I don’t understand the people who hate Chellsie Memmel because she has “bad form”, “ugly gymnastics”, “chucked skills”, “never smiles”, etc., etc.
Yes, I know her gymnastics ain’t what it used to be, but is that a reason to say such nasty and hurtful things about her?
I agree, I love Chellsie Memmel and I hope hope hope that she makes the team this year. Not every gymnast can be a Nastia or a Shawn, but there is no substitute for Chellsie’s nerves of steel. She is someone you can definitely count on in a pinch, and I think that Martha recognizes that. I’m still not sure excatly how she would fit in the mix- I guess it depends how her bars are now that she is healthy.
Because people are stupid. I love Chelsie but I do not like Nastia but I don’t say nasty things about her.
she’s a world champion and in the spotlight, so people are going to criticize her. IMO no one becomes world champion with ugly gymnastics, even if it was the year after the olympics. You’ve got to be pretty good to earn that title.
there’s nothing nasty or hurtful about “bad form”
at least if it’s the truth
her form’s not that good and that’s what I think
I would never say her skills are chucked because they’re not, and that she doesn’t smile because she does, quite a lot
But I do think her gymnastics is ugly, and that her form is bad for the most part
It’s sort of a girly cat fight thing. Ya know…
It still just baffles me that we can even say that an all-around world champion from this quad would not be on our Olympic team. Only in the US of A
Any other country as a World and/or Olympic champion, her ticket would be punched to any major competition (see Catalina Ponor)
Memmel is fantastic. No she doesn’t have the “body type” but neither does Beth Tweddle (or Ponor for that matter), and Beth’s being spoken of (by some) as a contender for an all-around Olympic medal.
If Peszek or Hong make it over Memmel, I will cry…for a long time.
Good topic though, I’d love to see more debate over who should make the ‘08 team!
Actually, Marcus, I agree with you. I don’t believe “bad form” is nasty or hurtful. It is true of Chellsie, as much as it pains me to admit so.
I was referring more to the people who call her a fat cow and insist that “she must be an evil bitch because Nastia deserved the gold over her in Melbourne.”
They same the same things most of the time about nastia and shawn, it blasting just comes with the territory.
Rondeen: True, but you’d think people would grow up. Guess they don’t.
#5 pretty much nailed it. IMO most of these comments come from females, and IMO there is an unspoken dislike that girls have for other girls before they get to know them and realize they’re not bitches. Maybe, on a primal level, we don’t want another girl to look better or be smarter, etc., b/c of heightened competition. I thought my best friend was a stuffy bitch until I got to know her b/c, in reality, I was threatened by the fact that she got the highest grades, too; she was fashionable and trendy, too; and her boobs were bigger than mine. I felt threatened by her. I think people feel threatened by Chellsie; look at her ability, her accomplishments, her competitiveness, but it’s easy to pick on her in some ways, perhaps body type or form. I myself thought for the longest time what a bitch Chellsie was, but think about how we have come to know her. Seeing her in competition mode or working out doesn’t represent someone’s whole personality at all. Even though Chellsie performs at nearly the highest levels in the world, it’s easy, maybe, to ‘hate’ on her when she’s being compared to the very, very best. She seems to be a very sweet girl who obviously has enormous drive and mental capacity to continue at her level through all these years.
Chellsie “never smiles?” Huh. News to me. Same with the claims that Nastia never smiles. Stoic stone cold bitches, those two be.
Yeah, her gymnastics may not be the prettiest and I do wish her form will improve, but she has something that only Alicia Sacramone has and that is dead on consistency and hitting when it will count in high pressure situations. Not even Shawn can claim that. Chellsie was called at the 11th hour to do AA in the TFs at her first Worlds and nailed her routines. She more than takes one for the team by continuing to compete in TFs in 2006 after ripping up her shoulder on UB. Not to mention that she is loved by the international judges.
If she still has that and her SVs are decent enough, I’d want her on my team. It would be great if every gymnast made their gymnastics as pretty as Ivana Hong or Samantha Shapiro do, though.
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