>Unfortunately, until a new track "controversy" comes along to displace it,
>we're going to have to keep reliving this one.
Another take on it:
The image of the post-race goings on at Sydney will remain an
emblazoned image in the mind of the general populace who hadn't
heard of Greene before Sydney, until a different image takes its
place.
Interviews and carefully crafted 'up-close-and-personals' will not change it.
The only thing that will work is a major victory (are the WC's enough,
or will it have to wait until Athens '04?), followed by a lap around
the track with Greene holding aloft the hand of his most despised
competitor, raising others up to his level, rather than pushing himself
above them.
Graciousness in victory is the only thing that will overcome an
image of self-congratulatory decadence.
The image probably doesn't fit if you really know Greene personally,
but it's the image that he's now stuck with.
Try on the relationship of Jesse Owens and Luz Long for size. That's
what the public wants.
Warning: anything that smacks of such a scene being crafted by
'handlers' will have the opposite of the intended effect.
<zip up flame-retardant suit>
RT
