Ha! Reminded me of when I tried to take a selfie with some women cyclists at the Tour of California because they were teammates with a cyclist I knew. After they saw how hopeless I was, they grabbed the camera and took the shot. It is, as you say, a skill in the modern athlete's tool kit.
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@Carlos Alcala
I’m sure the cyclists are good but the USWNT are clearly more active and enthusiastic when taking selfies than other athletes that take selfies. That was the whole point of the article.
My brother has a family photo in which one of the boys, absent for the shot, was photoshopped in.
I used to occasionally delight in teasing his younger sibling, who was not born yet at the time it was taken, about where in the picture he would like his image to be edited in, as his brother's had.
Seeing is no longer believing, including - and especially - in photos. We used to speak of a "blurring of fact and fiction"; increasingly, blurring of facts, fiction, photos.
I suppose the easier and easier it becomes to doctor and contrive images, the lower their cachet or charm.
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That's certainly a mark of our times. But for me it's stressing watching fans - especialy in passionate Brazilian soccer stadiums - taking selfies and recording videos while the game is running. Culturally, a stadium is a place to support your team, but it's been converted, in some aspects, in a place for feeding Instagram's accounts.
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Interesting to see so many pics of people taking selfies, but the article includes no actual selfies...
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It's true this builds loyalty to the team and to the sport. A few years ago I was "snubbed" by Sen. Patty Murray when she was greeting commuters departing the ferry in Seattle. She greeted other people but ignored me. I still feel ill-will toward her, and I'm a Democrat. Like maybe I won't vote for her opponent, but I won't cast a vote for her. Another time my family was at Disneyland and for some reason we were on the other side of the high chain link fence where Minnie Mouse was visiting with people. My child called out to her because she was near and she completely avoided him--I believe this was all because we were on the other side of the fence. Later, inside Disneyland, Goofy and Tigger were very gracious and friendly to my child and we got many photos, but I thought that was lousy policy of Disneyland's, to place boundaries around the characters. Made me think less of Disneyland.
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@Diane
Wow...talk about holding a grudge...maybe Sen. Murray was busy and had to go....
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Great. Now pay them fairly.
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@J B They are entertainers. When they bring in the same revenue as the men then pay them fairly. There's a ROI on everything, even female soccer players.
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My favorite sport selfie is that of Francisco Totti of Roma a few years back. He grabbed a phone from a coach assistant and took a selfie of him with a photographer in the background.
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@Dakotan Arab Interesting. After reading your comment I went checking it out, and it's a cool selfie. You can also easily find the photo taken by said photographer of Totti taking the selfie, with the photographer himself appearing at Totti's phone screen.
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Everyone wants a photo that they’ll soon over write or forget about. I’ve gone through boxes of old photographs many times, I doubt in the future people will be breaking out their old cell phones to fondly look at all those selfies.
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@Paulie I often look at my old digital pictures. It is true that it requires better organization to keep them than old physical photos, but on the other hand they don't fade with time, can be easily shared, etc.
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Fun lighthearted subject for an article. Some actual selfies are definitely missing though.
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Fans after the photo is taken: “I’ll never wash this phone again!”
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It's a crime that we don't get to see any of the aforementioned selfies that the author fawns over.
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@Jackson Cantrell Kind of tough to get them, since they're in the fans phones.
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@John Mazur Not really, since most fans will share them on social networks.
Oh man, talk about:
“Histrionic personality disorder – HPD, is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behavior, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval. Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. People with HPD have a high need for attention, make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions, and crave stimulation. They may exhibit sexually provocative behavior, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others.”
Yeah, welcome to:
“The Bizarro World – also known as Htrae, which is 'Earth' spelled backwards, is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In the Bizarro world of 'Htrae,' society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states 'Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!”
Yeah, oh man...
I took a selfie once. Wasn’t thrilled with the result.
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These women on the US Soccer team are so talented. They know how to take pictures with a cell phone. I’ll bet they can do anything. Forget going to the John Deere dealership, I’ll bet they can fix farm machinery too. Thanks for the interesting piece. I can’t wait to find out what else in everyday life they can do.
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@Shamrock
Ooooo witty. How's your prowess in fixing farm machinery and why do I need to know it?
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@Shamrock - Right? Women should be seen and not heard. or, according to Shamrock - NOT seen and not heard.
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@anae
I guarantee I have attended more women’s athletic events than 98% of the sporting public. For example, I was one of the 8 people not counting family members of players that attended the Big Ten women’s soccer semi finals and finals the past two years. I love all competitive athletics. What I don’t like is idol worship which led to people criticizing Andrew Luck or fawning over players taking selfies. I played in the Big Ten for 3 years so I don’t put athletes on pedestals. I spent 10 years coaching young girls in soccer and basketball when no one else was interested. That’s 30 years ago.
My comment was mocking the Times’ writer, not the players. This story was idol worship. That’s not the players fault.
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