General

U.S. Goalies Need To Cover Up Mask Tributes, Propaganda

Feb 16, 2010, 3:10 PM UTC

Do we have a tag for “terrible Olympic oversight” or “missing the point” on The Sporting Blog? I’d like to use both of them to tag this post about the IOC asking U.S. Olympic goalies Ryan Miller and Jonathan Quick to remove specific phrases from their masks before the men’s ice hockey competition starts today.â†µâ†µIt’s funny, because TSB has two posts about Miller’s mask; first from Brian Cook on January 29, showing Uncle Sam holding an Olympic Torch while rolling up his sleeves, and next in a post by Andy Hutchins on February 6 showing a bald eagle ripping through the other side of the mask. â†µ

â†µ

â†µâ†µ

â†µâ†µYet neither post had an image of the back of Miller’s helmet, which is adorned with the term “Miller Time.” The IOC has a big issue with that. Okay, fine, the play on his name is also the slogan for a beer company. But, per the AP, Miller is also being asked to take another phrase off his helmet:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥But he’s upset officials are also taking issue with the words “Matt Man” on his helmet because that pays tribute to a cousin, Matt Schoals, who died of cancer.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“I’m going to stand up for that,” Miller vowed. â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µ

None of that is even close to the injustice being served to Quick, who was asked to take the term “Support our Troops” off the back of his helmet. Yes, “Support our Troops” is not allowed, as it violates an IOC rule of propaganda. Again, take it away, AP:â†µâ†µâ‡¥Szymon Szemberg, spokesman for the International Ice Hockey Federation, confirmed both players will be told to take those messages off their equipment because it’s the governing bodies’ task to enforce IOC rule No. 51 that bars advertising, demonstrations and propaganda.â†µâ†µâ†µJust to be clear, the IOC has no problem with the shamrocks on Miller’s helmet, nor the fact that the single greatest symbol of American propaganda in the history of this country – Uncle Sam – is shown on Miller’s face rolling up his sleeves in preparation for some sort of Olympic firefight. Quick, however, having a graphic on his mask that includes the words “Support our Troops” is just too much for the IOC. â†µ

â†µâ†µAt least we have a clear and definitive line of what is and is not propaganda in the eyes of the IOC. Yellow ribbon? Out. Giant menacing bird ripping apart a cartoon depiction of Jacques Rogge’s head…that’s probably good to go. â†µ
â†µâ†µ

â†µâ†µFor more hockey coverage, including everything going on in Vancouver, check out The Grinder.â†µ

â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

See More: