The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

When I was growing up, every Saturday was Wide World of Sports Day on ABC. There was always something you'd not typically see from somewhere around the world. It could have been skiing or ice skating, maybe some track and field competition, just a medley of sports outside of the usual trifecta at the time: baseball, football and basketball. On the opening credits, the show promoted the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat while showing a ski jumper crash and fall off of a ski ramp. I assume he was ok, maybe a few broken bones, but it never bothered me. I can see it in my memory as if it was playing on my TV now. Crashes and accidents happen in sports; no surprise there.

So why are people throwing fits because the crash of the Georgian luger is available for viewing on the Internet? Apparently it is "in poor taste" to show a crash that happens in sports now. Are these people up in arms because the guy died later? Would these same people be all up in arms if he was ok? Have these people even watched the video? Knowing that the guy died, it does taint the footage a little, but the AP photos of the medical team working on him immediately after are much more graphic in nature than the video. You never really see the guy make impact in the video because the camera is behind the beam. Were the angle more side-on where the actual impact was seen, this might be a little different. How many other scenes have we witnessed on TV over and over again where we know people died? Does the Challenger explosion and 9/11 footage come to mind? Should those things not be shown on TV either?

Obviously, the death of that young man puts a damper on the festivities for the Olympics. People need to stop being so sensitive though. If you don't want to watch the video, then avoid it and stop complaining.