Mikaela Shiffrin

[robertc3]

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today the return of Karin Harjo to the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team as head coach of the winningest woman alpine skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin.

https://skiracing.com/harjo-returns-to-stifel-u-s-alpine-ski-team-to-coach-shiffrin/?fbclid=IwAR2fl5AqlTVguDE51XPV8GpNikfr5uHOrnys8uXkOSRIS1wOMwzf2iM75hw

I certainly understand why this is getting lost in the thread, but it is a big deal. The greatest alpine racer of all time just hired a woman to coach her. That is big news in a sport where men have dominated the coaching ranks forever.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Mikaela isn't marketable? Quick, you better call Adidas, Barilla, Land Rover, Longines, Visa, Oakley, Atomic, LEKI, and Reusch to let them know!

They know.

Slalom queen Shiffrin not immune to sport's uphill battle for brands

American Mikaela Shiffrin's bid for Alpine skiing history will inspire young fans but brands may be harder to sway as her sport fights to get a bigger share of the sponsorship pie, experts say.

www.reuters.com

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Her Beijing failure, which I finally found a snippet of in Tiktok of all places, would have been a great arc for curious fans to relate to her.


It's a real story of adversity that she's most known for for those new to the Mikaela hype. And the powers that be shunning this video for some reason, made curious fans less curious. Not a good move for a sport that struggles for viewership with the other sports leagues.

 

[James]

Her Beijing failure, which I finally found a snippet of in Tiktok of all places, would have been a great arc for curious fans to relate to her.


It's a real story of adversity that she's most known for for those new to the Mikaela hype. And the powers that be shunning this video for some reason, made curious fans less curious. Not a good move for a sport that struggles for viewership with the other sports leagues.

Dude, if you have to go to tiktok to find Mikaela’s races, maybe find a 10 yr old to help you. There’s no conspiracy here.

Your stuff about the NBA is pretty irrelevant. It’s like if I watched Crocodile Dundee, then started making comments on Australian popular culture. Supporting my views by random articles I find in the Australian press.

I could turn on any sports station in the country and hear about the NBA in minutes. You’ll almost never hear about soccer, even the wcup, unless ESPN is broadcasting it, so then ESPN covers it, or the US does something special. Rare.
(Soccer’s coverage has changed by leaps and bounds in 10yrs.)
Those same people will spend hours debating GOAT status. But only two or three sports ever figure in that. Football, basketball, and sometimes golf. Possibly boxing, but that would be brief.
Is anyone debating tennis GOATs? Laughable.
Skiing? No one knows any skiers. Soccer? Eh, who cares. -Late night sports cable shows, podcasts, etc. Fringe.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

Dude, if you have to go to tiktok to find Mikaela’s races

That's the sad state of affairs with skiing. Any other sport or athlete, I can go to YouTube to watch past fights and games. Then I become a new fan.

It's a simple business model. Give away old fights and games for free (to build a new fanbase) and charge for the new stuff.

It shouldn't be hard work to watch old stuff. If it is, half the battle (for new fans) would have already been lost.

The Olympic stuff is geofenced by the way for Americans wondering what the heck I'm talking about how hard it is to find old videos.

 

[James]

That's the sad state of affairs with skiing. Any other sport or athlete, I can go to YouTube to watch past fights and games. Then I become a new fan.

Yeah, that just doesn’t happen here. And they can find videos on youtube or NBC/Olympic channel.
If Mikaela did makeup videos, she might get popular on youtube . They still wouldn’t watch the skiing.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

There’s no conspiracy here.

Hm I don't know about that. There were murmurs around that time that the shot was causing vertigo issues with top athletes like Biles, who performed badly post shot. MS would have gotten that shot too to get into Beijing. Maybe it was the powers-that-be in the pharma industry that tried to suppress the video. Or it's just NBC greed not to share old stuff. Who knows?

Either way, I'm tuned out and my interest went from high to zero. I can tolerate rabid and toxic fans. They exist in any sport.

What I can't tolerate is making it harder for me to watch old stuff.

 

[Tom K.]

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today the return of Karin Harjo to the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team as head coach of the winningest woman alpine skier of all time, Mikaela Shiffrin.

https://skiracing.com/harjo-returns-to-stifel-u-s-alpine-ski-team-to-coach-shiffrin/?fbclid=IwAR2fl5AqlTVguDE51XPV8GpNikfr5uHOrnys8uXkOSRIS1wOMwzf2iM75hw

This is so cool for me, in a small world kind of way. The new coach is the neighbor of one of my best friends, back in the Columbia River Gorge, where we lived forever, before the place just got overrun/ruined by the sheer size and proximity of the Portland Metro Area.

 

[James]

From last year-

 

[fatbob]

You have some good points, for me I would remove all the team sports and only focus on the individual sports. Let's face it alpine ski racing is one person again the clock. Who ever is the fastest is the winner.

That's a key problem with wider interest. Watch a full SL or GS race and its pretty tedious. No direct head to head competition and and lot of also rans failing against that clock if you don't know what you're looking for. Don't think track or swimming or almost any race sport would be as compelling if everything was an individual time trial. TV could juice it up with technology of course showing present runner against a ghost image of present leader etc.

 

[BMC]

That's a key problem with wider interest. Watch a full SL or GS race and its pretty tedious. No direct head to head competition and and lot of also rans failing against that clock if you don't know what you're looking for. Don't think track or swimming or almost any race sport would be as compelling if everything was an individual time trial. TV could juice it up with technology of course showing present runner against a ghost image of present leader etc.

100%. For the non skier, skiing is a pretty boring TV spectacle. The skiing itself can be spectacular but the opponent is a clock. There’s no obvious human drama. Even for a skier, one after another skier turning around gates can become dull.

Dual slaloms or Skiercross do try to address that, and it does make for somewhat more viewer engagement, but it still falls a little short of the drama of other sports where both teams (footy, basketball) or players (a la tennis) are in contest with each other on the same field at the same time.

 

[sparty]

That's a key problem with wider interest. Watch a full SL or GS race and its pretty tedious. No direct head to head competition and and lot of also rans failing against that clock if you don't know what you're looking for. Don't think track or swimming or almost any race sport would be as compelling if everything was an individual time trial. TV could juice it up with technology of course showing present runner against a ghost image of present leader etc.

It's interesting that they did that a lot twenty or so years ago (it was fancy new tech at the time, and sort of trickled down to lower levels with software originally designed to analyze golf swings), but it seems like it never really returned after the initial wave of popularity.

I don't know if constraints on the video that works were the issues (the consumer grade software really struggled if you did any significant panning or zooming unless you were super consistent run to run), or if viewers just didn't respond favorably (it did somewhat obscure the racer on course when they were close).

I've often wondered if general viewers would be more drawn in if you also had a reasonably high-end ski instructor or someone else reasonably relatable (ie a level of skier that'd be on the upper end but not unusual at most ski areas) as a forerunner or postrunner; my guess is that most people who aren't already into ski racing don't realize just how much higher the level is at a World Cup.

On the question of making a successful ski racer more recognizable in the US, I'm going to go out on a fairly sturdy limb and say that Red Bull probably has more marketing know-how and the ability to pull off more than most. If there were easy answers, I suspect they'd have found them.

 

[Wade]

Hm I don't know about that. There were murmurs around that time that the shot was causing vertigo issues with top athletes like Biles, who performed badly post shot. MS would have gotten that shot too to get into Beijing. Maybe it was the powers-that-be in the pharma industry that tried to suppress the video. Or it's just NBC greed not to share old stuff. Who knows?

Either way, I'm tuned out and my interest went from high to zero. I can tolerate rabid and toxic fans. They exist in any sport.

What I can't tolerate is making it harder for me to watch old stuff.

I spent the requisite 10 seconds to google “Mikaela Shiffrin Beijing 2022” and the first three videos that came up were all related to her crashing.

The consistency with which you take the complete and utter contrary position to the position any reasonable person would take is almost admirable.

And kind of useful - if someone is on the fence about what the right take is on a particular issue, they can just look at your position on that same issue and know with reasonable certainty that the exact opposite is correct.

it’s almost Seinfeldian:

George: "My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat... It's wrong."

Jerry: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

 

[Pasha]

Yeah, that just doesn’t happen here. And they can find videos on youtube or NBC/Olympic channel.
If Mikaela did makeup videos, she might get popular on youtube . They still wouldn’t watch the skiing.

Enjoy:

https://youtube.com/@mikaelashiffrin

 

[Pasha]

From last year-

Thanks for that!

Speed coach, eh? Is someone aiming to win more speed evets?

Love the quote at 2:03: “Every time you try to create absolutes in this sport, then it’s going to be a problem.”

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

I assume the position you’ve taken in this thread (and pretty much every other thread you participate in) is just one giant troll, but for the benefit of anyone else reading….

I spent the requisite 10 seconds to google “Mikaela Shiffrin Beijing 2022” and the first three videos that came up were all related to her crashing.

View attachment 196493

The consistency with which you take the complete and utter contrary position to the position any reasonable person would take is almost admirable.

And kind of useful - if someone is on the fence about what the right take is on a particular issue, they can just look at your position on that same issue and know with reasonable certainty that the exact opposite is correct.

it’s almost Seinfeldian:

George: "My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat... It's wrong."

Jerry: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

Those are geofenced search results. We're not allowed to watch those NBC ones here in Australia.

These type of exclusive TV deals and geofencing have gone the way of the dinosaur.

The NBA recognised this as well as MMA and other sporting commissions. They recognised that generation X Y and Z have short attention spans and don't watch full games and matches. They watch highlights. In between Netflix and games and podcasts and Tiktoks and social media, young people don't have enough time to watch a full 48 minute basketball game or a 5 hour Olympic cast.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...decline-explanation-espn-tnt-abc-adam-silver/

And so they have gone soft on YouTube strikes on amateur content creators who splice, dice, and edit sports videos content for gen X Y and Z's consumption.

In some cases, full boxing matches are shown 1 day after a PPV fight. I saw this first hand with Usyk vs Joshua.

Some people think the popularity of the major sports like NBA are a given due to popular tastes or historical reasons. That's far from the truth. There's actually a lot of work done to promote these sports to young people and new markets like China. In places like India, they are not as successful, but they keep trying.

Newer audiences and bigger markets (China) bring more revenue. This is why NBA players get ridiculous salaries.

The powers that be in skiing, sadly, are not as modern or business savvy or media savvy or in touch with the zeitgeist.

Skiing is about as old as boxing. Boxing experienced the same lulls in popularity, but boxing is turning it aroung by ditching the exclusive media deal business model. They've gone all in on giving away the old content for free and just charging for the new fights, which they quickly give away anyway after the fight.

MMA is an even newer sport that gained popularity quickly by ditching the exclusive content distributor business model. Now people who watch MMA all over the world are not necessarily knuckle heads who lace up gloves and go on street fights themselves. But they still like to watch fights. So there's no excuse for skiing bodies to say people who don't ski won't watch ski as a sport.

 

[Seldomski]

Listened this morning to an interview with Mikaela on NPR. It may have been linked earlier here also. The gist was that very few WC skiers actually make a living off the income of being a professional skier, unlike many other sports. She said she was in a very lucky unusual position to be one of few to actually make a living doing it.

Anyway, Mikaela is very aware of the small audience for her sport and likewise small sums involved in ski racing.

 

[Andy Mink]

There are apparent differing opinions here. Keep the discussion civil and it can continue. It would be unfortunate to close the discussion because of name calling and personal attacks. Some posts have been moderated.

Thank you

 

[markojp]

I just can't fucking believe this. The video of this woman crashing is rarer than hen's teeth. In the freaking internet. Unbelievable.

Why is this video being kept from the public?

I'm actually interested in this human before. But no more.

Any other athlete, if it's up and coming boxer or MMA fighter that I've never heard of, I can go to Youtube and watch their previous fights, from amateur all the way to professional. The wins and the losses. I can watch all the pressers and pre-fight documentaries with a simple search in the search box. Then I'm hyped for their next fight.

I just want to see what the hype is about Mikaela, warts and all. But the skiing power-that-be (and maybe that fans too), seem keen on portraying an air of invincibility around her.

Invincibility is great, if it's true. Rocky Marciano is an example of a true invincible athlete with true perfect record. Floyd Mayweather is an example of a false invincible record. I believe the judges cheated the decision on the first Maidana fight. He should be 49-1.

Anyway, I can watch that Maidana-Mayweather 1 fight on YouTube for free and decide for myself. I'm still a fan by the way.

I understand the need for promotion companies to ban illegal streams to make money. But eventually, they let fans post all the past videos without threatening take downs. Because they understand that, in order for fans to be hyped (and pay) for the next PPV fight, they should have a connection with the athlete.

It's been a year since this Olympic crash. That shit should be free. Why would any casual or curious fan be interested in this woman if they can't watch her ups, and especially downs, easily?

Michael is not the GOAT for his dominant 6 championship performance. I would argue it's his pathetic slugging below average hitters in the minor league between those championships (which I can watch on YouTube easily), that made people relate to him on a human level. Or his pathetic performance as a GM and owner (he's the worst). He's still GOAT because fans can see his ups and downs. The downs just accentuate the ups.

This "athlete's athlete", Mikaela, being hyped up by athletes themselves, without letting casual or curious fans see the actual events for themselves, is not doing her any favours.

The goal of any athlete is to parlay athletic success into eventual promotional success. People bought 200 million George Foreman grills and a billion Jordan sneakers because they can relate to those athletes on visceral, human level. Because they can watch the fights and basketball games and documentaries and interviews easily. The ups and the downs.

I just can't form a connection with Mikaela now. It's too difficult to watch her past performances. If I, a skier, can't be hyped for her, then regular non-skier public certainly wouldn't.

The Mikaela Shiffren cranker pasta maker... the shiffy jiffy weighted blanket.... the fly'in Miki guitar...it goes to 87!!! Yes, this will be how she's remembered by future generations.... That Stenmark guy, what'd he ever sell? Ali? All's he did was light some torch.

 

[jt10000]

From last year-

A related today in the NYTimes (nothing on technique)