Before the XX Olympic Winter Games began, the American mainstream got its first taste of skiing sensation Bode Miller by witnessing a press conference last month in which he brazenly claimed to have competed in past events while under the influence of alcohol.
A few weeks later'during the opening ceremonies'commercials appeared for www.joinbode.com. These advertisements featured Miller talking about living his life without excuses and the virtue of training hard. Filmed as if to provoke the effects of an inspirational speech, the seemingly candid glimpse into the complicated world of this mysterious skier drew the pilgrim viewer toward this man's Internet site of self-worship in the hopes of confirming the eternal question: 'Are you a Bodeist'?
If the public is supposed to join Bode, where are we joining him? Is it at the bar before he competes in the slalom? Or are we to join him in the magical land of sell-outs who pawned their souls to corporate America in order to redeem their image? It is only after all the aforementioned semi-spiritual baloney (shot in hushed lighting, no less) that the infamous swoosh appears on the screen and the final destination of the rendezvous is revealed. We are to join Bode in his personal world of ego emancipation.
Nike, the god of celebrity endorsements, has turned this most recent personal branding attempt into evangelization. Gone are the days of squeaky-clean, good sportsmen like Michael Jordan, hawking products inspired by the game alone. With help from Nike, Miller is only selling himself.
It is pathetic that www.joinbode.com does not even endorse skiing equipment stamped with his image, but it only sells an ideal: Don't just dress like Bode, be Bode.
It is remarkable, in the wake of ridiculous International Olympic Committee doping suspension rulings, that Miller escaped any sort of official reprimand for his self-allegations. I suppose that a body's natural over-production of hemoglobin due to high altitudes, or a bald man taking Propecia to grow hair are more reprehensible in the eyes of the IOC than an idiot from the United States running his mouth on international television and making a mockery of all those in skiing who compete with dignity.
Instead of a mandate, this man receives an endorsement. While Bode may claim to find inspiration from self-reliance, he is resurrected in the public eye, not by his own merits, but by the one company in sports capable of that sort of image turnaround. Suddenly, Nike capitalized on this indiscreet rebel and the public tuned in simply to see what Bode would do next.
I am certain that I was not the only person watching the prime-time slalom coverage the other night, who wondered if Bode accidentally straddled the pole due to intoxication, but that matter is entirely speculative. The irony lies with the fact that the biggest principle Bode endorses'breaking the rules'is exactly what led to his downfall in this Olympic competition. A slight technicality ended what would have been a gold medal-caliber run and disqualified the discontented badboy.
The man who tells the public to be part of something bigger than themselves got tripped up by the one thing bigger than any athlete's ego, image or sponsorship deals. Thus the beauty of Olympic fate and of life in general: Endorsements and popularity pay the bills, but will not get you on the podium. If you need any confirmation of that, just ask Michelle Kwan.
Instead of a medal ceremony for the anti-hero of skiing, the captive audience received an unlikely lesson. This latest episode of Olympic-proportioned egomaniacal drama serves to teach the world that rules still apply, no matter how creatively and often Bode Miller and Nike tell us otherwise.
