Michael Giltz: Sports: Gymnastics Tyson American Cup Preview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-gymnastics-tyson-a_b_89290.html [4/5/2009 7:37:18 PM] APRIL 5, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Email Alerts Twitter: Follow Us BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More...</p><p> LOG IN | SIGN UP Michael Giltz BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index Sports: Gymnastics Tyson American Cup Preview Posted February 29, 2008 | 07:15 PM (EST) Read More: Gymnastics , Jonathan Horton , Madison Square Garden , Olympics , Paul Hamm, Shawn Johnson , Entertainment News On Saturday, March 1st, the top US men and women gymnasts and some of the best fromaround the world will be competing at MadisonSquare Garden in the Tyson American Cup.</p><p> Five months from now in Beijing (where the Olympicstake place August 8 through August 24), youwouldn't be able to trade your first born child toget a ticket to an event like this.</p><p> Not with two-time defending champ Jonathan Horton and newmedia darling and female defending champ Shawn Johnson competing.</p><p> But go to Ticketmaster right now and you can snap up a great seatfront and center as of 18 hours before the meet. (Mind you, it'll cost more than $200.00.) Gymnastics is one of those sports that garner very little respect when Olympic gold isn't on the line.</p><p> Swimming, track and field and gymnastics get little to no TV coverage most of the time.</p><p> Collegiateand even world class events like this one play in arenas that are woefully unattended.</p><p> Ice skatingfares somewhat better (the major networks simply can't ignore the massive female audience thatflocks to it).</p><p> But nothing like the attention they deserve.</p><p> Because the Olympics are practically weeks away, NBC is actually covering this event almost live from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.</p><p> For three and a half years out of every four, that doesn't happen - usually at best you can watch a major gymnastics or swimming event days or even weeks later in a chopped up edited version long after the results are known.</p><p> At two in the morning.</p><p> Needless to say, repeatsof sporting events long after the meet is over don't do well.</p><p> But you know how exciting it can be - during the Olympics you'll be cheering these people on like crazy.</p><p> Catch them now or in Philadelphia June 19-22 when they'll be competing for a spot on the Olympic team.</p><p> You'll get to see world-class athletes competing at the highest level - and it's a heckof a lot easier to score a ticket than going to a post-season baseball game or the Super Bowl.</p><p> Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Like this story? Get Alerts of big news events.</p><p> Enter your email address Popular Stories on HuffPost Fashion Face-Off! Michelle Obama And Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Finally Meet In France (VIDEO, PHOTOS, POLL) *Video, poll and slideshow Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra Banks (VIDEO) ***UPDATE*** 8:30pm: People.com is reporting that Sarah Palin has issued...</p><p> Oscar de la Renta Slams Michelle Obama's Buckingham Outfit As Major Designers FeelIgnored While Michelle Obamahas made lesser...</p><p> Verena von Pfetten 7 Lessons To BeLearned From Carla Bruni So here's the thing.There's no shortage of articles dedicated to thatcertain je ne...</p><p> Huff TV Arianna Discusses MichelleObama's "Fantastic" Style On CBS' 'Fast & Furious' HAUL: Rakes In $72.5M Madonna Tot's Dad Found: 'At Last I Can Be Part Of Mercy's Life' Farrah Fawcett's Son Arrested As She's In Hospital Michael Giltz: Sports: Gymnastics Tyson American Cup Preview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-gymnastics-tyson-a_b_89290.html [4/5/2009 7:37:18 PM] Chicago Shows Off Olympics Venues To International...</p><p> Olympics Would Shut Down Public Lakefront Bike...</p><p> SNL: Madonna And Angelina In Weekend Update...</p><p> Reality Star Jade Goody Buried In Lavish...So networks and ESPN may foolishly ignore the ratings gold they could garner from presenting a season of swimming, gymnastics and track and field properly.</p><p> But the internet is doing an end-run.</p><p> Jonathan Horton jokes that his girlfriend will find him on You Tube and say, "Are you watching yourself again?" A meat and potatoes gymnast who doesn't offer up graceful lines but gets the jobdone, Horton can pump himself up by checking out great routines from the past or watching thecompetition. (Though he probably doesn't like rewatching this crash from the Winter CupChallenge.) He also likes video games. "I've got Madden 2008, which is probably my best game,"says Horton.</p><p> He carries two game systems with him everywhere (but not Wii - "I don't like theWii," he insists.) Story continues below advertisement Paul Hamm (the Olympic all around Gold medalist in 2004) and his twin brother Morgan havebeen chronicling their road to the Olympics on a fun website complete with video practices and video diaries.</p><p> Their voices may still be waiting to crack, but the Hamm brothers handle the spotlight with grace.</p><p> Paul politely introduces himself to female gymnasts stretching nearby during a workout session and is the calm center of a scrum of journalists that is easily double the size of any crowd around the other athletes.</p><p> Fabian Hambuechen of Germany is a "crazily talented" gymnast says Horton with an elaborate website of his own (and a rather Teutonic one at that, with all sorts of stern, metal panels riveted to the bottom of the screen).</p><p> Raj Bhavsar of Houston is another great US hopeful.</p><p> But he doesn't use techno, he prefers to scroll his iPod to motivational speeches. "I like to listen to other people telling me what I want to hear,rather than telling myself," says Bhavsar, who is often in the midst of self-help books and justfinished Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.</p><p> Bhavsar, like the rest, is polite and easy with the TV crews and reporters.</p><p> They're probably justdelighted that with the Olympics edging closer that the media is paying attention again to one ofthe most demanding, beautiful and crowd-pleasing sports around.</p><p> Soon, the spotlight will beintensely hot.</p><p> But that's what they devote endless hours of practice for year in and year out whenno one is cheering and even major events are sparsely attended.</p><p> Legendary coach Bela Karolyi readily agrees with me when I suggest that $200 is too high a ticket price. "It could be lower," says Karolyi. "Especially in an Olympic year."All the athletes talked about the excitement of appearing at Madison Square Garden, where most of them have never even attended an event, much less performed at.</p><p> But when you can see Bruce Springsteen there for $75, it seems foolish for a sport that is hungry for coverage and attendance to price itself out of the reach of casual fans.</p><p> Yes, at the Olympics a gymnastics event front row ticket for $200 would be priceless.</p><p> But almost any time and anywhere else, it's just an empty seat.</p><p> They can't demand network coverage or tons of press.</p><p> But they can fill seats with smarter pricing and at the very least fill up every empty spot with students from local areas.</p><p> What better way toteach a new generation about the excitement of gymnastics? That's a shame for these athletes who deserve packed houses year-round.</p><p> Horton, for one, loves the high bar and the charge it gives a crowd. "Every time I do a release, they cheer louder andlouder," says Horton about one of his flashiest and best events. "I love it." More in Entertainment...</p><p> HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now "Washington Unplugged" Arianna was on CBS' "Washington...</p><p> Huff TV Arianna Appears on ABC's "This Week" Roundtable With George Stephanopoulos (VIDEO) Arianna was a guest this morning on... "BRUNO" TRAILER! Calamity, African Babies, Chase Scenes And More (NSFW VIDEO) IT'S HERE! The trailer for this July's Sacha BaronCohen...</p><p> NATO Leaders Focus On Afghanistan, But Most Reject Obama'sPlea For Troops (SLIDESHOW) STRASBOURG, France— On the eve of the NATO...</p><p> First Lady Fashion At Friday's NATO Concert (PHOTOS) Another night, another fashion opportunity for NATO leaders and their spouses! See...</p><p> Diana Palin, Sarah Palin's Sister-In-Law, Arrested For Breaking Into Home ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov....</p><p> John Oliver Explains The Real Reason You Never Touch TheQueen (VIDEO) John Oliver was upsetenough to drop his monocle when he...</p><p> Jim Cramer Declares The Depression "Over" (VIDEO) On Thursday's episode of "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer declared that the depression...</p><p> New Jay Leno ShowRejected By NBCAffiliate In Boston BOSTON — Boston'sNBC affiliate says it will air a local newscast instead of...</p><p> Ice Bridge Ruptures In Antarctic (VIDEO) An ice bridge linking a shelf of ice the size of Jamaica to two islands in Antarctica has Scientists Find Rocket Fuel Chemical In Infant Formula ATLANTA — Traces of a Michael Giltz: Sports: Gymnastics Tyson American Cup Preview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-gymnastics-tyson-a_b_89290.html [4/5/2009 7:37:18 PM] HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE Michelle Obama's Clothing Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts Cenk Uygur: Have WeReached the Tipping Pointon Guns? RICHARD POPLAWSKI,Pittsburgh Gunman, Kills 3Police Officers Dr.</p><p> Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden? Comments 0 Pending Comments 0 Comments are closed for this entry Buy a link here Sponsored Links "My Teeth Are so White" Read the trick, discovered by a mom, to turn yellow teeth white.</p><p> CathysTeeth.com I'm Happy I Lost My Job After I got laid off, I found a easy way to make $7k a month online... http://coreyhasmoney.com/ca Online Mgt Training Management Training Certificates From Notre Dame - 100% Online! www.NotreDameOnline.com Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All You must be logged in to reply to this comment.</p><p> Log in or Ads by Google Gymnastics Education Look here for in-depth advice on how to teach,execute,spot gymnastic www.gymedu.com Computers India Barack Obama Michelle Obama Sports Olympics Housing Crisis Fox News Cars MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Books by this author A cabin of one's own: New England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine) by Michael Giltz Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein.</p><p> In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine) by Michael Giltzchemical used in rocket fuel were found insamples of...</p><p> HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES This Blogger's Books from Michael Giltz: Sports: Gymnastics Tyson American Cup Preview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-gymnastics-tyson-a_b_89290.html [4/5/2009 7:37:18 PM]ARCHIVE Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type
