Skip to main content

When (do) boys become men

Let me use this rather celebratory shot here, though you can't quite see the face of this surely-very-happy nineteen-year-old. Well done, young man! Somehow, he reminds me of Henman - understated, no flasy attire, no histrionics, no racket-flinging, no ranting at umpires and linesmen, etc. Well, I hope this final augurs well for men's tennis. It was getting rather boring, with the same old thing happening again and again in the various finals.
(pic source)

As for these two... er... boys, I shall call them, I don't know what to say. The whole of the TODAY article is here. A summary: 2 S'porean swimmers at the recently concluded World Championship reportedly 'pointed at the "DSQ" (disqualified) listed next to the United States on a television monitor and smiled' at the end of one of the heats.

Some reactions:
'We have zero tolerance for mistakes in relays. Why should the boys be smiling when they understand the severity of those mistakes?' (S'pore swimming official)

Yes, why indeed...

'What baffles me is why didn't the reporter ask our swimmers why they were smiling? The reporter should not have singled out any team, for any form of emotion or reaction. Different people will interpret those emotions and reactions in different ways.' (S'pore swimming official)

How would the boys have answered, I wonder...

And from the horse's mouth:
'The swimmers say it was all a misunderstanding... (one of the boys) said he smiled "in shock" when the decision was flashed on the scoreboard. "We were both smiling, not because we were happy that the Americans were disqualified — it was really hard to believe, that was all it was."'

Excuse me? SMILING in shock and disbelief?
Labels:

Comments

Lam Chun See said…
Frankly I think it's a small thing. Smiling only wat. What's the big deal. I think those people are making a mountain out a mole hill. It's not as if they were clapping or dancing with joy. I think it's all a misunderstanding.
11:43 pm
Anonymous said…
Yeah, that seems to be the story now, that it's a misunderstanding. However, such misunderstandings can be avoided if the boys are more aware that they are in full public/media view any time they are in a swimming complex during a competition.
2:46 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

True train school

‘Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.’ How would you like to have such a headmaster? I finally re-read (read it first as a teenager) Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window , a ‘school story’ by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, translated by Dorothy Britton. Totto-chan is the name Tesuko Kuroyanagi called herself, and the book is about her life during her school days at Tomoe Gakuen. Totto-chan was expelled from her first elementary school because of her ‘disruptive’ behaviour, which included constantly opening and closing her desk top (because she was so thrilled by it), ‘vandalising’ her desk (because there wasn’t enough space on the piece of paper to draw) and standing by the classroom window waiting for street musicians to pass by or talking to swallows. Her mother, although probably alarmed about the ...
3 comments
Read more

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (2023)

The title has an airy, genial feel and the show does have its airy, genial side, but I also think of it as TRAPPED, since everyone was trapped by the past.   It was fun trying to figure out who was who, who was on whose side and how the awful king would fall.   The scholars It wasn’t too hard to guess that Kang San (Ryeo Un) is the deposed/missing prince and that he isn’t really gruff and disinterested although he’s exasperated and rolling his eyes most of the time.  Shi-yeol (Kang Hoon) has the best ‘disguise’, with the nice contrast between his highly-skilled fighting and loyalty versus his silliness.  It felt at times that Yoo-ha (Jung Gun-joo) was an extra but finally, he gets that one brave act of letting himself be captured to protect the rest.   Shi-yeol identifying himself to Kang San as his watchman was dramatic but the most shocking revelation in the show was that the Old Guy (Shi-yeol’s mentor) is the king’s watchman!  Ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Melodramatic! (2019)

An entertaining look at the media world, although the plot and acting (thankfully) weren’t melodramatic! There was some drama over relationships but overall, ‘good friends’ is the prevailing vibe and at the end, you almost want to shout  友谊万岁   (friendship forever). all their living room chats and meals; Eun-jung's brother's home garb and robes! There is also Eun-jung’s other friend, who is a gem, so for me, this show is mainly about friendship.   It is wonderful how everyone moves in because they are concerned for Eun-jung (Jeon Yeo-been). Her grief and healing are movingly portrayed, and Yeo-been’s acting and Eun-jung’s storyline eclipsed that of the main character.  Eun-jung is beautiful, smart and tragic.   heartbreak she gets along so well with her cameraman Han-joo (Han Ji-eun – Ae-wol !) is cute, smart and tragic.  They both work responsibly and seriously, treat others with respect and deserve the success and opportunities that come th...
Post a Comment
Read more