The dam has broken as far as topics go here at TRS.
Suddenly I have an inbox overflowing with some being mentioned for the next cleaning,a few will get full post treatment and others are headed for the podcast.
The Devils are hiring a new head coach and I have a NBA Finals preview planned.
However,all of that waits as I have a few things to say about the applause/rage over the cover of Vanity Fair of the former Olympic Gold Medal winner Bruce Jenner in the new incarnation of Caitlyn.
I realize this might not be a universally loved column in this area or even in my own house,but these are the Thoughts of RS right?
I'm not sure in 1976 that very few would not have considered themselves Bruce Jenner fans for a snippet of time.
After all,the 1976 Montreal Olympics were the last Olympics that featured the athletic powers of the Cold war (United States,Soviet Union and East Germany) all in one place (The United States would boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Soviets would pay them back with a 1984 Los Angeles boycott due to "security concerns") before the Olympic interest began to slide downhill a bit.
I'd wager that in 1976,Bruce Jenner might have been the most famous man in sports other than Muhammad Ali and he took full advantage of it,which he should have.
How many fans,other than the most devoted Olympic or track and field fans remember,
Rafer Johnson (1960 winner in Rome) or
Bill Toomey (1968 winner in Mexico City) and that is due to the blitz of Jenner in endorsements and a less than scintillating film television career (
Can't stop the music, anyone?) that kept his name and fame going far beyond the usual Olympic fame cycle.
I remember having one of those sugary Scholastic biography's that were sold by schools in order to encourage kids to read (like I ever needed that!) with the famous picture of Jenner crossing the finish line at Montreal.I bet that there are thousands of the pictured book in attics and used books across the country that were owned by boys that attended elementary school in the late 70's.
I was eight and this was the American hero winning the Olympic event that Americans felt "belonged" to them along with men's basketball,so what wasn't to like?
Bruce became more of a punch line through the years as bad films,silly TV appearances,multiple plastic surgeries,appearances on scandal sheets until finally doing one of these awful reality shows that I'm never interested in.
You would hear rumors and see covers while standing in the line at the grocery stores of Bruce Jenner being a crossdresser or wanting to become a woman,but you never put stock in these things.
Those magazines just wanted eyes and wallets on their product and would write and photo doctor anything to get those eyes,right?
Fast forward to Bruce Jenner's decision to transition to a female and hit the media.
Now,let's keep in mind that now Caitlyn is certainly using the fame cycle to its best advantage-a prime time interview with Diane Sawyer,a cover appearance on one of the most popular magazines in the country in Vanity Fair and soon yes (ugh) another reality show and someone that wanted to avoid the spotlight would certainly avoid the reality show at the least.
However,Jenner hasn't been all over the place (yet,although let's wait and see how much the show promotion changes that) and seems to me to just want to be accepted as what she is.
My take may not be a popular one,but here goes.
Who am I to tell Jenner how to live her life?
The rampant craziness on social media (most notably Twitter) crosses the line in good taste and who is to say how I should feel about or tell someone about how and who to be in their life?
Is it affecting you in any way? Is it affecting your family or livelihood?
The answer to both is no.
I just don't understand the outrage.
Now,could you say it is overexposure? Sure.
And I wouldn't argue against anyone that doesn't want to read about,watch anything or care about Jenner either,but not because of her being who she sees herself as.
There are many people that I'm not interested in paying attention to,its just not because I want to worry about what they are.
If you don't want to see the elephants,don't go to the circus.
Don't like Jenner or the decisions made?
Ignore it and allow others to be happy.
I'm not sure that I like watching people be so nasty toward a person that they have nothing to do with.
I have athletes,actors,politicians etc that I dislike,but the majority of the time,it's not personal,it is because of their attitude,style,political stance etc.
I've certainly said things watching television in my own home about someone's hair or clothes not looking great,but I don't ever recall tweeting about that.
It's fine to criticize a Deb Placey (I have) about not liking her work and a preference to see someone else in her job or to knock Miguel Cotto (I have) for defending a middleweight title at a limit of 157 pounds in a 160 pound division,but it's not OK to knock them for their looks,gender etc.
I'm OK with some of the jokes,pictures and memes that I've seen,most are no different than the type of stuff we see every day towards famous people and I've seen a few that made me laugh.
However,some of the things online towards Jenner seems to be overly harsh to me.
Is Jenner as deserving of kudos compared to a war hero?
Probably not,especially one that saved others in combat,but hammering her for not being up to that standard is unfair-that standard is pretty high for a person of any gender,yet I've seen articles comparing this to the type of gallantry in military battles.
I applaud our various heroes and putting one's self in physical harm's way is certainly courageous,but before slamming Jenner too much,let's think about this-Would you say that it takes courage to announce something life changing,if you knew that it would turn off half the people that knew you by the time that the announcement left your mouth?
It may not be the courage one sees in battle or staring down a 100 MPH fastball,but it requires a different type of courage-one that shows the guts to show that sometimes the less than popular decision is one that is just too tough not to be made.
ESPN is giving Jenner the Arthur Ashe courage award on the ESPY's (another made for television event that I annually pass on) and whether I agree with that call or not,it certainly will give Jenner a chance to speak on herself and the topics of her choice.
I wish ESPN had found a way to honor
Lauren Hill,the late college basketball player that used her illness to draw attention to brain cancer while playing in a few games while her terminal illness continued to weaken her and I'm hoping if ESPN doesn't come up with something that Jenner will acknowledge Hill on the pulpit (Bully!) for her courageous final year of her life.
In the end,the choice to be what we want to be is our own and I'll refrain from disliking Bruce or Caitlyn just because of a decision that will never affect me.
I doubt that I'll be a fan,,I didn't watch Bruce Jenner's reality shows and appearances and I doubt I'll watch Caitlyn Jenner's either.
It's not 1976 anymore and I'm not eight years old watching the decathlon in my grandmother's living room,so life has changed just as a little boy's athletic hero of the time has as well.
If the media attention becomes too much,I'll do what I do with anyone in the same situation of overkill-I'll walk away and not pay attention.
Just like I would to anyone else.
Isn't that how we all would like to be treated?
Just like anyone else......
