Wow. What a difference four years can make.
I am almost sure that is the same thing my parents said to each other when I graduated from high school and I am sure that is what they will say after my graduation from Bates on May 30th, but I did not expect myself to say that about a fully grown man, three-time Olympian and father of a two year old.
But, for whatever reason, Bode Miller has always found a way to surprise his American followers throughout every facet of his life. We have seen it all from Bode, ranging from wild crashes, winning races, partying through the 2006 Olympics, countering the United States Ski Team with his own team built around fun, retiring from skiing less than a year away from another Olympics before not training over the summer, coming back to the sport and winning three medals.
Watching Bode Miller throughout the 2010 Winter Games was fascinating. I know that four years is the standard time frame for a person to mature and develop his or herself as a person, but most of us get that out of the way in high school or college.
But Bode was different. He always has been and he probably always will be. He grew up in Franconia, N.H., with no electricity or in-house bathroom. He was rustic and rough around the edges, but he was fiery and passionate about what he did.
So he attended Carrabassett Valley Academy, a ski academy located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. He honed his ski racing, put on muscle and quickly became the jewel of the United States Ski Team.
He was on the fast track to becoming an icon – something that United States skiing desperately wanted. He raced his first World Cup when he was just 20 years old, won two Olympic silver medals in Salt Lake when he was only 24, and won his first overall World Cup title in 2005 when he was 28.
Then the disaster in Torino happened. The media overhyped him and the pressure became too much to handle. He was picked as the hands down favorite in the alpine skiing events at the Torino Winter Olympics and he was projected to win a medal in every event.
The media became obsessed and gave the American no room to breathe. For a 28-year old with an isolated, rustic background like Miller, it was surely claustrophobic. He appeared carefree, bored and it seemed as though he had lost the passion and fire that allowed him to push the limits of alpine ski racing.
He finished fifth in the downhill and sixth in the giant slalom – good, but not good enough for someone projected to win multiple gold medals. Most disappointingly, Bode did not finish his other three events: the slalom, super-g, and the super combined.
His failures on the slopes in Torino snowballed and began to affect his life. With every lost medal came more publicity and coverage from the media, reprimanding Bode for what was surely the biggest let down by an American Olympian in years.
While he might not have admitted it, Bode was hurt by the media’s portrayal of him in Torino.
Did he react appropriately? Not at all, for he pretty much fueled the fire by acting as if he was running a frat-house in the Olympic village. Bode was immature and disrespectful; however, it was a direct result of the pressure that the media slapped him with leading up to the Olympics.
Still, he acted childish. He was rude to reporters and seemed to relish in the fact that he was a rebel (without a real cause, either).
Somewhere between Torino and Vancouver, Bode Miller grew up just like I did between the start of high school and the completion of college (with a few mulligans scattered throughout).
In 2007 he won four races, finished fourth in the overall World Cup standings and then left the U.S. Ski Team to start his own Team America.
It was not until after this anti-authority, “I’ll show them” move that Bode seemed to really develop into an adult.
In 2008 he won another overall World Cup title and his former girlfriend gave birth to his first child. Following the success of 2008, Bode delivered the worst season of his professional career. He failed to win a race, finished on the podium only twice and took a month away from racing. The disappointing season and lack of passion from America’s greatest skier pointed to retirement.
I thought so, you thought so, and so did your parents. The fire was gone and for a sport as mentally and physically demanding as ski racing, it is not easy to force yourself to compete.
Just when we all thought he was done, Bode did what he does best – he surprised the crowd. After a summer of contemplating retirement and training less than he ever has, Miller rejoined the U.S. Ski Team with a renewed passion for competition.
And so the story goes: Bode made the Vancouver Olympic team and won gold, silver and bronze medals in the super combined, super-g and downhill, respectively. Most surprising of all, however, was not Bode’s results. It was his behavior and cooperation with the media – the same people who seemingly made him lose his mind just four years prior.
Bode spoke of wanting to inspire people through his ski racing. He acknowledged being out of shape but mentioned that his only hope for winning a medal was to push the limits more than any other racer. He did both of those things and he came away with a repaired reputation and now stands alone as the most decorated American skier of all time.
Most importantly, Bode finally acted as an adult instead of a child and everyone noticed.
In the event that your parents ever tell you to grow up or complain that you will never quite get it, just remind them that this four year experience that we call college is not the last chance to change your ways.
After all, Bode is 32 and he just figured it out.
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