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 August
29 - John
Wilson is a freelance associate producer working with NBC who has been
filming the sailing interviews with our Team that have aired in Gary
Jobson’s reports from Athens on the Bravo channel. Over the last two
weeks, John has been the unofficial (depending on who you talk to!)
“Press Officer” for the Saturday Night Live character Mr. Bill.
“Mr. Bill” came into being over 20 years ago as a home movie submission
to SNL that was a parody of bad filmmaking. The cartoon character went
on to become a show staple for seven years. “Reborn” during the Sydney
Games, Mr. Bill’s popularity grew during the Salt Lake Olympics and has
built here in Athens. Two independent graphics contractors for NBC
started making (from playdoh and packing tape) Mr. Bill for stress
relief – remember that bad things used to happen to Mr. Bill ….OH
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Now he is an unofficial ambassador of Olympic goodwill.
 Here
in Athens the proper “protocol” includes displaying Mr. Bill prominently
on the front of your credential, while making sure that Mr. Bill has a
fantastic Olympic experience -- visiting competitions, parties and the
local sights, being photographed with medallists (like 470 Men's Gold
Medallist Paul Foerster, above, and softball's Jenny Finch, left) and
famous people.
Mr. Bill has become a celebrity at the Media Center in the Agios Kosmas
Sailing Center, where the Greeks are baffled by him since Mr. Bill came
to popularity when most of the workers were very young children. We are
asked “who is this Meester Beeel?” regularly.
Stories have also appeared on Greek websites to explain the Mr. Bill
phenomenon. One story included the admonition that no matter how much
you might want to, do not take Mr. Bill to the beach! After we took
Mr. Bill to the Acropolis, he had to spend the night in the freezer to
recover!
 ``This
may sound corny or cheesy,'' John Wilson said in an article by Tom
Meade, sports writer for the Providence Journal, ``but Mr. Bill has
become a member of the Olympic Family...Mr. Bill has gone from a stress
reliever you did bad things to, to a way to connect with people, to
remind you that this is an amazing experience and to enjoy it while
you're here...."'
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