https://gymcastic.com/community/podcast-chat-2-gymcastic/90s-gymnastics-smiling/ GymCastic Discussion Board en-US Sun, 11 Oct 2026 08:33:50 +0000 wpForo 60 https://gymcastic.com/community/podcast-chat-2-gymcastic/90s-gymnastics-smiling/#post-5392 Sun, 26 Jul 2026 18:42:25 +0000 I recently rewatched the 1996 Olympic Trials because I was feeling nostalgic since it is the 30th anniversary. I originally watched the trials as a 16-year-old and it feels very different now as an adult.  What was the obsession with smiling? Every time someone smiled in their floor routine it had to be reported. Mary Beth Arnold's coach was strangely excited that she smiled during her floor routine. Then there was also that awful fluff piece about the Forsters where John Tesh, I think, said of their gymnasts, "they're different, they smile." I'm pretty sure that no amount of smiling was going to make up for how dysfunctional things were at the time. Also, nobody ever said anything about whether or not the men smiled during their routines, just saying. So cringe.

]]> The Gymternet Forum Brittany Mullenary https://gymcastic.com/community/podcast-chat-2-gymcastic/90s-gymnastics-smiling/#post-5392