Bodes well

March 13, 2005

This weekend was the final weekend of the Alpine Skiing World Cup season and Bode Miller became the first American to win the overall championship since Phil Mahre and Tamara MacKinney in 1983.

He won the title over Austrian Benjamin Raich by winning this week's Super G and placing second in the GS. In the Super G, Miller tied for first with teammate Daron Rahlves.

Miller is the most entertaining racers to watch-- he is always going all-out, and at the edge of control, which is why he tends to wind up on the podium or as a DNF, not in the middle.

NY Times: Miller Breaks the Curse to Reclaim the World Cup for the U.S.

Ski Racing: Bode Miller First American Overall World Cup Winner in 22 Years: "Bode Miller of Franconia, New Hampshire, clinched the overall World Cup title today at Lenzerheide, ending a 22-year drought for American skiing. 'This might be a springboard to something,' Miller said. 'I don't know where I'd spring to. Maybe just away.'" Also at Ski Racing: Bode Miller at Finals: A quote compendium and Miller considers starting his own team

It will be interesting to see if Miller can break out as a star to the general public rather than just among skiing enthusiasts. Alpine skiing is nowhere near the most popular sport in the US (though more people watched World Cup skiing this year than NHL hockey.) Aside from one early season race and some world championship coverage on NBC, American television does not broadcast the world cup. OLN does televise more World Cup events, but who actually has OLN? Not me. Admittedly, world cup ski racing on television is not the most interesting for the attention deficit set, but perhaps Miller's win will make the American public both aware of and interested in World Cup ski racing.