Bode Miller: Skiing Drunk 'Not Easy'

AP via Yahoo! News ^ | 01/05/2006

[GeneD]

NEW YORK - Bode Miller knows he puts his life at risk when he skis drunk, but the outspoken Olympic favorite admits he may try the dangerous activity again.

"Talk about a hard challenge right there. ... If you ever tried to ski when you're wasted, it's not easy," Miller told "60 Minutes" for a segment that will air Sunday. "Try and ski a slalom when ... you hit a gate less than every one second, so it's risky. You're putting your life at risk. ... It's like driving drunk, only there are no rules about it in ski racing."

Asked if the risk meant he would never ski drunk again, Miller replied "No, I'm not saying that."

In the interview, the 28-year-old Miller acknowledged that his partying has affected his performance in the past.

"There have been times when I've been in really tough shape at the top of the course," he said.

Miller, the defending World Cup overall champion and a two-time silver medalist at the Salt Lake City Olympics, was also blase about the possibility of winning gold in Turin.

"Whether somebody wants me to get five gold medals or whatever it is, I sort of feel like they are all other people's concerns and issues, not really mine. ... I don't really care what everybody else says," he said.

Miller has drawn attention — and criticism — for his outspokenness before. He has called drug rules in skiing that he deems too strict "a joke" and was fined last month for refusing to take a boot test after a World Cup slalom race.

[originalbuckeye]

Always enjoyed skiing after lunch and a glass of beer. Much more relaxed. Had a friend who always skiied with red wine in her bota. Had a big wipe-out and her bota split. People thought she was seriously injured! Very funny but only because she really was OK.

[freepatriot32]

I wonder if the will set up sui checkpoints in the middle of the slalom courses at the winter olympics this year to crack down on drunk skiers?

[elkfersupper]

I wonder if the will set up sui checkpoints in the middle of the slalom courses at the winter olympics this year to crack down on drunk skiers?

Nah! More lucrative to set up a roadblock and check the crowd.

Here in NM, we have numerous govt.-sponsored events at govt.-owned venues, where the govt. charges you parking and admission, sanctions alcohol sales (for which the vendors pay an up-front fee and a percentage to the govt.), then the same govt.'s pistol-toting revenue enforcement officers roadblock the spectators on the way out, confiscate their automobiles and take control of their lives for 2-10 years, during which they extract more dollars both lump-sum and monthly.

It's a racket and an industry, I tell ya'.

[george76]

"New Hampshire skiing legend Bode Miller causes a stir"

"Skier Bode Miller told CBS News he was partying into the dawn hours after securing the World Cup overall victory in 2005, and then took to the slalom gates drunk to finish off the season."

Since 2003, Miller has held a contract with the resort to promote it as a family ski destination.

“For us, Bode represented the epitome of the local boy who made the big time, and we were certainly there for support,” Ellms said.

“However, the remarks of Bode are, right now, not representative of what we are trying to represent at Bretton Woods. We want to be seen as the finest family resort in the East, a safe, comfortable place for the family without reckless behavior. It is something we all strive for.

“We have to distance ourselves from those comments because, clearly, on the surface, those remarks are not good for kids.”

In addition to being sponsored by Bretton Woods, Miller has contracts with Visa, Charles Schwabb, Sirrius satellite radio and a host of ski hardware companies.

Miller races on the World Cup circuit in Adelboden, Switzerland, today and tomorrow.

Taub, Miller’s agent, said he had spoken to his client about the matter yesterday but that it likely would not affect his races this weekend.

[SamAdams76]

I guess it's safe to call Bode a waste now.

[Malcolm]

Bode Miller enjoyed his slacker paradise in Turin/Torino. Let's not make the same mistake again. Something should be done to prevent him from being on the U.S. Olympic team in 2010, if he doesn't kill himself in the interim (drunk driving, hitting a tree while skiing inebriated, etc).