Vlašić vs Kostelić

Sandra Wilson38 It’s like I always say... everything just keeps going in circles...
🤣

Just imagine if she hadn't walked away from it all so early... she probably would've walked away with at least four World Cups in her trophy case... 😁

Honestly, there’s no point dragging Janica into this conversation, because Blanka and Ivica could probably just spend their time helping her buckle her overalls instead... ☕

If she’d actually shown up to compete back in 2004 instead of acting like the race was already over before it even started, she probably would have walked away with four trophies... but then again, looking back at all those times she completely blew it, I can't help but feel a little cynical about what could have been. Beyond just dropping those three points, I still vividly remember that one moment where she let a full second slip right before crossing the finish line against Paersonica... and honestly, she used to say herself that in women's skiing, if you mess up by more than three-tenths, you're basically finished...😁

dustyridge3 said:I definitely prefer Gips. Honestly, nobody can say for sure who’s actually better. Tiger Woods tends to take way too much credit for Blanka's wins, even though he doesn't contribute nearly as much as Gips does for Ivica since Bojan is actually Blankin's coach.

🙏 Vlasicu, you hearing this? 😁

By the way, when looking at the top coaches, besides Gips and Vlasica, we also had Rudić and Ivan Ivančić (Sandra Perkovic's coach) in the running. Only Gips doesn't have a mustache. Maybe that was the deciding factor. 🤣😁

All this constant bickering is just senseless. They both raised incredible athletes, and this verbal warfare only ends up hurting their legacy...🤷

Alex Cook said:Check that quote again.😁

What are we even talking about with Vlašić? He's nothing special. It's all just cheap plaster creating fake Terminators, and he's one of them.

Look, I think you get what I'm trying to say. 🙂 Both of them have pretty massive egos, but Vlašić is really in a league of his own when it comes to that.

Thank God Lino finally walked away from that coaching circus. The guy is nothing but an egoist with a massive inferiority complex.

restlessdriver15 said:She could have easily won four World Cups if she’d actually shown up to compete in 2004 instead of acting like everything was already decided. Looking back, I can still laugh at some of those massive blunders she made. Besides those three points, I still remember that one time she blew a one-second lead against Anja Paerson. She even used to joke about how you have to be extra talented to miss a lead by more than three-tenths in women's skiing.😁

I remember that too. 😉
She would've had way more than four World Cup wins if she hadn't walked away. You just don't see talent like that twice. It’s like having Roger Federer in tennis, Michael Jordan in basketball, or Ayrton Senna in F1. 😛😍Honestly, I can't think of any other female athlete who had that same magnetic pull as Jana. 🤔

Sandra Wilson38 said:Man, I remember that clearly. 😉
If she’d actually stuck with skiing, she probably would've grabbed way more than four gold medals. I mean, athletes like her just don't come around often. It’s like having Roger Federer in tennis, Michael Jordan in basketball, or Ayrton Senna in F1... 😛😍...honestly, I can't even think of another woman who had that kind of magnetic talent like Janica. 🤔

There was Yelena Isinbayev back when she was on fire🤣and there were plenty of great female tennis players too.

Joshua Gomez54 said:Yelena Isinbayev used to play tennis whenever she felt like it🤣 and she was actually pretty decent at it too.

No, no, no.
I'm not talking about just successful athletes here; I'm talking about the absolute goddesses of sports. ☕

This year is going to be all about Slavko Goluza.

frozentiger6 said:Slavko Goluza is going to be the one to watch this year.

As a coach who hasn't even secured a medal for the US in a niche sport like handball?🙂

I honestly wish Ciro and Lino could find some way to jump back into this absolute circus. 🙂 😁

Sandra Wilson38 said:No, no, no.
I’m not talking about just some successful athletes, I’m talking about the actual icons of the sport. ☕

Yeah, she’s talking about those slalom runs on Mount Rainier without even needing gloves or poles, that giant slalom at the 2002 Olympics, being totally untouchable in the combined, and how she’d just snatch the poles right out from under Anja Paerson whenever they faced off... I could go on about Janica all day if I wanted to, thinking back to everything I went through because of her, man, just remembering those days...😁

feraltrucker5 said:I wish Ciro and Lino could at least find a way to jump into this circus. 🙂 😁

Honestly, Slavko Goluza would probably outshine them both. ☕

😁

Joseph Clark37 said:As a coach who’s spent a lifetime in this game, I look at things differently. It isn't just about the drills or the physical conditioning; it's about the grit you build when nobody is watching. I remember back when I was starting out in Chicago, thinking I had it all figured out, only to realize that the mental toughness required to compete at the highest level is something you can't just teach in a gym. You have to live it. Marginal sports are such a joke. So, you're telling me he didn't walk away with a medal playing for Team USA?🙂

Get lost, you absolute idiot!

Ciro and Lino? Honestly, I still don't get how things turned out the way they did without Cervar involved. He and Gips would just go at it, and before you know it, they’d be arguing about nothing more than the wheat harvest out in the Midwest.

Ciro is acting like some kind of untouchable emperor lately. You hear him bragging about having his own private castle, complete with a full security detail and an army of assistants at his beck and call. But there’s this other side to him now, too—this sudden melancholy. He spends half his time moping about death, getting old, and how his entire generation of friends has passed away. It’s a bit heavy. Honestly, though? I actually miss his old self—the guy who used to just talk trash and stir the pot without any of this dramatic nonsense.

Hey, quick side note... I was thinking about catching the Ivica race on a big screen this Friday, if anyone knows a decent sports bar near Times Square where they'll have the skiing broadcast on... I really don't feel like wasting my time hunting through random websites, though I wouldn't be surprised if I'd already hit up some local spot and just completely forgotten about it😁

frozentiger6 said:Just wondering how much money that could buy...

Tyson actually had two gold teeth!

Man, you are way off base here...

I’m just being skeptical about these "greatest of all time" lists. ☕
Especially when people try to apply them to everything in sports.
I was just showing how silly those debates can get.
But to be more specific:
Look, there's no debate, Janica is our greatest athlete ever.
For now 😁
Because imagine if Blanka (just using her as an example) wins Olympic gold plus another medal, along with some European and World titles.
What would that look like?
-Olympic gold and silver (plus maybe one more)... you can't go higher than that.
But we already have:
-4 World Championship titles, plus silver and bronze medals
-1 European gold title
-Mediterranean Games - gold
-And God knows how many World Cup wins, like the Golden / Diamond League, plus all those individual race victories...
So, Janica isn't even that far ahead. All Blanka needs is that Olympic gold, and then the pointless arguments start all over again.
I really don't think it's worth getting into...

frozentiger6 said:Get lost...

Of course it is. It’s just not part of the collective consciousness here because we actually excel at this sport. Otherwise, it would be irrelevant to us too...

restlessdriver15 said:Yeah, yeah—she’s going on about that slalom run at Sljeme without poles or gloves, that giant slalom during the 2002 Olympics, how she was unbeatable in the combined, and even that time she ripped Anja Paerson's poles right out of her hands because she beat her for the millionth time. Honestly, I could talk about Janica until tomorrow. Man, thinking back on those days brings up so many memories.😁

So, tell me, were you also kicking the kids out of the living room—or maybe even out of the house entirely—every Saturday and Sunday morning? You know, after your wife gives you that look and asks, "Why are you getting so worked up? How much money are they actually paying you to be this stressed out?"

analogowl122 said:I just get a little skeptical whenever people try to pick the "greatest of all time." ☕
Especially when you're talking about something as massive as sports in general.
I tried to show how that can be a pointless exercise.
But let me be more specific:
Look, there's no debate here—Janica is our greatest athlete of all time.
As of 😁
Just imagine if Blanka (I'm just using her as an example) won Olympic gold plus another medal. And maybe a few European and World Championship medals too.
What would the tally look like then?
-Olympic gold and silver (plus maybe one more medal)—you can't really top that.
But right now, we already have:
-4 World Championship titles, along with silver and bronze (and probably others)
-1 European gold (and likely other medals)
-Mediterranean Games - gold
-And who knows how many World Cup wins, like the Golden / Diamond League, plus all those individual race victories.
So, Janica isn't actually that far ahead. All Blanka would need is that Olympic gold, and then the endless debates would start.
Personally, I think it's better to just leave it alone.

You're bringing up Blanka again, but she only competes in one discipline. Unlike the GOAT. ☕

Branko Ivanković is basically the professor when it comes to training Vlašić! ☕

Women's sports are overrated, btw 🙂