Are You Stupid? Sven Kramer Pwns NBC

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Sven Kramer hangs loose

This. Is. Awesome.

Ladies and gentlemen, seek no further; we have our defining moment for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games:

For those of you too lazy to click the link, it’s hunky Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer coming off a gold-medal-winning performance to be greeted by an NBC reporter getting up in his grill and asking him the routine talking head questions like “where are you from” and “do you think you did well” and so on.

And he looks her in the eye and responds “Are you stupid?“

UPDATED because VANOC took down the first one, and this one is even longer, including her “how do you feel” and his “Ha, I feel pretty goooooood!”

Sven Kramer sez I've got the bread, baby, if you've got the buttah

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93 thoughts on “Are You Stupid? Sven Kramer Pwns NBC”

  2. On YouTube you will find a vid with english subs.
    Seen it and it’s translated well as far as I can read English. (Dutch goes much better :-) )

  5. Yeah, the original had the interviewer saying Canadians were behind in speed skating…WTF? The second video by Cees had a smoother translation.

    Still, that is hilarious! Totally hilarious! Thanks for posting it, Rain.

  6. You’re welcome. Honestly, give the guy a minute to savour being the greatest living athlete in his sport before jamming a mic in his face and demanding he perform like a trained seal for the cameras.

    This reminds me of that Elvis Costello line, “She said that she was working for the ABC News. It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.”

  7. Pingback: NBC, are you stupid?!? » Alex Rădescu

  8. While his reaction is understandable and pretty funny, she was probably required to get him on tape saying his name/country/event before the interview proper started so that the technicians responsible for splicing together NBC’s ubiquitous video vignettes could easily identify him. The post-production team was not at the speed-skating venue and they see miles of video tape of different athletes during the course of any given day. It’s a pretty standard TV production practice at any large event like this.

  9. I understand, and you’re not the first to say that. However…

    That this is standard operating procedure for NBCbots doesn’t mean it’s not stupid. Maybe it’s time to rethink that procedure.

    Seriously, it’s not like she couldn’t have said it into the mic on the way over to the winner’s box, or as if pre-recording the competitors before the event were impossible. The course announcers only say it about eighty times during the competition, and provide a printed list.

  10. @raincoaster
    Having the reporter say the competitor’s name and country into the microphone pre-interview is of marginal value unless the athlete is on camera at the time. The videotape editors need to be able to put the right face with the right name, and having the interviewee provide it on camera significantly reduces the margin for error.

    Plus, the athlete saying it him- or herself helps insure that the voice-over announcer for the packaged piece(who probably wasn’t at the actual event either) pronounces it correctly.

    Having said that, Sven Kramer should be pretty well-known to the producers regardless.

  13. here’s all andrea needed to do. “we’re here with sven kramer from holland after winning his 98th gold medal for speed skating, sven how are you feeling right now?” there, that’s all you need to do. what she did was straight out of the howard stern intern handbook. all she needs now is a stutter

  15. Your Grace

    Your Grace has interfered so efficaciously with your local Wind-Currents in an attempt to disrupt Mr Obama’s Health-Care Votes by dumping gallons of snow on Congress which would otherwise have fallen on Whistler’s latest Olympics frivolity

    Perhaps it be a Male Thing

    BUT How one dislikes one’s own Faults in other People

    Es ist eine interessante Frage-which is most dismaying :

    1. THAT this Lout should be so unnecessarily & inappropriately RUDE

    or

    2. THAT he should be so pleased with himself when he is so RUDE

    or

    3. THAT so many Folk should be so sychophantic towards this Lout and so unSympathetic to this Young Lady who was trying to do her job

    How would this Young Man like it if in 20 years, his daughter were to become a Journaliste and was greeted with such Gaucherie by some Juvenile clutching his Gold Medal

    Perhaps it is an Eagle Thing to prefer the elementary courtesy of an Aquillan GentleEagle to winning a Gold Medal in some totally forgettable “Sport”

    AND what was he SchPeaking ??? Some kind of Africaans ?

    Tot siens

    Your Grace’s obedient servant etc

    G E

  17. Herr Eagle, you know my respect for you knows no bounds, but it is my sad duty to tell you that in this case you are wrong. Totally, completely, utterly wrong.

    This is without question the biggest moment of the man’s life, and some network twerp more preoccupied with admin details than respect shoves a mic in his face and insists he come down from his high and do her job for him. That’s just inexcusable.

    Jonathan Swift, who knew a thing or two about being offensive, said that a gentleman is one who offends no-one inadvertently.

  18. so typically Dutch calling someone “Stupid” honestly do you really think she is remembering all those names out there.

    So very gracious of you Sven – just like typical Dutch be rude up front without even considering someone’s feelings.

    Go speed skate your way back to swamp land

  20. yes it is rationed – Sven looks like the typical Dutch idiot – he has such a way with words – he must be pals with Sarah Palin

  22. absolutely – for being on this site and actually watching someone Dutch compete – so yes to your question – I am stupid – but thank you for showing me my stupidity in watching or listening to anyone Dutch call any person STUPID – it must be such a common word in Holland like ” and, it or but”

    by the way you have great punctuation

  23. Yes, I do. It’s because I went to Canadian schools.

    You remind me of Austin Powers’ father, who said there are only two kinds of people he can’t stand: bigots and the Dutch.

  24. OK OK you win

    all kidding aside – glad the Dutch got a gold – i was very annoyed that anyone – dutch or not calls a person Stupid – its just really not nice – even if the person is – he could have ignored her

  25. He could have, but then a) NBC would presumably continue with this offensive practice, b) we wouldn’t have gotten a cheap laugh at their expense, and c) we wouldn’t have noticed how hot Sven Kramer is, because we would never have taken a good look at him.

    So, basically, the world is a better place because Sven Kramer was a bit of an asshole.

  26. all true – except for the Sven is “HOT” I am so sorry i still disagree – though there are a lot of good looking Dutch men out there – he doesnt do anything for me
    cheers

  27. LOL. I’m with you Rain, Sven is hotness! Plus, it’s cool when athletes give the horns up, like he does in the picture you show. Metal is HUGE in The Netherlands!! Rock on, Sven!!! \m/

  28. Your Grace

    Yet again, your Grace and the kindly but perceptive North-American Wild=Hound seem to have (as usual) the Better of this Argument, even in the face of the incisive NYC, who is a most welcome (albeit occasionally punctuating) arrival at this Haven of the BloggeOsphere

    I am sorry to have completely missed the suggested “Hotness” factor – it is not a thing that Eagles would notice

    As the Junior Eagles can readily confirm, this would of course not be the first occasion for Father Eagle to have mis-directed himself

    BUT as my Friend Mr Bingley so sagely observed to Miss Jane Austen, it is hard on an (Eagle) to be reminded in the Evening of the Silly Things has (blogged) in the Morning

    Yr Grace’s obedient servant etc

    G E

  29. if i was that reporter i would have smashed him in the head with that mic for saying that and told him to go back to fuckin dutchieland and never to return here again or i’ll ram that medal up your ass!! you stupid faggot

  32. Some people here protect that NBC-woman, stating it’s rude how Sven reacted. It’s not rude considering the DUMB question of this journalist! Someone here said that you can’t expect a journalist to remember all those names; YES!! you can expect a SPORT journalist specialised on speed skating knows the names and the nationality of the athletes. A sports journalist who doesn’t know who won and what the nationality is of the winner is a lousy journalist! But this NBC-woman has seen the races, she has seen who won, she has seen the messages on the big screen: “NEW OLYMPIC RECORD!” And that lady DARES to ask Sven for his name, nationality and what he won? Yes, this woman was stupid, stupid for asking such a stupid question!

    American journalists do your research and don’t expect the phony backstabbing American politeness from the Dutch. We’re rather genuine than fake.

  33. While the Dutch excel at speed skating, they appear to be functioning at a remedial level when it comes to “reading for comprehension,” specifically this:
    https://raincoaster.com/2010/02/17/are-you-stupid-sven-kramer-skunks-nbc/#comment-279536

    She did what she did not because she didn’t know who he was, but because she wanted to get him on tape saying it, so the editors could splice it in later and make him pop up introducing himself just BEFORE they showed the actual event. The Americans, you see, aren’t that big on showing speed skating live. Yes, having him say it instead of her while he was on camera is just silly, but that’s not where the offence lies: the offense is that she butted in on a great moment with a question that managed to imply that he was nobody important.

  47. haha you stupid idiot, thats what you get for talkin back to us like that. You should have lost that other medal as well. You are just the most arrogant and ungrateful asshole i have seen, you don’t deserve anything at these olympics. Go back home and cry…hahahahahahahaha

  49. I just read the Gawker article…Man, I thought the CTV coverage was bad and I was rolling my eyes last night as Wayne Gretz-whatever was going on and on about how great a job they were doing….

  51. no, i’m certainly not saying that, nobody fixed anything he lost because of his own stupidity and nobody is to blame except him, but i genuinely don;t like him after seeing what he said.

  53. Actually, apparently he got disqualified because of his coach giving him the wrong instructions. That’s one coach whose life is not worth living, now or maybe ever.

    I should really be streaming this live, but I’m busy procrastinating by posting comments on Gawker and amusing links to Tumblr, so I’m all full up on my procrastination options at the moment, sadly.

  54. Is Sven stupid or what? He got into the wrong lane because a coach shoved a sign in front of his face and told him to? It’s his race – he’s responsible for being on top of things. What an ignornant move…but a well-deserved touche!

  55. it doesnt really matter what situation you’re in – she asked him a simple question and he responded like a little spoiled arrogant douchebag. doesnt matter where either of them are from. manners are manners and the kids a little shit. he shouldve been proud to say his name and whatever loser country he was representing in an olympic sport that no one watches anywhere else. if that had been an american athlete, the backlash would never end. they would have to hold press conferences and go to anger management classes and all that sort of thing. the fact that anyone can defend this kid is completely beyond me. i dont care what kind of hangups you have about americans being assholes or lazy or what have you, you have to admit that youre lying to yourself if you think this little punk was right in treating that woman the way he did. wouldnt you be embarrassed if it was your son??? he couldve handled it way differently, but he has no class. period.

  57. Manners are indeed manners, and they are situational. If she’d shoved a mic into the face of a man at his wife’s funeral and asked those same questions, it would have been offensive, no? What I’m saying is, doing it right after he’s come off a run like that is so inconsiderate as to negate the common respect that one accords total strangers who haven’t been asses to you, because she was an ass to him before he said a peep.

    I’d be a little embarrassed if that were my son, but I’d be MORTIFIED if that were my daughter with NBC.

  59. his wife didnt die. he won a gold medal! a funeral is a time you expect to be given privacy. if i was on the worlds biggest stage in front of millions of people, people who have likely never heard my name once, i’d be a bit more forthright. theres really no argument here. the kid was wrong. simple as that. i dig it that you think the reporting tactics are ridiculous, and that may be true, but the fact of the matter is you got a kid who is likely unknown to most of the world, acting like hes david beckham. and even beckham wouldve been more courteous than that! he couldve acted indignant, or offended, or anything, but instead he snapped at her with insults and borderline offensive language and really just made himself look like a child.

  61. yes nyc! i cant believe that people on here were saying hes hot based on that picture. jeez. he looks like a grade-A douche-nozzle. i bet ramsteins his favourite band.

  62. I can bet an Olympic Gold on it. Bet he was humming the tune when he messed up. Ah poor little dutchie – my heart is bleeding. Bet that reporter is laughing silly to herself.

  63. gold for sven, y’day nothing bcoz fkup by his coach, and tomorrow gold again.. thats the life of a 110% sporter, not a KID as hes already reached 23 (stupid guys!!!)… in case u might feel offended: i dont give 1 shlt, as the games ought to be for the sporters, not for that triple stupid reporters & extreme stupid abc’s staff for sendin a nitwit to the games for the better interviews… now thats offendin for all the people that really care for the skeetin part of these Games… Sven, you can do even better by IGNORIN those smart reporters that normally are send to massacres in american paradise!

  65. Nahh, criticize NBC all you want, but that guy was a prick. No need to call someone stupid for asking something simple, whether their motive was for production purposes or to do a piece on him later to inform the American audience who he was. He can be as famous as he wants in Norwegia, but I’ve never heard of him. What goes around cums around as you can see he got screwed in the 10k.

  66. DUHHH… another upskirt hypo who doesnt (know how to) use google, again a STUPID add to this column; even the basic geographic knowledge is too much… get awake NBCfan, dont let you screw again by such an amateur reporter…

  67. It’s sad to see that the comments here indicate that yes, the US is as jingoistic and ignorant as they’ve always been painted.

    Rammstein isn’t Dutch, you idiot, and the Dutch and the Germans are no pals; read a Canadian history book if yours don’t cover it.

    It’s inexcusably impolite to squash a winner’s moment for network admin purposes, regardless of the relative nationalities of the network and athlete. And that’s that.

  68. Your Grace

    O Weh, the shame of it, o Weh

    Das GeSchPlutter and das GeDammen

    Your Grace now has achieved that distinguished status that is achieved only by Blogges so excellent and famous that they reach even into Dacia – as evidenced by a Pingback from that distinguished Romanian Bloggerizer, Monsieur Radescu

    Emulation is a sincere form of Flattery

    BUT this Eagle now has the embarrassment of featuring even in the remotest part of the Roman Empire as an ill-tempered Eagle who describes a brilliant and victorious Young Athlete as a Lout, just because in his Moment of Triumph, he pronounciated a perhaps infelicitously sharp interrogative

    AND there was this Eagle thinking that most Americans were really Dutch or German …. or Norwegian ….

    Es macht man denken, nee
    Das ist es, doch

    [It maikes yer fink, ugh
    This is it, i’n’it]

    But at least Eagles can punctuate

    Yr Grace’s obedient servant etc

    GE

  70. I think this is great. Why does everyone want media-trained athletes that give boring interviews?

    This is just a human response after winning the gold and having gone through tenths of interviews before the NBC one. If you accept that athletes and other stars sure have one great talent but are not better, worse, more controlled or anything else humans than us, you can easily accept this reaction.

  76. um, im an idiot because i made a joke about ramstein? i never said they were from the same country, i was joking that he looks like the kind of douche that would love that kind of shite music. you can really insert any garbage rock band there (nickelback, linkin park, etc, etc). and considering you know so much about ramstein, i mustve hit a nerve. and jingoism? really? come on, man. i dont give a fuck about america, the kids just an arrogant prick and you just do not seem to get that very simple point. he just behaved like a dickhead. it had nothing to do with anything other than common decency as a human being. golden rule you fucking retard! no country, no race, no sex, no nothing. just being a decent person. he didnt do it. but apparently youre as much of an asshole as he is. conversation over. see you in hell.

  80. Oh, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his biceps. And yeah, there IS something wrong with VANOC: they’ve got their heads so far up their asses they can see out their own mouths!

    Nice backtrack there, drew. Yeah, I bet he listens to lots of Rammsteinish bands like…Nickelback.

  81. He has a touch of spaghetti arm syndrome – but so do all speed skaters. That is OK with me, though. BUT, lemme tell ya, the winning bods at these games, IMHO, belong to the men’s bobsledders!!! *drools*

  91. Damn, this whole thing made me realise that Sven Kramer is hot!
    Defiitely, my favourite speed skater (Shani Davis a close second though).

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