“Nepryaeva will lead our comeback and everyone will be surprised. If they don’t remember, let’s make them remember!” Chronicle by Veronika Stepanova

“Nepryaeva will lead our comeback and everyone will be surprised. If they don’t remember, let’s make them remember!” Chronicle by Veronika Stepanova

Olympic cross-country skiing champion Veronika Stepanova in her column on assesses the most important events of the last days of August: she talks about e-sports, the importance of patriotic education and the lack of Western media reaction to Natalia Nepryaeva’s wedding.

Are e-athletes smarter than those who win with their muscles?

Somehow, unexpectedly for me, cyber-athletes and the heads of their clubs and federations have turned out to be much more reasonable than athletes who achieve victories through muscle strength and cardio developed. What did the suspension of Russian athletes bring? Personally, Swan and Maya Dahlquist do not want to see Nepryaeva (Terentieva) and me? I confess that I did not miss their glorious faces either. But we don’t always have to do what we want in life, sometimes our colleagues don’t like it, but it’s work. In the meantime, the broadcasts of the World Ski Championships from Planica, where we were not present, lost 30% of audience compared to Oberstdorf 2021, where Bolshunov and Nepryaeva fought the Scandinavians and not only. Not five or ten – thirty! I’m talking about Norway, the main market (after Russia) for everything related to cross-country skiing.

And in esports, Team Spirit dominates again this year in its own way: what do you think of the five million dollar prize they won during the Dota 2 tournament in Saudi Arabia? And everyone in Russia perceives Team Spirit as a Russian club, even President Putin congratulated them at one point. And none of us, I think, are worried or upset that two of the five athletes on the Dota 2 team are from Ukraine.

Just as no one on the International Space Station cares how many Russians are there now, how many Americans and Europeans. They are colleagues who do one thing in common. Ours have Russian flags on their shoulders, Americans have American flags.

Why are we so unlucky in traditional sports with our international colleagues and leaders? A rhetorical question. But when all normal viewers away from “boycott and lockdown” migrate to smart esports, anyone who doesn’t want to stand by our side can participate in their water tower championships.

Why have we taken soda from the United States for so long, but not embraced the approach of educating patriotism?

….Last week, Duma deputies Leonid Slutsky and Dmitry Svishchev prepared a bill on the mandatory raising of the Russian flag at solemn ceremonies at all Russian sports competitions. Finally! I’ve always been surprised: why have we taken the iPhone and Coca-Cola to the United States for so long and not taken their sense of patriotism?

When I first arrived at the Junior World Championships, I was amazed at how enthusiastically their entire delegation roared USA! UNITED STATES! UNITED STATES! at the finish line when their stints were winning and in other races. Because we teach them from childhood: the anthem, the flag, the constitution! Isn’t that why, according to polls, two-thirds of the population are very or extremely proud to be Americans? And 20 years ago, in general, there were 90% of them – but this is already their problem, that patriotism also falls there.

And yes, Europeans don’t really understand such enthusiasm, I saw how many grimaces. They didn’t like my Russian flag face patches.

The basis of the existence of any team is always the same: the country spends money so that it is its athlete who reaches the podium, so that the flag flies, so that millions of television viewers at home can see it. and feel proud. The flag unites. Thus, three, five, eight beautiful successes in the top ten do not give anything, and a championship justifies the efforts invested.

But even 360 days a year it is impossible not to remember national symbols to rejoice in them for five days. This feeling should be nurtured and cherished. The flag (and anthem, I hope) at every sporting event in the country is a good step in that direction.

When Nepryaeva leads our comeback on the world stage, everyone will be surprised by her strength. If you don’t want to remember, we’ll remind you!

…I read it and I can’t believe my eyes. It’s the exact opposite – I don’t read anywhere. The Western press practically ignored the wedding of Natalia Nepryaeva and Alexander Terentyev. A clear and undisguised sexism! All Norwegian and Swedish newspapers wrote about the wedding of Anna Zherebyateva and Alexander Bolshunov in 2021! Just kidding, sexism has nothing to do with it. It is a weakening of the Scandinavian collective memory (and not only).

The specialists, Scandinavians and other Europeans, with whom I spoke all last season, have no doubt: Natalia was the strongest skier on the planet last season. Less has been said about Sasha, but it is obvious that he is one of the strongest sprinters in the world. Ignore the marriage of two stars in a world where all glamor is far more important than any victory (ok, first the victories – then the glamour)? You lose your smell in your alleys of Europe. Nothing, Natalia will soon lead our return to the world stage – and everyone will be surprised not only by her strength, but also by her new name. If you don’t want to remember, we’ll remind you!