Disrespect In Olympian Proportions

http://finefiber2art.com/?p=70

Ravelry:  a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration. The content here is all user- driven; we as a community make the site what it is. Ravelry is a great place for you to keep notes about your projects, see what other people are making, find the perfect pattern and connect with people who love to play with yarn from all over the world in our forums.


VS

USOC: an organization to support U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes in achieving sustained competitive excellence and to preserve the Olympic Ideals, thereby inspiring all Americans.









The Set-up:
1) Ravelry, an international on-line community, hosts a bi-annual competition, Ravelympics, that takes place during the Olympic Games.  Apparently, the various activities would be/could be taking place in front of the television while the Olympics were being broadcast.  (pay attention USOC this is important)

2) USOC, an organization that owns the trademark rights to the name "Olympics" in the US.

The Gist:
The USOC in defending its trademark (they think that the name Ravelympics is too close to the name Olympics and therefore an infringement) got a little carried away when they stated...

"The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States.  Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect.  We believe using the name “Ravelympics” for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games.  In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work."

In other words, all these people around the world, sitting in front of their televisions WATCHING the Olympics, WATCHING the commercials of the sponsors who want to recoup their monies, and trying to have a little fun while they are at it, are being told by the USOC that their activities are being disrespectful.

The Results:
Ire was raised, Tweets twittered, Facebook raged and the USOC got an earful.  So much so that they apologized.....twice! 

However the apology fell flat with some, especially this phrase "To show our support of the Ravelry community, we would welcome any handmade items that you would like to create to travel with, and motivate, our team at the 2012 Games.”

My Opinion:
The USOC, in their zeal to protect their trademark, overlooked an Olympian opportunity for a little good will and ongoing support from a huge community.  Had they simply given Ravelry the right to the use of Ravelympics then that last request might have been more readily accepted.  In fact the USOC would probably have been inundated with motivation.

In the end, I think the USOC will find that it isn't a good idea to piss off a couple million artisans AND they should learn how to issue a REAL apology.

Love,
Buddy