Lee Chong Wei just misses Olympic gold

[Nicholas92]

Originally Posted by youngyew

ESPN commentator: "LCW is such a great guy, but Lin Dan is abit arrogant. Skills win you medals, but attitude wins heart."

This line is spreading like wild fire, and while it sounds nice and makes you all fuzzy inside, I kind of suspect that someone actually invented this and construed it as a statement from ESPN - it just doesn't sound like something a sports commentator would say, especially a non-Malaysian one.

(Someone called me a miserable man for raising this doubt in Facebook and asking if someone could verify this. lol)

Yeah, it sounds more like something a Facebooker would say rather than a professional commentator...but then I stopped watching after the match, so I can't say for sure it wasn't there. But I highly doubt it.

I don't really hold it against Lin Dan for celebrating I guess, any normal athlete would celebrate after winning - it's not like he rubbed it in Lee's face or anything.

The reason he looks arrogant, I guess, is the way he can be really cranky about dealing with a loss.

People also seem to be sharing a mash-up of Chong Wei with that line from the latest Batman movie: "You don't owe these people anymore. You've given them everything. - Not everything. Not yet."

I totally don't understand that - in the movie it probably referred to Batman not having given his life yet. What the heck does it mean for Chong Wei? I haven't given Malaysia a gold medal yet? Not very encouraging, LOL.

[yanno_yamster]

Originally Posted by youngyew

ESPN commentator: "LCW is such a great guy, but Lin Dan is abit arrogant. Skills win you medals, but attitude wins heart."

This line is spreading like wild fire, and while it sounds nice and makes you all fuzzy inside, I kind of suspect that someone actually invented this and construed it as a statement from ESPN - it just doesn't sound like something a sports commentator would say, especially a non-Malaysian one.

(Someone called me a miserable man for raising this doubt in Facebook and asking if someone could verify this. lol)

It's the quote that matters really. But I do agree with you, if it can't be verified then I guess the quote doesn't need to be attributed to someone in the first place.

As awesome as he is, we can't escape the fact that LCW was sooooo close to winning. This is such a devastating night for him. If he had won I can imagine this news being on the front page of tomorrow's newspapers; history would have been made, not only for the nation but also personally for him.

[youngyew]

Originally Posted by yanno_yamster

It's the quote that matters really. But I do agree with you, if it can't be verified then I guess the quote doesn't need to be attributed to someone in the first place.

If it hasn't been attributed to an "ESPN commentator" it wouldn't have been retweeted and re-status-ed. This is the same thing that happened to three hundred other urban myths and misquotes, creating a soundbite or story and attributing them to a famous person to promote its propagation. An easy example is the story of Albert Einstein as a young student humiliated an atheist professor by using the "Evil is the absence of God" argument on him (http://www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp). Or Bill Gates' "Rules Kids Don't Learn in School" (http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/schoolrules.asp)

Anyway back to the topic, everyone has said everything that could have said, but my personal two cents is that the match could really have gone either way. One point here, one point there. It's a good match, and hey, two Olympic Silver medals are still a hell of a lifetime achievement. He provided us all with an inspiration, and that's his greatest contribution to the country.

(And of course no one would retweet any line from this last paragraph because it wasn't said by an "ESPN commentator" )

[yanno_yamster]

Originally Posted by Nicholas92

People also seem to be sharing a mash-up of Chong Wei with that line from the latest Batman movie: "You don't owe these people anymore. You've given them everything. - Not everything. Not yet."

I totally don't understand that - in the movie it probably referred to Batman not having given his life yet. What the heck does it mean for Chong Wei? I haven't given Malaysia a gold medal yet? Not very encouraging, LOL.

It does reflect our selfishness on one hand, on the other hand it reflects his determination to bring glory to his country.

[nickvl]

Originally Posted by youngyew

ESPN commentator: "LCW is such a great guy, but Lin Dan is abit arrogant. Skills win you medals, but attitude wins heart."

This line is spreading like wild fire, and while it sounds nice and makes you all fuzzy inside, I kind of suspect that someone actually invented this and construed it as a statement from ESPN - it just doesn't sound like something a sports commentator would say, especially a non-Malaysian one.

(Someone called me a miserable man for raising this doubt in Facebook and asking if someone could verify this. lol)

Can't verify that since there wasn't any commentary in the link I used.

There's this other one:
“.. in the eyes of people who love the sport, he is the true champion.” - David Mercer of the BBC on Lee Chong Wei
Anyone knows if that one is true?

Well, whatever one said or did not say, Lee Chong Wei united us for that 70-odd minutes.

[youngyew]

Recycling one of my Facebook comments:

We can definitely form our own opinions in this case, I agree.*[on whether it really matters whether ESPN commentator really said that since we can form our own opinion]

My pet peeve in general, however, is the prevalence of misconstrued or artificially constructed quotes and how easily people are taken in by such "statements from an authority", as long as it fits in with what they like to hear. *

There are many examples around, like Bill Gates' lessons to young kids that are not taught in school, Lee Ka Hsing claiming that life insurance is the best thing he has ever invested in, and a young Einstein beating atheist professor in a debate about God and the existence of evil. All of the above are not related to the person they claim to be related to. They are simply invented or misquoted and claimed to be coming from these famous people to make them more compelling.*

While many of these claims like this ESPN thing are relatively harmless (it would be very unprofessional still for a sports commentator to call one of the best players in a sport "arrogant" and could well tarnish the station's image), there are way many other myths which are outright harmful. I am sure people would have also come across articles like a so-called advice on cancer allegedly by Johns Hopkins hospital, which is full of untrue and some outright harmful claims about cancer treatments. But just because it says it's from JH which is a famous hospital, many people could easily have believed in it and actually jeopardized their own health.*

If we don't culture a habit of verifying suspicious claims, we will eventually fall victim to believing in mistruth simply because it fits with our preconceived notion. This is why I always harp on seeking the truth in the age of misinformation overload, even in seemingly trivial case like this.*

[Nicholas92]

Originally Posted by youngyew

Recycling one of my Facebook comments:

We can definitely form our own opinions in this case, I agree.*[on whether it really matters whether ESPN commentator really said that since we can form our own opinion]

My pet peeve in general, however, is the prevalence of misconstrued or artificially constructed quotes and how easily people are taken in by such "statements from an authority", as long as it fits in with what they like to hear. *

There are many examples around, like Bill Gates' lessons to young kids that are not taught in school, Lee Ka Hsing claiming that life insurance is the best thing he has ever invested in, and a young Einstein beating atheist professor in a debate about God and the existence of evil. All of the above are not related to the person they claim to be related to. They are simply invented or misquoted and claimed to be coming from these famous people to make them more compelling.*

While many of these claims like this ESPN thing are relatively harmless (it would be very unprofessional still for a sports commentator to call one of the best players in a sport "arrogant" and could well tarnish the station's image), there are way many other myths which are outright harmful. I am sure people would have also come across articles like a so-called advice on cancer allegedly by Johns Hopkins hospital, which is full of untrue and some outright harmful claims about cancer treatments. But just because it says it's from JH which is a famous hospital, many people could easily have believed in it and actually jeopardized their own health.*

If we don't culture a habit of verifying suspicious claims, we will eventually fall victim to believing in mistruth simply because it fits with our preconceived notion. This is why I always harp on seeking the truth in the age of misinformation overload, even in seemingly trivial case like this.*

Oh, I totally agree, this is a HUGE annoyance for me too. I really hate it that people just take these things at face value and re-post it without bothering to verify. Lame, self-evident quotes are probably harmless (usually just a cheesy quote with a pic of a random celebrity beside) but things like the Albert Einstein story you pointed out are just irritating.

Originally Posted by nickvl

Can't verify that since there wasn't any commentary in the link I used.

There's this other one:
“.. in the eyes of people who love the sport, he is the true champion.” - David Mercer of the BBC on Lee Chong Wei
Anyone knows if that one is true?

Well, whatever one said or did not say, Lee Chong Wei united us for that 70-odd minutes.

Dunno if that's true either, but it also sounds a little unprofessional, because it sounds more like a personal opinion rather than a professional one. Who is he and on what grounds can he proclaim that lovers of the spot regard him as the 'true' champion? What defines 'true' anyway?

These comments just sound like things we Malaysians are making up - sure they may be true for us (that LCW is our 'true' champion) but objectively I can't really find any other reason for someone outside to think so - it's not like Lin Dan played worse, or played dirty or anything. In fact I think it's only because Lin Dan has a temper and is very... expressive, that makes him less likeable (mostly to us).

[masterof_none]

He definitely played his best. I kind of suspect at first that he will win but somehow the court on his side has the tendency for the shuttle to overshoot.

Well, it's true. The last point Lin Dan got was when the shuttle overshoots. Not sure why though.

Anyway, as all matter of sport, we win and lose. The most important thing is our fighting spirit. I somehow got some extra energy to do something meaningful, for myself, my family and my country after watching this match.

One effort from a person, give much impact to all of us.

[nickvl]

Originally Posted by Nicholas92

Dunno if that's true either, but it also sounds a little unprofessional, because it sounds more like a personal opinion rather than a professional one. Who is he and on what grounds can he proclaim that lovers of the spot regard him as the 'true' champion? What defines 'true' anyway?

These comments just sound like things we Malaysians are making up - sure they may be true for us (that LCW is our 'true' champion) but objectively I can't really find any other reason for someone outside to think so - it's not like Lin Dan played worse, or played dirty or anything. In fact I think it's only because Lin Dan has a temper and is very... expressive, that makes him less likeable (mostly to us).

Yeah that's what I thought too: too good to be true.

Originally Posted by masterof_none

He definitely played his best. I kind of suspect at first that he will win but somehow the court on his side has the tendency for the shuttle to overshoot.

Well, it's true. The last point Lin Dan got was when the shuttle overshoots. Not sure why though.

Anyway, as all matter of sport, we win and lose. The most important thing is our fighting spirit. I somehow got some extra energy to do something meaningful, for myself, my family and my country after watching this match.

One effort from a person, give much impact to all of us.

Haha I thought I was the only one to think that but I dismissed it because it didn't seem probable and probably reeks of biasness on my part. But when Lin Dan was on that side of the court, he tended to overshoot as well.