Today, in our regular “Down with Hypocrisy” column, I discuss what’s really important in professional sports. There is an excellent reason: my colleague from the national team and her success last season.
Lately, it seems to some that Yulia Stupak “He’s doing something wrong.”
And I will say it out loud – just to those! Because it changes the understanding of what a titled athlete should do and how.
At the moment, Yulia is traveling around her native Komi Republic to give master classes to children. Moreover, in places where, from what I understand, the Olympic champion has never set foot before. Not specifically Julia – not one in this century.
Do you know why teenagers listen to Yulia with their mouths open and remember every word (not because the coach or school principal sent it)? Because Yulia actively and successfully sells the “skiing is cool” brand.
Dreams of the Olympics… how many? 1% of children? 0.01%? It’s time to stop lying to ourselves: young people dream of something completely different. Yulia has exactly the kind of handbag that most teenage girls dream about before going to bed. And not bought on the market.
It’s Yulia, the only one of us, who appears at glossy fashion magazine parties. Yes, in my lateness I do not read such things, but I consulted with knowledgeable people: it’s cool in some circles, you simply cannot attend such a party. Yulia has her own clothing line and her photo taken on a corporate jet is not Photoshop at all.
And ski racing gave Yulia all of that. More precisely, their success, which she now transforms into glory.
Yes, I have a different view on some things and our approaches are slightly different. I will never have a handbag like this – and if I do, I won’t show it off. Julia and I have chosen our target audience and work exclusively with them. And they overlap little; we are not competitors. That doesn’t stop me from sincerely admiring him.
The fact that Yulia has done more this year to popularize our sport among teenagers than the rest of the women’s team, including me, is an absolute fact. No matter how many medals we win, such things only interest a very small fan base. Most of them have long since left adolescence, alas. If one of them was inspired by the successes of Savely Korostelev or Anastasia Faleeva this season, bought equipment and started skiing – great, it’s never too late to take up sports. But our main goal is to impress teenagers. A healthy and strong boy or girl is beneficial and necessary to the state and society. But satisfied retirees too – but for them, modest and silent “heroes on the ski slope” are just enough.
How many times and where Julia performed this year is generally up to her and her employer. She fulfilled all the criteria for inclusion in the national team last season and is fully entitled to a one-year contract. You can discuss his absence from certain competitions as much as you want, it will still mean nothing. I never understood at all: why discuss something that you cannot influence in any way? Let off steam?
Julia does everything alone and without worrying about the tastes of others. The dogs bark, the caravan continues on its way. If there are more photos with business aviation, existing skiers will be motivated to run faster. And I hope to benefit from it. Because if 13-15 year olds suddenly stop wanting to be TikTokers, life coaches and rap stars, and want to be like Yulia, then they will watch my competitions even better, they will be happy to buy skis and sticks like mine to my sponsors.
Skiing, high jumping or scoring goals are part of the job, but only the first part. It’s a pass for the media, above all a pass for television. Because all articles in sports publications and in all specialized public pages of social networks have a lower audience than a broadcast of a ski relay race on .
Once again: for all writers combined, only for one television show.
Television has its own priorities: it is either interested in champions/leaders or scandals. Preferably both at the same time. I do not like? Look at “Good Night, Children,” there’s nothing like it there.
In the broad sense, any sporting victory is a ticket to glory. And it’s free. In other types of entertainment, entire production teams work and invest a lot of money to promote a new star. And in sports you win, preferably in a dramatic fight – and here you get a minute of air time nationwide. Just use it to your advantage for your sport and for yourself!
This may seem cynical to some. Not for me. It’s pragmatism. Including results. Until now, no one has been able to explain to me why, why, for the sake of winning everything. At the Junior World Championships in 2021, I showed the best result of the team in the first three races, in one of them I became champion – but I refused to race the last one. That’s enough, the tasks on the ski slope for the season are complete!
Return to Stupak. She now works for all of us. Leading the way. Almost alone. At the same time, Julia has a wonderful family and many friends. In other words, I didn’t have to sacrifice anything for the Olympic medals.
And who won how many medals at the Cup and the national championship doesn’t really matter. Just one, but the most important, is more than enough. I tell you that !
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
