Steelersforever.org
0
0
Despite it being, supposedly, a patriotic weekend aimed at unity, SwimSwam readers have been unrelenting and pointed in their disunified feedback to Charles Hartley, a freelance writer with a master’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in business administration and a watcher of Ted Talks every now and again. They want him to stop writing articles about Olympic swimming for SwimSwam. A full-tilt tizzy this writing has them in.
There are a variety of reasons for this testiness. They don’t think he knows enough about swimming to be making predictions and breaking down what may happen in Paris race by race, swimmer by swimmer, Rowdy Gaines by Rowdy Gaines.
They also don’t think he has any right to declare which member of the U.S. team should be declared Miss or Mr. America because he doesn’t have the context or expertise necessary to be assigning such labels plus it’s stupid. The right to spew out original content on Olympic swimming is the exclusive domain of Poolheads who have read SwimSwam the past 1,457 days.
This groupthink is resulting in real riveting repercussions. On what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday weekend, I found myself the target of a verbal online onslaught louder than all the fireworks blown up on July 4th across America’s fruited plains. Allow me to pile on your plates a few tastes of the high heat hurled at Hartley below his article posted yesterday titled “Katie Grimes, Coke, and Olympic Harmony.”
Steve Nolan fired this: “I may be revising my stance that the worst part about the Olympics is the immense cost the host cities get stuck with. It’s the return of Charles Hartley.”
Feeling slightly disoriented, I couldn’t resist poking back at Stevie: “How am I supposed to feel about your verbal darts, Stevie.” To which he wrote: “Just popping up every four years is the main thing I think is weird. ‘Ooh, the Olympics are coming up! Know what people need? Me.’ ”
It’s not that I think people need me. It’s that I truly believe they want me. I’m open to the harsh truth I could be wrong, but I doubt I am. Some things you just intuitively know.
In another section of the cavalcade of curious comments, JBomb was more delicate than Stevie yet still serious: “Respectfully, how do these Charles Hartley articles keep getting published?”
Beats me, JBomb. Total bombs, though, wouldn’t you say?
I dig this comment from Swimuk9296 that I think captures in the first line something uncannily frank. “What did I just read? I’m a college professor, former D1 swimmer. The former me wants to take a red pen and have a field day. The new me wants to accuse the student of using AI.”
Yo Swimuk, you read an article about Katie Grimes drinking a Coke after her swims and how that ties in with a 1971 commercial about Coke bringing people together in “perfect harmony” like the Olympics do every four years. The tie-in fits like a Speedo. The former me wants you to know that the red pen marks you would send me would not be as plentiful as those supplied by my college English professors. So have at it. The new me wants to write this article so you can cut and paste it into ChatGPT and see what the famous chatbot has to say about my grammar and how that aligns with your thinking.”
We’re swaying towards a highway ditch. You sense it, too. This country doesn’t need discord just three weeks before Olympic swimming splashes down in Paris. It should be all swimming all SwimSwam all the time.
Let’s all live in perfect harmony like the Coke ad preaches. Drink a Coke and think about unity and how great swimming is and ditch all the bewilderment about some guy thinking he’s a swimming writer every four years, making himself part of the Olympic story when it’s really not about him.
It’s time we all start swimming in the same lane.
Author Profile
-
Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
Sammy Sportface Has a Vision -- Check It Out
Sammy Sportface -- The Baby Boomer Brotherhood Blog -- Facebook Page
Latest entries
BonusJuly 21, 2025One Time Rudy Said to Sportface…
BonusJuly 19, 2025New Top Album Names – All-Time
BonusJuly 18, 2025Why AI is Scary – and What’s Likely to Happen
BonusJuly 16, 2025Sportface Gets Svelte, Chicks Can’t Stop Checking Him Out
About the Author
[…] swimming.Very funny! Wow, a sense of humor in a swimswam article:)Anyone else see this…..https://ngscsports.com/2024/07/08/swimswam-readers-to-hartley-stop-writing-about-olympic-swimming/AI has no clue…..I’m sorry but I cannot predict the future. The results of pool swimming […]