After watching Lolo Jones cry on the set of NBC after failing to medal in the Olympics,
I wrote that the American Hurdler wouldn't go away any time soon. She's a reality show
waiting to happen and the female version of Bobby Valentine, who is addicted to
everything and anything that concerns himself. When Jones touched down in the
United States after her performance in London, I expected there to be a sex tape,
Playboy pictorial, or a spot in celebrity re-hab. I firmly believed that she'd become
like Jose Canseco, who tried anything to stay relevant, no matter how embarrassing
it was for him.
As Canseco plans his next venture and Valentine adjusts to life without being a
lightening rod in Boston, Jones has discovered a new sport and a way to re-capture
the spotlight she so desperately craves. Jones tried out and made the U.S. Bobsled
team as a pusher. That's right, Jones, who probably never saw snow or ice in her
home state of Louisiana, will be pushing a big sled on one big sheet of ice. This is
nothing new in the sport, football legend Herschel Walker made the 1992 Olympic
team as a bobsledder. If you have speed and power, then bobsledding might just
be the sport for you.
Many have criticized Jones for her love of the spotlight, me included. Her two Olympic
teammates who finished ahead of her, complained loudly why Jones was getting all
the attention and they were getting none. Jones hogged the spotlight because she is
beautiful and is rather exotic looking.. As we all know, sex appeal sells, even if the
person has never experienced sex. Jones burst into our consciousness last spring
when she tweeted that she was a 20-something virgin. That's right, she told the
world that she had never had sex. Bill Clinton's definition of it, anyway.
The media picked up her story and Jones appeared on nearly every news
channel, talk show, and appeared on the cover of a lot of magazines.Of course,
that will make a lot of people jealous. That's just how most of American deals with stuff
like that. And there were more than a few eyeballs rolled when people read that Jones
is now a bobsledder.
Jones was on top of the world in September and then crashed hard when she
finished fourth in her event in London. She failed badly. All the hype and she
couldn't even medal. Unfortunately, for her two teammates, who actually DID
medal, Jones gained most of the attention, even though she left the games with
nothing hanging around her neck but failure.
Now, she's back. And you know what, I applaud her. She should be commended
for getting off the mat and pursuing her dream of winning an Olympic medal. So
what if it comes in a sport nobody really cares about but once every four years for
about 30 seconds. A track athlete has an extremely short shelf life. They train every
day for the chance at Olympic glory. If they don't get it, they are quickly forgotten.
Heck, even if an athlete does win a medal, the attention fades away after the Olympic
flame is doused. The only thing I saw on television with Michael Phelps was the
185-foot putt he sank on the golf course.
People will hate on Jones, I was guilty of that. But good for her. She's branching
out and doing something different if life. Nothing wrong with that and is a lot better
than saying, "What if?" and living with regret. Life is a bobsledding event, drink it up.
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