2010 Winter Olympics: German Speedskaters Miss the Call for Olympic Glory

Next time you ask your wife or children why they didn't answer their cell phone, consider the plight of German speedskater Patrick Beckert.

He missed out on a chance to compete in the Olympics because his cell phone was turned off prior to the start of Wednesday's 1,000m competition.

Granted, he was the fourth alternate, but the sole reason why he was there was to participate in the Olympics if a teammate couldn't go for any reason.

Still, one question I have is why is this news only for Beckert? What about the other alternates who also missed the call?

Look, I don't know if you're aware of this, but these here Olympics are a pretty big deal. To have your chance, perhaps the only chance in your lifetime, to chase a dream be wiped out by stupidity is almost beyond belief.

Yet only one guy is forced to accept the national embarrassment. And this is good reporting because...?

The spot became free when two-time gold medalist Enrico Fabris of Italy withdrew from the race one hour before it was set to begin.

But the maddening part of this story is that it wasn't just Beckert who missed the call for possible immortality. Officials attempted to reach the first three alternates to no avail as well.

Beckert finally called back 17 minutes before the race, but it was too late to get to the Richmond Olympic Oval.

According to Yahoo! Sports, "One German site says that Helge Jasch, manager of the German speed skating team, has taken blame for the mistake because he didn't tell Beckert to report to the oval. He figured that the chances of the fourth alternate making it into the field were infinitesimal."

Normally, that would be a safe bet. But in this case it resulted in one stupid thing after another.

For one, why didn't they have Beckert report to the oval just in case? And why didn't he have his cell phone on just in case?

Meanwhile, why is it news just that Beckert didn't get the call? What about the other three alternates—weren't they just as guilty?

Still, all you see are pictures of the German skater on sites like Yahoo! and Deadspin. And yes, I'm guilty too. My excuse is that it's an interesting story and Beckert was the only guy they named, so I can't tell you about the other three.

But when major news outlets break a story like this, why don't they get all the facts first?

Yes, Beckert missed his chance. But so did the other three, who, for some reason, shall remain nameless.

If I were Beckert, I would use this embarrassment to my advantage. Go get a cell phone promotional deal out of this, son.