After Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the gold medal in beach volleyball, they were thrilled.
They celebrated, and they thanked a lot of people, including the President of the United States.
Jon Ackerman writes:
After embracing each other, waving to the fans, embracing each other and waving to the fans, the Americans immediately made way to congratulate their opponents, Tian Jia and Wang Jie of China, whom May-Treanor and Walsh just fought off, 21-18, 21-18. From there it was the customary handshakes with the referees and match officials.
Then they split up. May-Treanor sought out her father, Butch, before she sprinkled her late mother's ashes on the sand, as she did after their gold medal win at the 2004 Athens Games. Walsh went to find her husband, Casey Jennings, a professional beach volleyball player who was on the No. 3 U.S. men's team in Olympic qualifying.
The women then hugged their coach, Troy Tanner, whom they acquired in 2006 after a semi-slump left May-Treanor and Walsh briefly contemplating a split. It was then on to more family and more friends. Then the announcers and a couple camera men. Then seemingly every other person in Chaoyang Park holding an American flag.
...By now, May-Treanor and Walsh had recognized about everyone but the president. So in their first interview after remaining unbeaten in Olympic play and extending their winning streak to 108 matches and 19 tournaments, the finest beach volleyball team of all time did just that: They thanked President Bush for his inspiration.
Bush, of course, made a special visit to the practice courts to see May-Treanor and Walsh on Aug. 8, the day of the Opening Ceremony.
..."There's so many people that have helped us on this journey and it's just amazing," Walsh said. "We've grown from girls to women doing this. I always say thank you in my heart to them and to God. It's amazing the support we have. I would never ever take it for granted."
In that first interview, they could barely contain their excitement.
After both Misty and Kerri spoke and the interview was winding down, the gold medalists added:
(Video/Ms. Underestimated)
KERRI WALSH:Can I just say one thing really quick?
(Looking straight into the camera)
Mr. President, we thank you! Thank you for your inspiration, for all you do. Everyone at home, we love you.
MISTY MAY-TREANOR: (Speaking over Kerri) This is for you. We brought it home.
It was a thank-you duet, caught on (almost) live TV. The gold medalists directly thanked President Bush.
What a great moment!
Simple but heartfelt thanks.
Watch the video here.
_______________
Watch the Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh interview on Late Night with David Letterman.
14 comments:
That was great but Carrie said more than that. She also said "thanks for everything that you do..". Class act. Showing pride for our nation includes showing respect for our leader. Good job ladies!
I loved it!
In the article, Ackerman almost tries to diminish the importance of the shout-out to the President.
"...By now, May-Treanor and Walsh had recognized about everyone but the president."
Anyone can see by watching the video of the brief interview that the women didn't just toss in the thank-you to President Bush.
They wanted to deliver a direct, very special message.
Bush sucks and so does this site. Good job injecting politics into the olympics volleyball skank
We (my roomate and I) saw it too! and we were screaming with excitement to see the President receive the honor and thanks that he deserves! Thank you for posting this.
You know I gotta say some Americans are sadistic. Despite being bamboozled and made to look like idiots by your president, you still love him!
I'm so proud of the way Kerri and Misty represented our country.
To "anonymous, 3:29 PM, August 21, 2008" and "dailybitch" and "shallowneoconidiotssuck"--
What's wrong? You seem so angry. Don't you like beach volleyball?
Congratulations to gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers!
The USA takes the gold!
Bush Derangement Syndrome is still alive and well.
Anyone who can thank the president for anything and draw inspiration from him, is truly out of touch with reality.
Get a grip!
Kerri and Misty won an Olympic gold medal and they graciously thanked the President. They appreciated his words of encouragement and support.
Why get all bent out of shape over that? Really. Get a grip.
I can't hardly believe they thanked Bush. For what? Getting us in an unnecessary war and bankrupting this country among other things. I enjoyed watching them play, but apparently they are nothing more than airhead jocks if they would make such dumb comments.
If I had a public stage like the Olypics, I would be embarrassed as an American that we have a president like the one we have and would take the opportunity to apologize to the world.
Instead of criticizing Kerri and Misty, why don't you congratulate them on their tremendous achievement?
Mission Accomplished!
I totally agree with the "airhead jock" comment above (I can't bring myself to pluralize "jock" it since only Kerri Walsh made the statement). Citing Bush as an inspiration for winning a beach volleyball tournament is not patriotic, it's idiotic and shows how out of touch Kerri Walsh is.
Stop using "pride in the USA" as a justification for her statement. All of our athletes showed great pride.
~Shannon
Kerri Walsh can say whatever she wants.
I think it's very small of you to call her an "airhead jock" because you hate President Bush. Disagree with her, but don't demean her.
Good grief.
Again, congratulations and thanks to Kerri and Misty!
Post a Comment