UNCLE TIM: And while were on the topic of children, one of our listeners, Jay, he wants to know how you met your husband. Will you tell us the love story?
SVETLANA: Oh its a love story. Well, it was beginning, middle, and the end. Which part would you like me to tell you?
[EXPRESS YOURSELF INTRO MUSIC]
JESSICA: This week, our take on the Olympics, and Bogis love story for Valentines Day.
ALLISON TAYLOR: Hey gymnasts, Elite Sportz Band is a cutting edge compression back warmer that can protect your most valued asset: your back. Im Allison Taylor on behalf of Elite Sportz Band. Visit elitesportzband.com. Weve got your back.
JESSICA: This is episode 76 for February 12, 2014. Im Jessica from masters-gymnastics
EVAN: Im Evan. Find me on Twitter @yoev
JESSICA: And this is the best gymnastics podcast in the universe, bringing you all the news from around the gymternet. And this week I have to tell you guys that Uncle Tim has laryngitis. So hes not with us on air today. But were wishing him the best and a speedy recovery.
EVAN: He is still alive. You were like hes no longer with us.
JESSICA: Hes not with us in the present moment.
EVAN: Hes putting sexy data into curing his laryngitis right now. So. We can all appreciate that.
JESSICA: Lets first talk about did you listen to the Melanie Sinclaire interview?
EVAN: I did. I think she- I love her voice. I just love her presence. Talking. Im like I want to talk to her, where can we have a conversation. But I enjoyed it thoroughly.
JESSICA: What really stood out to you? Because you know the whole story and you followed her and everything. Did anything, was anything particularly of interest to you?
EVAN: Yeah I think it was interesting how she kind of took a step back from everything and saw it come full circle. So she talked a lot about the lessons that gymnastics taught her early on in her career. And then she was like and then I learned the same lesson as an adult. I also thought it was so funny how she was like guys scared me when I was 17.
JESSICA: Right I was like you were scared? I could not imagine that.
EVAN: I know. I know. So I loved her honesty in that because I was like you know what, your a fierce ass lady.
JESSICA: She is the kind of person you want to hang out with. She has a magnetism. You should want to be around her. I really liked that she talked about learning how to tough it out through injuries and then also learning when thats not a good idea. Like maybe you can do that when you only have three meets a year but when you have to perform every single night you cant live that way. So that was interesting. And then also when she kind of I dont know I just I talked before to a Cirque recruiter a lot about all the different programs they have for health and happiness and all the kind of benefits that they have available to people. And I thought what Ive heard from the recruiter, I definitely feel like Melanie backed up when she talked about what its like to really work there and all the support that they give their performers. So that made me happy to hear. Not only is it the gymnastics professional league, but they get all the good benefits that the NFL players get as well. So not everything but you know in my mind they do, thats right. So lets discuss NBCs coverage of the Olympics. The Olympics are happening right now. And of course we have to give our opinions on everything. This is very important. So let me just say I love Bob Costas. I would like to be him when I grow up. And I have so much respect for him. And everything Im about to say has nothing to do with him because hes perfect and untouchable for the most part. But they had Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer on during the Opening Ceremonies and I was horrified. Horrified. Ive never been so upset watching Opening Ceremonies. I was, they were condescending. They were rude. They said mean childish things about the art that was presented during the Opening Ceremony. And I was totally disgusted. What did you think?
EVAN: You know I think unfortunately you go from year to year and the Olympics are such a key event that people feel compelled to kind of create this undertone or inner plot working. And its just that bigger picture that I guess a story has to be written. But I would rather the athletes write the story than an on air host or network.
JESSICA: I agree. And I realize they want to create a story and tell it. But I just felt like it was like 1984 again and I was listening to Cold War commentary. And I was like where were all the discussion of the human rights abuses when we were in Beijing. And all the stuff about terrorist attacks. And I was like in case you forgot the US and Germany are the only Olympics that have had successful terrorist attacks. So maybe we should be looking at ourselves more when we talk about that. But the most upsetting I think to me was that as was reported today by let me make sure I have the source, Deadspin is reporting this. That the very strong message against discrimination by IOC President Thomas Bach was edited out of the NBC broadcast. I didnt even know that until today. I really I finally listened to his entire if you go to the Deadspin article which well put up you can read the entire speech and you can listen you can see the NBC version and then the version that was broadcast uncut. And what is great about his speech is that he talks about what the Olympics are for. Theyre supposed to be about peace. Theyre supposed to be about harmony. Theyre supposed to be about togetherness. And the part that was cut out, he said yes it is possible even as competitors to live together under one roof in harmony with tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason. Yes it is possible, even has competitors, to listen, to understand, to give an example for peaceful society. The idealism of the Olympics is and specifically this speaks to the anti-gay violence and laws that are happening in Russia. And that was the part they cut out. Im like seriously youre going to do all this criticism of Russia and then you cut out this beautiful message by Thomas Bach? So I was not pleased about that.
EVAN: You know hearing things like that it almost makes you want to not make an excuse for them but just be like please let this be like some type of like frantic oversight where theyre like cut paste you know were going live. Like its for a reason. So I am going with that. That thats what happened. And that they just this beautiful message fell by the wayside. But you know seeing the quotes and stuff about about sport and athletics and what it truly means, I think that bringing those things back especially during the Olympics is so beautiful because it is, the Olympics are the ultimate equalizer. Putting everyone in one arena and its like be the best, go, do, prosper. And I dont know, that message still rings true for me.
JESSICA: And I do have to say, you know there is a stream, NBC has this, theyre doing some amazing work. Basically you can watch the Olympics 24/7 and pick the sport you want to watch, which is fantastic. I absolutely love it. So perhaps the live stream was uncut and it was only for the as you were saying the 8pm prime time that they cut that for time. Well give them the benefit of the doubt. But I was a little bummed about that. I was also bummed that they brought up the Kabaeva an Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics was allegedly the lover, Putins lover. Shes a torchbearer and theyre like we should mention that its rumor its girlfriend. You dont mention that stuff during the Opening Ceremonies. Thats for us to talk about on the show, but we hold you to a higher standard and this should all be about peace and love and keeping everything in the highest standard of journalism right now for this commentary. I was like ugh, please. And not to mention I thought that was really sexist because shes an Olympic champion. You should not bring up her boyfriend. She stands there on her own merit. Shes a badass. Kabaeva is untouchable as far as Im concerned. Shes amazing amazing. And I know rhythmic fans are going to be like no that shouldve been the Bulgarian. I dont care. I loved her and she was incredible and I thought that was very sexist to bring up who her that she wasnt there she was somehow picked because who shes having sex with not because shes an incredible athlete on her own merit. No excuses for that as far as Im concerned. As were talking about this I just want to remind you guys that you have choices about how you would like to watch the Olympics. And one of the services that we love here at the podcast is called Tunnelbear. Go to their website. It is a VPN. So basically if you would like to watch the BBC broadcast but you cant because you dont have an IP address located in England, you can use Tunnelbear. If you want to watch Canadian broadcast you can do that by using Tunnelbear. You know, you have choices in what you want to watch. So lets talk about one of the stories that seriously almost made our Facebook page explode. In a story for CNBC, Russian born journalist Dina Gusovsky wrote about what commentators really say about gymnasts during the Olympics. And so we got some translations about Russian commentators really say. And before anyone gets in a big huff about over the language, some people were like shes not translating this correctly. First of all, shes a native speaker, born in the Soviet Union. She has extensive experience in translation and cross cultural reporting so Im taking her word as the word of law here. So well just put that aside. If she said thats what its translated as, thats what it is. And so she this is what was kind of shocking. So she said that one of the commentators on Rosiva 2, one of the stations that broadcasts the Olympics there, referred to some of the men from other countries as pieces of wood, and also claimed some of the Americans were showing off. Of course its gymnastics thats what you do. And referred to American Olympic gymnast Jonathan Horton as little legs, little arms, and ugly.
EVAN: His arms arent little though. Like, at all.
JESSICA: No I was like I just I was totally shocked by that whole thing. First of all you just dont say that about people, at all. Its super rude. And secondly its just so ridiculous it made me laugh. One of the things that you know I think in different countries theres a different standard for whats polite or acceptable. But I dont think this is at all considered polite or normal in Russia. The journalist pointed out a lot of people posted comments on Rosivas website that they were disgusted with the commentary by the commentators and this did not reflect how Russian people think about gymnasts or feel about them or anything like that. So.
EVAN: Also, to kind of steer to another, BBC and Australian commentators are maybe if not even more so just like blunt in their commentary. And also assessment of athletes bodies and like calling out non aesthetically pleasing movements and just qualities like that. So I really dont think that this is that uncommon in commentary as a whole. But I do think that Russia maybe it just has kind of this mystique of no ones ever really gone through the trouble of translating Russian commentary. But some of my favorite favorite commentary is either from the Brits or the Australians and theyre just like its kind of shocking.
JESSICA: Is it like Perez Hilton is doing the commentary?
EVAN: Its not like that. Its just like you know, shes quite a stout lady and you know a little clunky in her movement and you know just like really calling out when there are like differences between athletes. So and that probably could connotate as a bit offensive to some as well.
JESSICA: Yeah I think thats a good point, that and to your point here one of our listeners, Cari Edwards, said you know this is horrible about what the Russian commentators said. But always knew the reason Americans say NBC is the worst is because Americans only know the english language. Theory proven. Hats off to you Cari. Because honestly I really think that if we listen to the commentary for many countries, countries where perhaps its not rude at all to say to someone youre so fat and lazy. Like when I lived in Germany and heard that all the time. I was like oh nice to meet you too, thank you. Like really? Ok. Thats you know of course I totally love Germany. But you know was it rude to say that kind of thing there? And of course Im not saying thats really how it happened because I know German listeners are going to be like oh my god dont say that. Im exaggerating to make a point. But yeah I really do think that even when we debate the NBCs diva narrative and how they talk about the Russians as divas and all that stuff and they create this narrative, you know theres definitely places where people say worse things on the air than that. So yeah I have to agree.
EVAN: Although, you didnt see Gabby Douglas shouting down the vault runway like as Khorkina did in 2000 about moving the board or rallying the troops so. Those kind of outbursts are really uncommon. So I feel like its important to call it out because people will be like what? Does that really happen? But maybe its just the struggle of nationalists, national ties ring through. Even if youre trying to be a neutral party it always kind of comes out.
JESSICA: And I guess its how you see things in your own personal experience. Because whenever she does that Im like yeah you tell them Khorkina thats right. You should punch someone in the face if they set your board wrong because it could kill you.
EVAN: Right when she really shouldve been worrying about them setting the vault horse.
JESSICA: Exactly.
EVAN: Yelled that at someone. Sveta listen you dont have to worry about that board. Its the entire effing vault.
JESSICA: Least of your problems today.
EVAN: Needs to be a little bit higher.
JESSICA: Alright so some of the cool things that are happening at the Olympics were super excited about is like 88 bronze medalist on balance beam from the famous Olympics in Korea where Rhonda Faehn stayed on the podium to not get in the way of the judges then we didnt get the bronze as a team. That was a ridiculous rule and we shouldve gotten the bronze medal but anywho. Phoebe Mills, one of the Karolyi kids, the OG Karolyi kids, she went on to so after she won her bronze medal at the famed Olympics of the podium bars disaster, she went on to get into snowboarding then she went to law school you know. And then now shes a snowboarding judge at the Olympics. How freaking cool is that?
EVAN: Ok you might need to clarify for people. Her law degree did not lead her to become a judge of snowboarding with a gavel and like a snow drift. But.
JESSICA: I dont think theyre related.
EVAN: These are separate yes. But weird crossover possibility there. Might want to take snowboarding judging to a new level.
JESSICA: Snowboarding judging is so difficult you need a law degree. But its slope style. So Im kind of stoked shes doing this because she definitely had style. She did that reverse planche on beam. So I like shes doing the sport that you know since we dont have ski ballet anymore which is freaking awesome, shes doing the artistic, the most artistically inspired acrobatic event besides ice skating.
EVAN: And aerial skiing
JESSICA: But its not artistic. Would you say aerial skiing is artistic?
EVAN: I mean I think you can definitely theres some aesthetics involved in terms of flaring out if you can. Those little differentiators. But I see where youre doing with this. Theres more options.
JESSICA: I feel like slope style is just. I mean theres a bunch of obstacles you can make stuff up. I was waiting forever for one dude to do a hand plant or somebody one of the women to land on top of the doll and like dance on top then jump off. Finally someone tapped it so that was pretty good. But you know thats artistry. Nastias reporting on the cultural side of things, which I love that she did a little bit about the rainbow gloves that are very popular and they have a different flag on each hand so you can exchange them. Excellent. I like that and I feel like that was very gay pride of Nastia. I love that she did that.
EVAN: She best. She best recognize.
JESSICA: Yes and she totally does. I think shes very good about getting her point across without getting her point across without smacking you in the face with it. Which would be ok with us too. Did you see sexy Alexei in the presidential box?
EVAN: So in honor of this Valentines day thing, I have early hot and heavy feelings with Alexei Nemov. And it was the ABC 96 Tour. And he was like dancing in this really intensely lit hallway. And he was just kind of like shimmying to Do You Love Me and I was like I do love you. What is this life. Youve set me up here. So yeah, I mean my heart felt that.
JESSICA: When I saw him in the corner, who puts Alexei Nemov in the corner first of all. I dont care how many presidents were there. He shouldve been right in front. Anywho. I seriously was like oh my god and like jumps off the couch, paused, ran around, grabbed my phone. And my husbands like was that Nemov? I was like yes yes yes! Hes like yeah I saw him too. He was like good eyes. I was like oh my god so many husband points. Nothing is as sexy as when your husband recognizes gymnastics stuff and knows facts. Its just like take me to the bedroom immediately. So hats off to him for that. But yes he needed to be put in the front for the closing ceremonies. I think thats everything for the Olympics. Were enjoying it. Well give you our full thoughts on the rest as it goes along. Lets talk about NCAA news and what weve missed this week. Some really surprising things happening in NCAA news.
EVAN: So many exciting things are happening in NCAA. And I just went on a little vacation. So it was like I felt like NCAA was still happening but I was like it was like I was in another planet and like just hearing whispers and things were happening but of course this weekend will be like the 10 parade of Peszek on bars and Sloan on balance beam. So I, as a bad bad man, have not seen these routines yet. Have you seen them?
JESSICA: Yes. I was there for Peszeks. And Ive been waiting for her to get a 10 on bars forever. And you know some people might be like oh her handstand didnt stop on exactly on top of the bar and sit there and she didnt have tea. But you know you just have to be within 20 degrees, its a hit handstand. So it was beautiful. You cant do that routine better unless you added Zamarripas handstands where you just totally break rhythm and hang out there for like 15 minutes. That routine is glorious. It was perfect. It was stuck. Her feet were together when she did her release and when she caught you know how most people catch then their feet fly apart because their back is in agony. No no no. She kept them together. Shes just freaking awesome. I want an army of Peszeks on every team.
EVAN: Precious Peszek Moment figurines is what I want. Just want a case of them.
JESSICA: That would be fantastic.
EVAN: And the one thing you know about athletes who have gotten 10s so far this year, Sloan, Peszek, Kytra Hunter, you know theyre capable of 10s. Like they do perfect gymnastics. And whether its in the moment, theyre on really excellent teams, and theyre set up well. So you know like you said, are there nuances that probably might be a bit better? Probably. Probably always. But at least theyre athletes who its not like who is she? And why is she getting a 10? Thats probably a little bogus. So these girls deserve it. And as the polar vortex infiltrates every corner of our lives, it has now affected gymnastics. And you know what, its a polar whore-tex. And I tweeted that. And Im saying it aloud right now. You do not cancel gymnastics meets, polar whore-tex. You have gotten around town long enough. You close up shop. And your wintry legs. The Oregon State meet was canceled against Cal. And one, so sad because you know they probably were practicing like they had to compete then they just didnt compete. So thats a bummer. Two, my fantasy gymnastics league team is Fd royally. Because who do I rely on? Chelsea Tang. How many events do I rely on her for? Four of them. All of them. So Chelsea I wish you could have competed along with the rest of your teammates. I am so sad.
JESSICA: Its too bad theres so much snow like four inches or something in Oregon that it shut down all of Oregon. But more importantly, this is the thing I have to say about this whole polar vortex thing. Whore-tex. This is what climate change is going to do. And this is why anybody whos ever felt like climate change, I dont care. Im just going to live my life like nothing has changed and Im not going to make a difference. This is whats going to happen. Your favorite sports are going to be canceled. People arent going to be able to travel. Fans arent going to be able to get to them. Its just this is whats going to happen more and more. So I hope that once an NFL game is canceled because of climate change, that we can finally well finally see some movement in legislation to start reversing this trend. Thats how I feel about it. Im super doomsday about this. So lets move on to people who were robbed of 10s.
EVAN: So Austin Sheppherd, she is a former elite who actually competed internationally for Hungary. I think Ive said that before but its still true. She competes for the University of Michigan. Shes a sophomore.
JESSICA: Thats why she looks so glorious in that white leotard.
EVAN: Ok. So you want to know my favorite adjective to describe her?
JESSICA: Tell me
EVAN: Regal
JESSICA: Yes
EVAN: Regal. Shes very regal presentation
JESSICA: She has Hungarian skin tone too. You know?
EVAN: I dont so much notice that
JESSICA: I totally do
EVAN: Regal might be a skin tone as well. Maybe its Maybelline. Who knows. But she did just an absolutely gorgeous yurchenko full. Huge, enormous, gives you life, just is like shes making lemonade with lemons then just sticking the lemons on the mat.
JESSICA: Drops out of the sky from 100 feet in the air
EVAN: She drops it down. And you know what I love is that she doesnt just do the typical college girl. She essentially sticks the landing with bends her knees a little bit, has her chest up, its just a gorgeous landing position. Its not that kind of-
JESSICA: Textbook
EVAN: Right its just wonderful. So, she got a 9.975.
JESSICA: Robbed
EVAN: Which who wants a 9.975 when you can have a 10. But watch out for Austin Sheppherd because shes making some really great strides. And I think in the online commentary and through the people I know with the program, shes kind of making really active changes in her gymnastics just to be a great athlete for her team and contribute scores like this that shes obviously capable of. So keep an eye out for her. I think shes, a 10 is within possibility. On another note, have you ever seen a gymnast wearing a strawberry fruit roll up with lace sewn to it? Well if you missed it, Nebraska did it.
JESSICA: I cant even
EVAN: It is- so lace, I actually get it because I would be like that would be a really cute shirt if its kind of three quarter length, black lace with a I dont know like a cami. You could put a cami underneath that and it would look awesome. But this was a leotard.
JESSICA: So bad. So bad. I cant.
EVAN: And I really like Nebraska. I mean Nebraskas a great program. They have a ton of talent. Theyre pretty deep across the board. But this is just one of those aesthetics where remember when Utah used to wear that warm up that was like the bottom of a compact disc.
JESSICA: The space suits. The astronaut cosmonaut suit.
EVAN: Yes. I was like Im seeing every color thats ever existed. And theyve burnt some retinas. But Its kind of one of those fashion moments. So I wont say I completely hate this because I like that its something that we took notice of you know. Its like disrupt the game a little bit. Kind of like that UCLA leotard I know that you really had strong feelings about that they wore at Utah.
JESSICA: I despise that leo so much. Its the one that looks like someone you took a beautiful woman and then which is the entire UCLA team, and then you took-
EVAN: And skinned her
JESSICA: And then you took the skin, dyed it dark blue, put it into an old lady sweater shape from the victorian era, and then tied it around her chest so it looks like she has the biggest droopiest boobs in the world. That is what that leo looks like, which describes none of these fantastic athletes. It does them an absolute disservice. They are all perfect and gorgeous and incredibly athletic. And I hate that leo so much. I want to punch it in the face. Which is what I want to do a lot when I get angry. So Im going to have to start taking a tally of how many times I say punch something in the face. How much I hate it. Anywho.
EVAN: Maybe you could just punch it in the victorian area.
JESSICA: Thats what it needs. Oh my god someone please make a picture of that. Spanny needs to recap that.
EVAN: And you know that there are so many great leo companies out there who do new and innovative things and kind of bring new things to the table. But where is the fusion of really high fashion and leotard creation? You know its kind of happened in figure skating and I mean you know we have like Ralph Lauren designing Olympic apparel. But maybe its just getting a young, up and coming designer. Im like on this Project Runway wave in my mind right now where Im just like it doesnt have to be ornate. I dont want a lantern on my shoulder or anything. I dont it doesnt have to have tiny fashionable hat with the bird cage thing over it. But just a leotard that you would be like dang that looks good and it makes what shes doing look even better. Where is that? Can that happen? That could happen right?
JESSICA: It could so so so happen. It could definitely happen.
EVAN: I hope so. Its one of my hopes for tomorrow. A brighter tomorrow. The next thing, I mean we have the rankings. So the numbers dont lie. Floridas on top. Oklahoma, LSU, Utah, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Michigan, UCLA, and Stanford. Just outside the top 10 is my girlfriend and everyones because she does the best gymnastics in the NCAA arguably, Katherine Grable and Arkansas are number 11.
JESSICA: Katherine Grable. Shes whats up. Thats all there is to it.
EVAN: Shes whats up in 11th right now, but theyll rebound toward the end of the season. You know I feel like were kind of getting into that area of the season where things just you know you kind of hit that lull and honestly as an athlete who kind of experienced that whole training, you really do hit this lull. Then you need an injection of adrenaline into your aorta and just boom its March. So Februarys a tough month everyone. Its not like its the first meet, its the second meet. Its like the sixth meet. And you kind of hit a lull.
JESSICA: Its the 12th man time. This is the important time where you as a fan need to scream your freaking head off for your athletes because they so need you. Because all they want to do right now is take a nap. Instead they have to do a whole entire routine.
EVAN: And its also the time in the season where were either going to see the upgrades or were not going to see the upgrades. So all that cool ass stuff, I had to edit myself so much in that sentence, all of that stuff that you saw in those preseason videos on YouTube that got you so hyped up, if thats not happening in practice in the next two weeks, its probably not going to happen. That makes me so sad. But also so excited to see who kind of steps up to the plate and what were going to see.
JESSICA: I agree. And we saw some of that this weekend. We saw some full ins on floor from Andy Sipra UCLA. Who else did we- oh can I just go back. I hate to interrupt your flow for a minute. But in terms of being robbed, heres whats up. Sam Peszek needs a 10 on beam. Period. I dont know why she hasnt had a 10 before. I dont understand it. I dont understand why she didnt get a 10 last weekend. It makes me furious. I dont know what else she has to do. Her routine is so easy and so flawless and so effortless for her that she could be talking on the phone, having a news conference, writing a paper, and like solving the worlds problems.
EVAN: Hosting her weekly show
JESSICA: While shes doing that routine. Thats how perfect it is. So robbed. Thats all Im saying. Ok carry on.
EVAN: Well shes also I mean Peszek Moments Figurines are going to be sold in Home Good stores across the nation pretty soon. So as far as Im concerned, shes one of the, she really could get a 10 I think she could get a 10-
JESSICA: On everything
EVAN: On, yeah
JESSICA: I agree. She could be a 40.
EVAN: So speaking of weekly shows, theres a lot of these now. Gymnastics is branching out. Were getting more forward thinking in this digital age. So Georgia has the Georgia Gym Dawgs show which is about 20 minutes each week, they have episodes. Look at those.
JESSICA: Its like a full TV show. It could be on HGTV or something.
EVAN: Right
JESSICA: Like Lifetime, it could be one of those.
EVAN: I dont know
JESSICA: E? Could it be on E?
EVAN: UCLA, as we mentioned, Sam Peszek, I think she, from what Ive caught, shes like Im Britney Spears and youre Beyonce and you can share Beyonce but Im still always Britney Spears. Thats like a lot of what she talks about but she always just has a really friendly banter because theyre teammates, theyre just chatting it up. So I like that. Michigan has a podcast. I think theirs is called The All Around and they talk to different athletes each week. Alabama is another one. Theirs probably could be on E. Sarah Patterson probably has a little studio actually in Hollywood. Shes like, well just go there with our young ladies and film this.
JESSICA: It looks like a freaking ESPN studio except its like reddish pink. The whole thing.
EVAN: Alabamas such a great story because I mean thats like been built. Its the stuff of gymnastics stories and there are so many great programs like that. But you look at so many other programs and its like do you have your TV show yet? No you dont because you havent worked 30-plus years to build what we have here at Alabama. So props to that. And then, did you want to talk about judging?
JESSICA: Yes! And I found this shocking. And maybe Im the last person on earth to know this, but I just assumed, like this is me in my little world where theres justice for all and everything is perfect and equal. So I just assumed that NCAA sets the prices for how much people get paid for judging, referees in all sports. I just assumed thats how it is. Theres a union and they set the price and everyone agrees on it. No no. Totally wrong. Couldnt be further from the truth. The judges get paid different amounts depending on the school, which i think is nuts right? So they get paid between 90 dollars and 275 dollars per meet. Of course they get travel and all that stuff and hotel and all that paid for. But thats a huge difference and of course you have to go where youre assigned and you cant say no so its not like theyre picking where they want to go but I just feel like this opens up a lot of, this opens up the whole question of certain divisions or areas like certain conferences getting favoritism because the judges get paid way more there. So in the SEC, if theyre getting paid 275 dollars a meet as opposed to when they go to the Eagle Conference or wherever in the northeast that pays the least. I dont know. What do you think about that? I dont think the judges are doing this but I think its a real problem.
EVAN: So unfortunately I respectfully disagree. If you want to trace anything back, I think it can be attributed to money. Unfortunately, the judges I feel like, your perspective is totally valid because judges are essentially being paid to be completely neutral in this subjective environment. But you can also attribute it to what if the school doesnt have that much money and they keep the arena at a different temperature and youre baking or youre frozen. Thats also going to affect the performances. While it doesnt necessarily affect the outcome like the judges might, I do think there are some instances where almost everything can be brought back to money. Do you see that? Do you see that side of it? A really nice arena, youre creating a better experience. Your fans are going to be louder, more encouraging to you. I think there are more connections to be seen here.
JESSICA: Yeah I see it. I mean it is what it is.
EVAN: Say no. You say no.
JESSICA: I think if you want to get rid of all the criticisms about judging, you want to start with making things even across the board. And paying judges would be the most obvious and simple place to start. So if its set at 150, the rich schools need to subsidize the lower schools who cant pay the 275. Like thats how it should work. Thats how the NFL does it. They all subsidize each other. Its a super commie socialist system and it works. Theyre bazillionaires so thats what we should do. So lets talk about some insane skills that we have seen since the last episode. I didnt even know this was humanly possible. Maybe in cliff diving but not in gymnastics. Kristof Willerton, he is doing a triple layout, three layouts with three twists. Triple twisting triple layout.
EVAN: Dumb. In a good way.
JESSICA: The one thing I did love about this video is that the mats that they land on are black on the sides and then they have a red strip down the middle which I think is a very nice safety feature for someone whos insane enough and talented enough to be doing a triple twisting triple layout. Insane.
EVAN: So heres the thing about the video. Youre like okay this is pretty normal. Like obviously, hes a tumbler and his technique is just pristine for you to even get to a point where you can even get to a point to attempt this skill. But like all of a sudden, he just does another full flip at the end. And Im like wait. Theres another flip. So yeah my mind exploded with that. It was also executed very well.
JESSICA: Yeah its gorgeous. I mean I was totally shocked at how well he did it. Lets talk about Mykayla Skinner. She got a 10 at a JO meet, so not an elite meet. She vaulted a Cheng. It was very nicely done. But there was one major thing missing which would be the other arm that needed to touch the vault. So she once again did her Cheng with one arm. Like I dont think her arm is even close to touching anymore, like a finger, its not even. I watched it about a million times. So the vault was beautiful but I believe it should be given a zero and not a 10 because you are not allowed to vault with one arm and I think its super dangerous to vault this way. What are your thoughts?
EVAN: I always see it and Im like just one arm, one arm. One hand. Just one. Just one other time, I want her to put that other effing hand on the vault so we can see what happens when she does it accurately. I think that it takes almost an exorbitant amount of more skill and decided effort to do it the way shes doing. Obviously shes found a way to do it very consistently. And like you said, it looks pretty nice. But aesthetically, I just dont like the rise of the vault. Her landing position is pretty good but it just doesnt look like a Cheng as it started. And I dont think her technique is better than that of the vaults namesake so I cant really give her too many props. Although I know for sure I would definitely never even know how to go about doing what shes doing there so props for that. But no, no thanks.
JESSICA: The thing that frustrates so many gymnastics fans is that think about if she did this all with proper technique, she could be one of the greatest vaulters ever. She could go higher than McKayla Maroney. She could have more distance than Alicia Sacramone. In our dreams, if she wanted to do it and put the effort to do it with correct technique, it could be spectacular but right now its just really frustrating. And its going to really suck if she ever got sent to an international meet and its a zero on her vault. But Im sure that wont happen. So in other news. Im just going to say it. Its not. Who would ever risk that? So Elite Canada this weekend. Twitter sensation Victoria Moors added a full in to her balance beam repertoire. She also did a hilarious spinning fall off the beam. She did the squatty turn and sort of spun on her butt and fell off the side. It was awesome. And she gets back up and is like hmmm now Ill do a full in off beam because Im awesome. So we love her. So she won Elite Canada and then Aleeza Yu, a newcomer placed second. Ellie Black, well known is in third and then Meagan Chant was fourth. So always adding Victoria Moors, its very exciting. And did you even think that was possible like the guy who did the triple twisting triple layout? Kennedy Baker did a quintuple wolf spin on beam. Shes just
EVAN: Kennedy!
JESSICA: I hope she does that with her Patterson on beam and wins NCAA finals. Just to be like *grunts* thats right. Whats up now? Did you see the the videos from the Ranch? Did you watch some of them?
EVAN: I did yeah.
JESSICA: And did you see Norah Flatley?
EVAN: I did. That little front tumbling connection girl.
JESSICA: I feel like Norah Flatley is every gymnast Ive ever loved reincarnated into one human.
EVAN: I feel like her dad might be Michael Flatley from Riverdance and I would like her even more. But hes not. But if he is, I could be convinced to like her even more than I already do.
JESSICA: She should add some Irish dance into her
EVAN: Right, which is why I feel like hes not her dad. Well see.
JESSICA: Did you watch the Gabby movie?
EVAN: I didnt.
JESSICA: Fired, youre fired. Thats it. Done.
EVAN: I know. It was my birthday so I know that Lifetime tried to give me that gift. It was everything that I asked for. But I havent yet. But thats why movies are there so you can just watch them in the future. So what did you think of it?
JESSICA: Well first of all I have a very important correction to make because a whole bunch of news outlets were reporting that Gabby did the stunts in the movie so we reported it on the show and it turns out she did no stunts for the movie. None. So I feel like that was a rumor started to get people excited about the movie somewhere. Or some genius at Lifetime was like hey lets just throw that out there. But in fact, she did none of the stunts.
EVAN: It was probably that Abby Lee Miller.
JESSICA: Yeah so Spanny did an excellent recap of all of this. I know some people were like oh theres no way that Chow just walks into the room and says hey kids who can do an Amanar? Okay Gabby you go first after youve been sitting listening to a lecture for 20 minutes. Of course we know that doesnt happen. So theres going to be little things like that that arent true to life and gymnastics. But come on people. This was like a super positive movie. It was a great message. There was great gymnastics. They used real footage from NBC. It was super uplifting and it made me cry twice which is like
EVAN: Not that hard.
JESSICA: Exactly its really not that hard. But I wasnt expecting to cry which is different. So I really liked and I think its one of the best gymnastics movies besides the OG Nadia movie when they were little kids and Bela goes to look for them in the pit and theyve all been stolen and taken to Onesti I think. Besides that one, I think its one of the best gymnastics movies thats a biography type of movie. Because obviously we know that Stick It is you know the greatest ever. So I will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts after you finally watch it, even though it was your birthday and you went on vacation and pssh none of that matters. Did you see what was on Louis Smiths Instagram? Now were getting to the Valentines Day part of the show.
EVAN: I did not but I bet you did.
JESSICA: Oh my God, so apparently he tans. First of all, who knew? Like what? Why does he tan? But I feel like everyone in all of Europe tans, like unless theyre from Italy or Slovenia. They all tan. But he gets spray tans so thats good. Hes not giving himself skin cancer. He posted pictures of himself in this little, it looks like a fig leaf with strings on the side so you can get tan everywhere. So he posted two pictures of himself with that on. And Happy Valentines Day to us. Thats what I have to say about that. Thank you Louis Smith. Everyone, please follow him if youre not already because he will make your day on a regular basis. Now as we get into these Valentines Day messages, I want to let you guys know that Mr. Owen Field at Nebraska, one of our favorite jeans wearing coaches, he heard our cries for his hot pants and wore his legendary red pants to the last Nebraska meet so we want to thank you sir for your service to the gymternet and hats off to you Owen Field. Hes a joy. Great team, great coach. What can I say? So Evan on the show in the past, weve talked about our Valentines Day gymnastics related stories. Weve shared a few. Do you have any romantic or otherwise Valentines Day gymnastics related stories to share with us?
EVAN: Ummmm no I cant. I cant.
JESSICA: So Evan is a gentleman. But I am not. So I will just say I dont have good gymnastic, I think I told my gymnastics related hook up story last year so this year I will just say that traveling as an athlete is one of the best things ever and wrestling nationals were always in Vegas and they were fantastic. A good time was had by all. A very very very good time. You can just fill in the blanks.
EVAN: Literally like the national wrestling orgy championships, because youre like literally everyone was having a good time with everyone.
JESSICA: Pretty much.
EVAN: It was like one room with soft matting.
JESSICA: Pretty much with a million hotel rooms in one city. Yes its a great great great event and everyone should go. So lets get to the non romantic Valentines Day stories that we asked you guys to send in. We have a really great one. So you know, Valentines Day can be a romantic love or it can just be an appreciation for someone, just like someone you really love and made a difference in your life and we wanted to give you guys an opportunity to give a shout out to one of those people, especially if it was a coach in your life. So we got a letter and this letter says: Dear Gymcastic, please give a shout out to Woody and Mary Clifton for accepting me on to their team at age 33. Woody always called me Kid and said the only thing that fans your fire is negative reinforcement. Tell me I cant and I will. I became state champion on three of four events at age 34 competing against girls 16 years and up because of my training from Woody and Mary Clifton. Thanks for allowing me to share this. Sincerely, Lori Gallis. How freaking cool is that?
EVAN: You go Lori! You go all over town and you just do early mid thirties gymnastics. I am in awe of you. But legitimately that is something that even at late mid twenties now, I cant even imagine doing that, so I like that. And shes giving credit where credit is due. Im not saying that her effort isnt worth it but I think that coaches so often go underappreciated when they really should be over appreciated. So thank you to all my coaches, High Flyers Educational Gymnastics Center in Brighton, Michigan and Greater Kalamazoo Gymnastics for a while and of course The University of Michigan, so everyone there whos ever helped me.
JESSICA: Before we bring your our Valentines Day story from goddess Svetlana Boginskaya, Evan can you tell people how they can support the show?
EVAN: So you can support the show in a variety of ways. You can yell at your computer screen like Svetlana Khorkina in 2000 and just force your iTunes by pressuring it. You can download our podcast there. You can download the Stitcher app to listen or you can check out the email option via our website and support the show. Because we love support. Youre like our bra, or bro.
JESSICA: Or dance belt.
EVAN: Right, a lot of support is needed in a lot of areas. You can also shop in our Amazon store. Were probably going to need to start selling intimate apparel now that thats been spoken into existence. Remember as long as you start through the Amazon link that we provide on the website, a little portion of what you buy goes back to the show and helps us live on to come back to you next week. If you want to skip the hassle of shopping though, which you know, I dont want to say sometimes you just want to give
JESSICA: Yes, yes. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you dont want to be the receiver. You just want to give.
EVAN: Sometimes you just want to give. Theres a donation button on the about page. So you go do that.
JESSICA: So I have to give a shout out to Mary, one of our listeners. She decided that she wanted to donate to us regularly, so she set up a monthly donation on PayPal. So she donates ten dollars a month to the show. How freaking awesome is that? I was like what?! Its just so nice and thoughtful and I just want to give her a special thanks. Sidebar: why dont male gymnasts need a dance belt, jock strap? Like why do they need it in other sports? Is it because you dont have things hurling at your nethers? But you do? Please explain.
EVAN: Ive never worn a dance belt so I dont know why you do need it. I mean in gymnastics, I dont think its uncommon for people to wear like underwear and your step in body suit and then usually pants or shorts or some type of shorts and pants together
JESSICA: So like three layers
EVAN: Right so theres a good amount of support there. Youre just like Im wearing boxers today. This is going to go great. You choose a cut and a style that accommodates movement and support.
JESSICA: I just had the most horrific horrific mental image of boxers and pommel horse. No, no, no. That is not good. That could be bad. Getting back on track now that weve solved that mystery. So you can contact us on the show. Tell us what you think. Tell us what you want us to talk about. Tell us what routines you want us to review and discuss. Tell us what you thought should have received a ten, what was robbed in NCAA. You can contact us by leaving us a voicemail at 415-800-3191 or you can call us on Skype and leave us a voicemail there, user name is Gymcastic Podcast. Email us atgymcastic@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook. You can message us there. And of course we have for your viewing pleasure, a video playlist so you can watch the routines we are talking about and follow along as you listen to the show.
[Sound Byte]
JESSICA: You know that I met my super hot, smart, gorgeous, driven and sexy husband through wrestling right? Since this is our Valentines Day show, I should tell you one of the most romantic gifts he ever got me, besides my floor routine of course. I came home one day, flipped on the lights and there in the middle of the living room floor was an eight foot long balance beam with a bow on top. It wasnt just any floor beam. It was a sectional beam, two parts connected by a velcro under the base. Easy to detach and hide under the bed when company comes over. The top is the same width and the covering is the traditional beam, just firm enough to hold a tight handstand but forgiving enough to try new acro skills without bruising your feet. If you are intrigued and want to know more about this romantic sectional beam, you can check it out at Tumbl Trak. Thats tumbltrak.com. TumblTrak. Do it again.
And finally, here is the recording Ive been waiting forever to bring to you guys. This is Svetlana Boginskaya talking to us last summer about her love story and how she met her husband and how she got engaged. Her husbands name is William Guy and he will tell you his side of their love story after her interview. And pay attention you guys. When youre looking for a man, its what he does, not what he says that matter. So pay attention to the things he does for Svetlana. And also one of the things I had to cut from the interview just for times sake was that he picked her up from the airport and would take care of her mail and stuff while she was traveling. Thats a good man right there, willing to do the non glamorous dirty work for you while youre traveling around the world following your passion, so I hope you guys enjoy it.
[Sound Byte]
UNCLE TIM: And while were on the topic of children, one of our listeners, Jay, he wants to know how you met your husband. Will you tell us the love story?
SVETLANA: Ooh the love story. Well my love story is very interesting. It was the beginning the middle and the end. Which part would you like me to tell you?
UNCLE TIM: Um lets do the beginning.
SVETLANA: Okay, okay. I met him at my neighbor that I had across in my luxury apartment complex where I used to live. I had a next door neighbor who used to work for an oil firm and my husband and my neighbor were best friends. And my husband and my neighbor would stop by to work out after work in our luxurious apartment complex. So I asked my neighbor to introduce me to him. And he said Svetlana, Im going to tell you something. Youre not his type. Now once again, once isnt always enough. I said is he dating anybody at the moment. He said no. Knowing me, I wouldnt give up so I said introduce us. He said okay I will, but remember youre not his type. For a regular person, I am sure. And I had very short blonde hair at the time. And my neighbor mentioned to me thats dated only 510 Hispanic girls with long dark hair down to their waist. So thats how I met my husband. And thats what I found out about him. Maybe it was just a challenge to prove myself. I had to be extra nice when I met William, my husband. So thats how we met, through our neighbor. We got introduced and after three months, he proposed to me on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. And I asked him, do I have to say yes and he said you do have to say yes because its the Eiffel Tower and if you say no, I might gently push you down. So I had to say yes. I said yes.
UNCLE TIM: Wow.
SVETLANA: I know.
UNCLE TIM: It sounds like you two have similar senses of humor.
SVETLANA: I know. We have to. Anybody to put up with me has to have a sense of humor.
[Sound Byte]
JESSICA: Yes the very beginning. How did you first meet? What did you think when you first saw her?
WILLIAM: (laughs) Well heres the thing okay. She used to live next to a friend of mine right. I went out with my friend to this place called Cute Cafe. We ran into here there. She was dancing with some girlfriends. Thats when I really saw her but I didnt really think much you know. I was just like oh shes nice looking. She was in very good shape. You know what Im saying?
JESSICA: Yes.
WILLIAM: So I actually say hello to her, you know how are you doing? And my friend goes oh well thats my neighbor. I was like oh okay. I had no clue, well I knew what gymnastics is but I had no clue of anything.
JESSICA: You didnt know who she was or anything like that.
WILLIAM: My friend told me, shes an Olympic gymnast. Me, I could really not much care less. I would go to my friends house, I would knock on the door and shes literally across the hall. So whenever I would knock on the door, she would open it and say hey how are you doing? And thats it. My friend arranged us to go out like a group. And we went over to this place called [unclear] where they have live Latin dancing and she jumps in the front and she pays for everybodys cover. So that was nice. And we were just standing there and just talking and somebody recognizes her and sends her some flowers. And then she leaves I guess to thank the guy or whatever and I was just standing there and I was like well I really dont have much interest so Im just going to leave. So I left and on the way home, she calls me. Shes like oh Im sorry. So I say well you wanna go somewhere tomorrow night or Friday and she goes no, how about Saturday. I said okay, well well go on Saturday. Years later, I find out that she had a date on Friday night with the guy that sent her the flowers.
JESSICA: Classic. Of course she did.
WILLIAM: It just kind of slipped out. So thats what you were doing Friday when you wouldnt go out with me.
JESSICA: So did you slowly start to realize who she was and how popular she was?
WILLIAM: Yes and no. Im not terribly starstruck with people, you know when you meet famous people. I knew who she was then. I wasnt really going out with her because of who she was. She was just a really unique person who I really liked the way she was. It was April 20 of 1998. We went out that Saturday. I had to meet some friends for a birthday party. We went out and met from there and basically, what we call our first date, we went to downtown Houston. That nights kind of a blur. I take her home. Im pretty drunk so Im not driving home. I say Im going to sleep here on the couch. And she says oh no. She kicks me out. I dont even know how I made it home.
JESSICA: And then what happened?
WILLIAM: I like to cook so I made her all these like lobster with rice and things like that. Everytime she would leave, shed be like can you pick up my mail?
JESSICA: So when did you know that she was the one?
WILLIAM: Oh I think after the first date. But it wasnt because of who she is. It was just because shes a very unique person. After that, she was in and out of summer camps. She sent me some flowers. I was like oh okay. This is the one. I have the flowers somewhere, but I dont know where it is.
JESSICA: You saved them? Thats so romantic!
WILLIAM: Oh yeah I have a little book that shows like the first movie we watched. I have the menu from our first date, that kind of thing. Its kind of cool.
JESSICA: Oh thats awesome. So what advice do you have for someone thats in a relationship with an athlete or even someone thats super passionate like your wife?
WILLIAM: Well just know thats their life and thats what they like to do and they really cant do anything else. Once they do that, thats basically what they live for. My wife wakes up and she starts looking at gymnastics things and calling her gymnastics friends and doing this and that. They have no concept of anything else really. Its what they live for. Other than that, just patience. There are some that, some of her friends that when theyre done they dont really want to do anything. They dont want to have to do anything with it. But just so they know, this is what they love to do.
[Sound Byte]
ALLISON TAYLOR: This episode is brought to you by Elite Sportz Band. elitesportzband.com. Weve got your back.
JESSICA: Visit elitesportzband.com, thats sports with a z, and save $5 on your next purchase using the code Gymcast.
Happy Valentines Day to everyone. We will see you next week. Until then, Im Jessica from Masters Gymnastics
EVAN: And Im Evan. Find me on Twitter @yoev. Mwah.
JESSICA: See you guys next week.