VIDEO: Will he stay or will he go?

By Published On: February 7th, 2015Comments Off on VIDEO: Will he stay or will he go?

Bode Miller spoke with NBC’s Dan Hicks on Friday following his World Championship-ending crash in the men’s super G on Thursday to talk about the extent of his injury and his future as an athlete.

“It took a lot of focus and so to come here and put a race together that I thought had a good chance of getting me on the podium and then have it turn south on me at the bottom of the course, that’s tough to swallow but physically I’ll be alright,” Miller said. “I was pretty nervous for the morning and my wife sent me a text saying ‘If you’re going to go ski it, Bode-style and send it.’ That was pretty much what I had to do anyway. And I know myself well enough to know that when I get in the gate, I ski with much more urgency and intensity then most of the guys do. I more designed a plan … to avoid the major trouble areas and I thought I was ready and did a good job of that in the race.”

When Miller clipped a gate after skiing on course for almost a minute, he spun around and tumbled off track.

“The gate should have come off. The panel design is terrible, terrible. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it. To get through that I actually tore the entire panel in half which those panels are nylon and they are unbelievably sturdy panels. So really that’s frustrating in hindsight to look back and say they should have just had the Velcro panels on there. And I would have boned through it and it wouldn’t have even slowed me down, and I would have finished the race and hopefully won.”

Miller was able to ski down to the finish area following his crash, but a nasty gash on his leg ultimately required surgery.

“The hospital … looked at the cut and said OK, it doesn’t look too bad. But once they got my suit cut off and everything it was obvious that the second cut was also very deep. So it was actually two separate cuts. The main cut where the ski hit and then this other area where … it just cut straight through the tendon,” said Miller. “So that’s when they told me that I had cut that tendon in half and that if I was super tough they could sew it up and I could probably try to ski today. And I said that I’m not that tough. I’d prefer to have it sewed together, and I’ll watch the races.”

Although his teammates went on to finish second, fourth, and ninth in the World Championship downhill race, Miller thinks he had something to show the crowd as well.

“I think I had something else to show on that course, and I would have liked to run it this year. But at the same time, I am happy and very fortunate to come out of a crash like that without anything more severe. I know you’re rolling the dice every time you go down these courses, and I’ll take it. But I don’t get to run my last race under my own terms, but that’s one of the things I have to deal with.”

It isn’t the first time Miller has flirted with the idea of retiring, but at 37 years of age and expecting a child with his wife, Morgan, it might be finally be the point where he hangs up his skis.

“I tried retiring a couple of times and it didn’t really stick. But at some point enough things conspire together and it does stick. And like I said, I’m not one of those people that needs a grand showing off or a parade or anything. I just won’t be there,” noted Miller. “No, I haven’t made up my mind yet but I am leaning pretty heavy towards not going out there anymore.”

If Miller never returns to the World Cup ski tour, he hopes he’s left a lasting impression on fans.

“I hope people see truth when I ski. I don’t really have an agenda out there. I don’t try to cover things up. I don’t try to look cool or this or that, you now. I’m not afraid to hack it around pretty bad. Skiing is such a raw sport and people pick out little parts of what they want to see but that would be something I would hope that stands out as the honesty of my skiing.”

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