Wednesday, March 23, 2011
History Lesson: 2004 NCAA Northeast Regional Championships
This season has been a particular dud for the NCAA. With so many top teams failing, it makes us long for the days when the depth of the field was up and healthy competition was abound.
Back in 2004, numerous teams were gunning for the NCAA Title. Conventional wisdom had that it would be between UGA and UCLA, but Michigan was always making a splash. I was present for this competition and it is one of my favorite competitions that I've ever been to.
While seeing quality gymnastics from the likes of Sierra Sapunar and Elise Ray was something to behold, there was nothing like seeing Chelsa Byrd power through a floor routine that mounted with a double layout and ended with a full in at 22 years of age.
The Gym Dogs were hungry for a title that year and unlike the teams who pretend to be in their own huddle and oblivious to scores, Yoculan's team erupted when the announcer made it known that they had achieved the top qualifying score, ahead of UCLA by a sizable margin. Cory Fritzinger literally bounced from her seat. There's something refreshing about seeing a team not just want to do their best, but absolutely slaughter the competition. It is called excitement.
Note how disinterested Elise Ray is in being interviewed by Shannon Miller after an exhausting meet where she was much better than her teammates yet again.
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Elise was disinterested because she spent years listening to Dominique Dawes bad mouth Shannon Miller because she kicked her ass year after year. Elise actually believed every bitter lie Dom told her.
ReplyDeleteI was at the gym and heard a lot of Dominiques bitterness towards everyone from Shannon Miller to Kerri Strug to Dominique Moceanu to Amanda Borden to every member of the National team that she ever competed against.
Elise should worry about getting fat more then being a bitch in some interview.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't surprise me to hear Dominique was bitter because she was a choker. She always seemed a lot phony in interviews.
Who raised you people?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: "Who raised you people?"
ReplyDeleteHAHA! We should at least appreciate that they're talking about gymnastics...
Anon 5:33 is just as stupid as Anon 5:20 for believing that clown. Why, oh why, is ANY and EVERYONE allowed to speak on here...
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet my mortgage for the next year that they're the same person..
ReplyDeleteWhy did Elise Ray go to Michigan? It's no Stanford...
ReplyDeleteElise looked like she wanted to deck someone. I didn't see any passion or joy in her face at all. It was just a job by then...
ReplyDeleteI have some less controversial observations:
ReplyDeleteAt minute 13:12- When the girl leaps on the beam during her mount, it reminds me of Rebecca Bross during her mount.
At minute 13:32- Her little leg kick looks pretty similar to something Mustafina has in her beam routine.
That's all I've got for now :)
-Holly, LA-
You don't agree with someone so they must be the same person. Why are people allowed to talk on here should be for anon at 12.07.
ReplyDeleteI am sure I will be accused of being those two people also because I agree with them. Dominique Dawes being bitter is well known. You can't bad mouth that many people over time and it not be known.
Elise Ray was a big part of that group that picked on Tasha for getting to compete over Alyssa Beckerman. You can't see her being a bitch?
You have to keep in mind that Elise's only real competitive experience with Shannon was in 2000 when Shannon and Steve Nunno were trying to talk their way onto the 2000 team and sucking up as much spotlight as possible from the actual national team members.
ReplyDeleteMiller and Nunno came off as very entitled at that time and throughout the process. In fairness, Nunno was far worse than Shannon. I mean, when she couldn't make her 9.6 vault for a second time at trials, Nunno still thought that she had a shot of making the team with only having shown:
2 good bar routines
1 so-so beam routine
2 horrible vault performances
and 1 crappy floor routine
Really?
Miller never came off as self entitled. Nunno maybe but Miller was doing really well at camp and that is when the BS from the Jamie and Elise Ray's of the world started because Dom was and is a master manipulator.
ReplyDeleteElise fed off of Dom and her spot was never in jeopardy.
That is why Tasha was treated so badly by these girls. At that point Jamie, Kristin and Elise were the ones that felt self entitled.
Miller is the one people pick on because of her success but if you were around these girls you would know who the real trouble makers were and Miller was never on the list.
Nunno is an ass but at least he wasn't telling Shannon to cause trouble at the camps like a certain spoiled brats coach was.
Watching Pac-10 competition on TV (finally aired) and Oh My Lord, Sam Peszek on TV looks huge! Wayyyy bigger than in Beijing. Her thunder thighs took up half my tv. Oh so sad :(
ReplyDeleteWhy are you blaming Shannon for something Steve did?
ReplyDeleteI was at Trials in Boston and Shannon was one of the few nice gymnasts at the meet. Even after she didn't make the team she was signing autographs for any kid that asked. Including my teenage daughter that worked the meet.
I won't name names but lets just say a lot of the other gymnasts were not as nice.
-Jennifer
Can't substantiate this, but I HEARD that Elise, Jaime and Kristen refused to work out (they preferred to surf the Net) or listen to the coaches at Sydney and were basically demanding beeotches all the way around. No idea if it's true though.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I don't like about Elise in these videos is her eyebrows-- what the fuck happened to them?
ReplyDeleteI cut the 2000 team a little bit of slack given all the stupid shit that went down leading up to Sydney. It could not have been an enjoyable time trying to be an US elite Olympic hopeful. From Vanessa's drama, to Bela's camps to the laughable comebacks from the Mag 7... And you have to remember they were still young when this was happening. Look at how petty all of these comments on this blog sound? And then you pick on Elise for being the bitch? I mean, come on people, really? I'm sure Elise was a snot. But I don't give a shit. I just want her to stop plucking those eyebrows to oblivion.
Anonymous at 7 p.m - Please name names....inquiring minds want to know....
ReplyDeleteThe young excuse for the way Kristin, Jamie and Elise acted is complete bull shit. They were not in junior high.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, who gossips about gymnastics like it's TMZ? I really hope no one beyond age 12..
ReplyDeleteAnd can those 12 year olds make up their minds please..is Tasha, Mrs. known for attitude, really the type to be 'picked on'?
Tasha was new in 2000. She wasn't the Tasha of 04 and that was NBC making things seem worse then they were.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 8.11 sounds like that weird-o that posts as Dawesfan at IG and stalks people on youtube. Crazy