I trained, I worked out, I exercised my entire life, I never had a date, I never had a drink, I never had a beer, I was doing push-ups since I was a fetus... I flew half way around the world, everybody I knew in my whole life was there, the guy shot off the gun and then [instantly] oh!".
And they always have that photo-finish, you know the photo-finish is always [pushes face one inch forward] "Greatest guy in the world! ... [Pulls face back one inch] "Never heard of him". You know, the guy's gotta be thinking, "If I had a pimple, I would had won".
Posted by Dar Kozinul at August 31, 2004 10:16 AM"You are forgetting what the Olympics are all about: giving out medals of beautiful gold. So-so silver. And shameful bronze."
Posted by Quev at August 31, 2004 10:34 AM