Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

Scaramouche · 03-12-2002, 07:09 PM

Guess what? A local news channel is coming to my club's practice this Thursday to do a report on us! Not sure why, only know what our President told me tonight. I will definitely let you know on Thursday how it went! In the meantime I must go buy a tape so I can record this joyous moment for posterity's sake! <img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" />

Inquartata · 03-12-2002, 09:28 PM

Then count how many errors make it into the final broadcast, despite your best efforts to give them clear and idiot-proof facts...

Shadow Fencer · 03-16-2002, 05:20 AM

So? How did it go?????

three_hundred_fifty_five · 03-16-2002, 09:34 AM

Expect it to be edited down by 90 percent of what was recorded. Then, while interviewing your club president, he will give some answers. Then, when he is about say something important. The footage will stop, they will pan to the news anchorperson who will give a short statement like, "Thanks for that interesting story, next up... dressed-up cat's on parade. Stayed tuned". Then that will actually have longer air-time than the fencing story. <img src="graemlins/jawa.gif" border="0" alt="[Jawa]" />

lochinvar · 03-16-2002, 11:46 AM

355, you're such a breath of hope and optimism... <img src="graemlins/blah.gif" border="0" alt="[Blah]" />

Unfortunately, my own limited experience with newscasters bears you out.

***Craig*** · 03-19-2002, 06:43 AM

Too true 355.

Generally, the only time the local news decides to do a fencing story is when they're also talking about some movie like 'Mask of Zorro' or something like that.

I'll have to look at a tape that I have of a fencing news story, but I believe that it was followed up by some sort of "adorable pet" story that is standard for slow news days.

Cheers,
Craig

Gav · 03-19-2002, 10:19 AM

Oh no! Fencing is a dead donkey!

Mo · 03-19-2002, 12:39 PM

Fencing is NOT a dead sport, it is an unknown sport. Fencing needs some faces and some heroes. When the US starts winning medals and there are actual people that have interesting lives that can be reported, expect it to pick up.
The US for the first time is going to be winning some medals in Women's Fencing and sending teams. It may not have been covered before, but just wait!!
The addition of women's saber and the results of the Women's Saber teams and foil will help. Women's Epee has incredible human interest stories.
Disney is doing a movie on Peter Westbrook.
Change is in the air, be patient and optimistic. K?
Mo

veeco · 03-19-2002, 03:26 PM

Humm. I'm sorry to digress, but Mo, it's not like there haven't been people who were interesting or had interesting lives in fencing before.

Fencing has been around for a long time. There have been many champions, from the most flamboyant italians to the hardest working russians, all with a fantastic life that could have made a really good biography.

It just hasn't happened, and quite frankly don't expect it to change in the near future.

Disney is making a movie about Peter Wesbrook, fine. I'll probably go and see it. I recall Disney making a movie about Haile Gebrselassie, and that did not really score top of the charts. I actually saw that movie, found it interesting, a really good story, but people are just not interested in that kind of movies.

While this movie probably will generate some interest from the media for a couple of weeks, I don't think it is going to change the overall scheme of things.

Mo · 03-19-2002, 04:08 PM

<<<Humm. I'm sorry to digress, but Mo, it's not like there haven't been people who were interesting or had interesting lives in fencing before.
Fencing has been around for a long time. There have been many champions, from the most flamboyant italians to the hardest working russians, all with a fantastic life that could have made a really good biography.>>>

No one in this country gives that much of a darn about Russians or Italians especially Russian or Italian FENCERS. They want to see American Heros and American Female Heros are even better.
Look what MaryLou Retton did for Gymnastics, Marion and Flo Jo (Poor Florence Jones) did for Women's Track. The past winter Olympics featured Skeleton sledding because the US won at it not because people understood it. Look at Aerial skiing!! So totally kewl.

Fencing is really kewl, no one ever says something negative when my kids say they fence, people get all excited.
Coverage goes to the sports that have US Medalists. Betcha ten bucks the next Summer Olympics will feature US Fencing in a way it never has before.
Mo

veeco · 03-20-2002, 10:01 AM

How great... Let's assume the US gets a medal in fencing in the next summer olympics. What will we see?

5 minutes of coverage? The medal ceremony, and maybe the last 2 touches of the bout?

Fencing coverage on TV is not going to happen in the next olympic cycle, betcha 10 bucks on that one.

Gav · 03-20-2002, 01:39 PM

Umm... Mo a "dead donkey" is a filler piece, a news story put in a newspaper on a slow day. If you get a "stop press" you "drop the dead donkey!" It's also the name of an old mildly satirical UK comedy show (which was extremely funny).

And Mo, I've fenced for a while, I KNOW it's not a dead sport. And if you don't care about the Russians, French or Italians (or other fencing nations) then you don't know much about fencing.
You're also confirming a widely held stereotype about americans being self obsessed xenophobes (which I believe many would also ascribe to us UK citizens) and that's not good.

Please for my sanity don't type 'kewl' it's just bad spelling.

[ 03-20-2002: Message edited by: Gav ]

[ 03-20-2002: Message edited by: Gav ]

Gav · 03-20-2002, 02:09 PM

Scaramouche. Come on! Let us know how it went.

Zelda · 03-20-2002, 03:17 PM

Gav, I think the term xenophobes applies across the scottish border occassionally as well dont it?

veeco · 03-20-2002, 04:27 PM

I guess the term 'xenophobes' is a little strong. But I concur with Gav that Mo's post sounds a little too 'self obsessed'.

I must also admit that all the US fencers I know are usually educated and quite conscious about what happens outside of their borders.

Mo · 03-20-2002, 11:16 PM

Veeco,
What I as trying to say is in COVERAGE of the OLYMPICS people are not nearly as interested in sports that do not contain AMERICANS. I am not a xenophobe, (and I do know what the word means.) You and Gav seem to be purposefully misunderstanding me to make a point to show everyone reading this how clever you both are. Good luck.
Quite frankly being NEW to fencing and not even doing it myself, I would much rather see a story on people from the US in TV coverage. I have kids who fence and I am really into kids and their achievements. An Italian or Russian fencer I know nothing about would be of little interest and I have more interest in fencing than most. Should there come a time when there are stories about the rich history of fencing, then stories from other countries would be of interest but we are talking about the American public getting behind a sport that is somewhat new to them. In Europe fencing is known, it isn't here. You cannot be a fencer here and not know about Europeans because so many of the coaches are from so many different countries.
One other thing, how dare you assume I am "self obsessed"?? I have no plans to be on the tube, I am not a fencer. The Olympics are a total crap shoot, no one knows who will really go. The chances of getting in are sooo small.
Fencing is growing by leaps and "bouts" with kids now. There are more and more in the national meets. They are the future of fencing.
Mo

veeco · 03-21-2002, 10:30 AM

[quote]Originally posted by Mo:

What I as trying to say is in COVERAGE of the OLYMPICS people are not nearly as interested in sports that do not contain AMERICANS. I am not a xenophobe, (and I do know what the word means.) You and Gav seem to be purposefully misunderstanding me to make a point to show everyone reading this how clever you both are. Good luck.

Quit being paranoid. I did not call Gav all the way from here to Scotland and told him: "Hey look at this post from Mo, let's pick on him!"
How about this for a conspiracy theory: yout post was actually easily misunderstandable and Gav and myself both thought that you were being a self obsessed American (which you probably are not, sorry for misunderstanding your post in the first place).

Quite frankly being NEW to fencing and not even doing it myself, I would much rather see a story on people from the US in TV coverage. I have kids who fence and I am really into kids and their achievements. An Italian or Russian fencer I know nothing about would be of little interest and I have more interest in fencing than most. Should there come a time when there are stories about the rich history of fencing, then stories from other countries would be of interest but we are talking about the American public getting behind a sport that is somewhat new to them. In Europe fencing is known, it isn't here. You cannot be a fencer here and not know about Europeans because so many of the coaches are from so many different countries.

You are right about the kids part. I definitely think that showing on local TV some kids tournament will have more impact than showing the US WF's Bronze medal bout on CBS, at least in terms of recruiting people for the local clubs.

One other thing, how dare you assume I am "self obsessed"?? I have no plans to be on the tube, I am not a fencer. The Olympics are a total crap shoot, no one knows who will really go. The chances of getting in are sooo small.

I guess the self obsessed part did not come from the fact that you would or would not want to be in the olympics, but from the fact that you said that "No one in this country cared about Russians or Italians, especially Russian or Italian fencers". Both Gav and myself thought that the "No one in this country" in this sentence referred to "We, Americans" and not "I, Mo". Trust me, I know a lot of fencers in this country who care about the results of the Italian team (I could name a couple who visit this board quite frequently, Paolo, Cyrano, you know who you are).

Fencing is growing by leaps and "bouts" with kids now. There are more and more in the national meets. They are the future of fencing.

Living in an area where youth fencing is pretty developped and being sometimes called on to referee at those youth tournaments, I agree with you. I am not sure that this would increase TV coverage, though. But if it does, then that's all the better.
<hr></blockquote>

Mo · 03-21-2002, 05:17 PM

Veeco,
All I was trying to say in all my posts is that fencing is an exciting sport that will catch on. I thought it was fairly inoculous and did not expect the diatribe of what is happening here.
I am almost 50 years old and a mother. I am old enough to be YOUR MOTHER. I have been watching the Olympics since I was a kid. They change all the time and tastes change.
Soccer is a huge sport in Europe but not much here except for Women's soccer. Why did that happen?? The US Women's Soccer team is darned good and did some serious butt kicking on the international circut.
That is also happening in Fencing and from the pattern that I have seen as an OLD PERSON I feel thatfencing is headed in the same direction.
Maybe when you grow up and have kid with talents and dreams you will be able to see beyond your own world.
I really don't want anymore crap. Life is full enough of it.

Gav · 03-22-2002, 11:55 AM

Okay Mo I apologise inpart for my post. However the terms you used were as strong as those I appled in mine. They gave the impression that you were posting as a typical (ie stereotypical) american. I've read your susequent posts and I think I now understand your position. Yes, I agree that american role models would probably provide interest in our sport (amongst kids). but if kids only have americans as role models maybe their views later on may become jaundiced. This is an over simplification, but as we live in a global village I feel it's good that people see examples from as many different peoples as possible. Maybe they [the kids] wouldn't be interested, maybe I'm wrong but if the US lack real home grown idols then you'll have to look abroad (and anyway you guys have some good idols:- Peter Westbrookand Spencer el...for example).

Zelda. I know what you mean re the xenophobia you are talking about. Personally I have a real distaste for all xenophobia and in particular extreme nationalism. There are elements here that worry me although I doubt anything will come of it. My own political beliefs are personal and I won't go into them here - only I'm not a nationalist as such. Are you going to the Birmingham International by the way?

Zelda · 03-22-2002, 01:53 PM

Gav considering I havent shown my face @ training for 3 weeks due to suspected whooping cough and the subsequent inability to breath and the fact that I havent competed at that level since ooooh about AUGUST last year the answer to that question is no!