Jennifer Sey: "I wrote a book."

No you didn't.

I don't treat my children "that way" either. But I see many parents who do. My oldest child is going off to college and have had the chance to watch how other parents mold their cildren. We live in a very competitive area where parents begin to strategize how they'll get Suzy or Timmy into Harvard practically the day they see the pink "+". Their children must be stars: 1st chair flute, captain of lacrosse team, found a charity to feed homeless alligators, fluent in 5 languages, winner of Intel science contest, etc. I exaggerate but not much. Just because Ms. Sey's parents focussed their energies on one thing - it isn't different.

Parents who become so enmeshed in their children's lives always say, well, it is not me, this is what Timmy wants. And the children go along with it and probably believe it - what else can they do?

The fact that Ms. Sey's parents ignored the fact that she was depressed and probably suffering from anorexia says a lot about where they were coming from: it was all about their daughter's medals, not their daughter. I don't see how you can interpret that any other way.

I tried to make the point that this is not only about athletics not about gymnastics, not about swimming, or any other sport. It is also not only about children violin virtuosos, baby actors, child beauty pageants, or chess prodigies.

It is about how we treat children (yes, we) in our culture. So, banning gymnastics, whatever, begs the question.

No, no you're not. You're just flailing around on a keyboard. It pisses me off when non-computer pros like yourself pretend to be using a computer to "write".

You have no f'ing idea what it really means to use a computer. Trust me.

I admit Jennifer's article was a little harsh but can't we just give her a little credit for her honestly. Don't you think it's a little interesting to get into someones head? She is entitled to express her opinions even if you don't like them. As a former elite athlete I was slightly annoyed by her remarks...wondering if she would think of me as an "armchair fan". I did not reach the level she did but I still sacrificed my childhood and my body to train day in and day out. I may not like her comments but I understand them. Some experiences in life stick with you and even change you forever. Obviously Jennifer's experiences in gymnastics have stuck with her. Maybe Jennifer and I are weaker people than you? Not everyone can forgive and forget.

I was just telling my husband last night how bad I felt for Alicia Sacramone. She will forever remember her career by the night she lost the gold medal for the United States. He, of course, said "No she won't". But unfortunately, yes she will. She will be haunted by the sport for years to come. I hope I am wrong and she is strong enough to realize that the journey is sometime more rewarding than the destination. Not many people can say they were Olympic athletes. They are in a class all by themselves. I envy her Olympic experience but I don't envy the battle she will face with herself over the years.

Jennifer, keep up the honesty. Maybe more people will realize they are not alone in this world. I hope you can lock away your demons someday.

There are over 200 comments. The vast majority can't stand this article. Many of those critiques are well written and point to the many flaws in both the article and Ms. Sey. Some are horrible and should be removed.

There are 4 editor's choice comments. 3 liked the article. 1 took issue with it in a gentle way.

If you read just those you would assume most readers enjoyed this article and thought it valuable.

Apparently the purpose of the editor's choice letters is to cheerlead. Shameful.

The author is absolutely correct - winning a silver in any sport at the olympics is a mind-boggling achievement and should be richly lauded (and to be fair, in every country not named "USA" or "China" it is). Simply making it to The Olympics is an achievement of epic proportions. She is right, many of us don't stop to consider the almost limitless pool of talent that competes in any sport...to even be in the top 10 in the World is incredible.

(The rest of her article is an abomination...I suspect she's not very good at keeping friends...it's called shared experiences darling, it's one of the things that fosters community, and makes us human)

peace,

I've read this article and several of your earlier articles and have a suggestion...

Teach.

Find a no-name gym somewhere and offer to teach 5-year-olds. They won't know who you are and even if they do, they won't care. They probably won't even know what the Olympics are. Do not teach elite classes or any class where who you were or what you did matters to the students. Start from scratch. You seem to have boundless knowledge about how not to teach and motivate, so use it and be excellent. Go teach little kids.

Watch their eyes when they accomplish something new. Watch them run to their parents and listen to them talk about their accomplishments. Help them up when they fall and whoop with them when they succeed. Make sure they have fun. Start from scratch, rebuild your love for your sport and hopefully find appreciation for what you accomplished.

Go teach kids. Do all the things I suggest. Then just try to tell them they aren't really doing gymnastics...

The reason why some of you alls snark fails is that unlike people suffering from the "Al Bundy" I-did-football-in-HS syndrome, the author hasn't claimed that writing a book meant that she "did writing" just like you or is a serious writer.

I read Sey's article three times and I really, truly don't get the point - or maybe I do and can't believe the point she is trying to make.

It seems to me that Sey has the world divided into two types of people - the professional, medal-winning elites and everybody else. Sorry, but are you kidding me?

I appreciate all the work and sacrifice Sey put into her training. Have I done the same? Nope, but I wouldn't even bother to watch if I didn't have some notion in the back of my mind that athletes don't just come out of a box with the ability to swim, jump, run, etc. better than 99% of the world. Talent is only a part of it, and who knows how many people have lived their lives never knowing or being able to develop a talent that could have put them on a medal podium.

I have never even stood on a balance beam, so I am in the zero pile of experience for that particular skill. I am perfectly willing to believe that a person who actually tried to do a couple of jumps and prances on a beam might have a better understanding of how hard it is. Maybe that is what the woman who approached Sey was trying to convey, but never had the chance. She WAS a gymnast - probably an amateur, not-very-good, never-competed in the Olympics gymnast, but a gymanst nonetheless.

I took a specialized class in oil painting about 20 years ago. Our assignment was to reproduce a 12 by 12 inch square from a masterpiece in oil using the same techniques the original artist employed. I slaved over that square for weeks and it actually turned out to be a passable painting, but certainly not a masterpiece by any stretch. The next time I gazed on the original, I had a new appreciation for the talent of the painter. However, I had loved and admired the painting before that, without the experience.

I'm glad Sey tries to hide this "monster" she refers too. She might understand that trying to equate with an athlete is far different and less harmful than trying to equate with a truly horrific or life-changing event that one really cannot understand unless they have some experience with it. For example, I would never tell someone facing a terminal illness that I know what they are going through because I had the measles as a kid.

On another note, I was watching the men's pairs skulls on USA at about 3:00 in the morning. When the camera pulled back you could see a path along the river with cyclists pedaling furiously against each other, and the rowers were actually keeping pace with them. This really impressed upon me how fast these guys could row.

Which leads me to a modest proposal inspired by a You Tube clip I saw recently. In the clip, two in-shape guys swam a few laps, ran a 100 yard dash, and did hurdles and ran the clips side by side with Olympic competitors. The swimming clip was especially funny, since the professionals were shown sitting at the edge of the pool or congratulating each other for many seconds until the two guys finished. So my proposal is show a clip of an average person (who of course knows that the clip will be shown and where) swimming, rowing, etc. alongside the Olympic competition. Maybe that will refresh our memories as to how good even the nonmedaling athletes are.

Is that good enough for you, Jennifer?