Dodger Matt Treanor watches wife's latest Olympic golden moment from afar

August 08, 2012|By Steve Dilbeck

Your browser does not support iframes.<p>They were stuck back in the trainer’s small office, trying to watch the Olympic live Internet feed of Dodgers catcher Matt Treanor’s wife, Misty May-Treanor, attempting to win a third consecutive gold medal, all crowded around a small laptop.</p><p>And then the feed froze.</p><p>Treanor knew his wife and her partner, Kerri Walsh Jennings, had won the first set in their beach volleyball match Wednesday and were within two points in the second set from earning the gold medal when the Internet connection was lost.</p></div></div><div class="float" style="clear:both;height:1px;line-height:1px;"><img src="/images/pixel.gif" height="1" width="1" alt="" /></div><div id="mod-ctr-lt-in-top" class="mod-latarticlesadcpc mod-adcpc with-fourth-cpc"><script type="text/javascript"> var adSkipCounter = 0; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var loc = window.location.href + ""; var float = ""; google_hints = "small laptop watches";google_ad_client="pub-0227802054925200"; google_ad_output="js"; google_ad_channel="5212128158,9744208858,8321278795,8261105409"; google_ad_type="text"; google_image_size="300x250"; google_safe="high"; google_feedback="on"; google_max_num_ads="2"; google_skip="" + adSkipCounter + ""; google_adtest="off"; google_page_url=document.URL; function google_ad_request_done(ads) { if (ads.length == 0) { return; } // If no ads are returned then dont build the ad block if (ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { adSkipCounter += ads.length; } // Increment ad skip counter when cpc google_ad_request_done_internal(ads, "", "", "true", "medium_rectangle", "", "", "pgtp=article&pi=34&ci=33104051&cat=sports&pe_id=33104051&tv=ap-LA12-G02&rna=pub-0227802054925200&rn=g&rnrci=5212128158&rnrcn=CMI-A-002&rncci=9744208858&rnccn=CMI-A-028&rnpci=&rnpcn=&rntci=&rntcn=&rnlci=8261105409&rnlcn=8261105409&rnp=c&rt=cpc&paidClick=1&placement_id=ctr-lt-in-top", "", "", "", "", "", "ap-LA12-G02", "Los Angeles Times Articles"); } //]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/google_ad_request.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div><div id="mod-a-body-after-first-para" class="mod-latarticlesarticletextwithadcpc mod-latarticlesarticletext mod-articletext"><p>Then the feed came back, and there was Misty.</p><p>“She was celebrating, screaming into the camera,” Treanor said. “So I knew things were good.”</p><p>Then Treanor excused himself and left trainers Sue Falsone, Nancy Patterson and Greg Harrel to have a private moment.</p><p>“Honestly, the tears didn’t flow right away, because there was a bunch of people in the room,” he said. “I had to step out of the room ... there’s all these thoughts and emotions that come into your head. A lot of it is just about Misty and what she wanted to do and what she sacrificed for her to accomplish that.”</p><p>There were congratulations offered from various teammates. Matt Kemp gave him a hug and started chanting “USA! USA!”</p><p>For May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings, it was an <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-plaschke-beach-volleyball-20120809,0,4785299.column">unprecedented third consecutive gold</a>, this one coming over Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy, 21-16, 21-16. May-Treanor, 35, had announced she would retire at the end of the London Games.</p><p>Yet, Treanor has never witnessed his wife reach the pinnacle of her sport. Each time the Olympics have arrived, he has been in the middle of a baseball season, watching as best he could from afar, waiting for results thousands of miles away.</p><p>“It gets harder every time,” Treanor said. “The first time we were engaged and it was a whole worldwind kind of thing. I never thought I’d be dating that type of an athlete, let alone somebody going for an Olympic medal. Going forward was a learning process for me.</p><p>“Then in ’08 it felt like old hat, but I wanted to be there. I was on the DL actually. And now Misty talks about having a family and moving on to that next chapter in our lives. Sometimes the unknown is a little scary, but it isn’t scary for me right now because Misty was able to go out and do what she did. It does get a little tougher each time. Deep down in my heart, I wanted to be there for all three of them. It’s tough not being able to be there.”</p><p>When Treanor met with the media in the Dodgers dugout well after the gold had been secured, he still seemed to fight his emotions talking about his admiration for what he calls the best athlete in the family.</p><p>“It gives you a really good feeling,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier for Misty. Kerri and Misty have been together for 12 years. There’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of emotion, a lot of different thoughts and memories come to mind.</p><p>“I’m an emotional person. I’m not afraid to cry. I’m not afraid to snap a bat over my neck. That’s the way I am, the way I’m built. Irish Italian doesn’t always help either. The funny thing is Misty is kind of the opposite. She doesn’t really show emotion that much. She kind of always looks at me when we’re watching a sappy movie, waiting for me to shed a tear. She gets a kick out of that.”</p></div><div id="mod-a-body-after-first-para-ad-cpc" class="mod-adcpc"> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var loc = window.location.href + ""; var float = ""; google_hints = "small laptop watches";google_ad_client="pub-0227802054925200"; google_ad_output="js"; google_ad_channel="5212128158,9744208858,9488961041,8261105409"; google_ad_type="text"; google_image_size="600x125"; google_safe="high"; google_feedback="on"; google_max_num_ads="2"; google_skip="" + adSkipCounter + ""; google_adtest="off"; google_page_url=document.URL; function google_ad_request_done(ads) { if (ads.length == 0) { return; } // If no ads are returned then dont build the ad block if (ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { adSkipCounter += ads.length; } // Increment ad skip counter when cpc google_ad_request_done_internal(ads, "", "", "true", "wide_rectangle", "", "", "pgtp=article&pi=34&ci=33104051&cat=sports&pe_id=33104051&tv=ap-LA12-G02&rna=pub-0227802054925200&rn=g&rnrci=5212128158&rnrcn=CMI-A-002&rncci=9744208858&rnccn=CMI-A-028&rnpci=&rnpcn=&rntci=&rntcn=&rnlci=8261105409&rnlcn=8261105409&rnp=c&rt=cpc&paidClick=1&placement_id=a-body-after-first-para-ad-cpc", "", "", "", "", "", "ap-LA12-G02", "Los Angeles Times Articles"); } //]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/google_ad_request.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div><div class="float" style="clear:both;height:1px;line-height:1px;"><img src="/images/pixel.gif" height="1" width="1" alt="" /></div><div id="mod-a-body-after-second-para" class="mod-latarticlesarticletextwithadcpc mod-latarticlesarticletext mod-articletext"><p>This was the most challenging Olympics victory for May-Treanor. After the 2008 gold in Beijing, she tore her left Achilles' tendon rehearsing for the “Dancing With the Stars” TV show. Last year she suffered a knee injury. She and Walsh Jennings had not been able to play together as much as they wanted before the Olympics.</p><p>But Treanor said that before she left for England, he looked at her and sensed things were going to be all right.</p><p>“The way she looked, it was like she was just beaming,” he said. “Misty’s never been pregnant but they say that sometimes pregnant women get like that, almost like this satisfied feeling or this aura about them. That’s what I saw in Misty.</p><p>“I just felt like this was the right thing for her and I’m glad she made the decision. Having it finish with a gold medal was just a positive to everything, but I don’t necessarily think she needed to win to have that completion, that satisfaction. But I’m glad it ended up the way it did.”</p><p><strong>RELATED:</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgersnow/la--sp-dn-dodgers-wilting-20120807,0,6637647.story">Dodgers wilting before the not-so-mighty Rockies staff, fall 3-1</a></p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgersnow/la-sp-dn-dodgers-owners-praise-20120808,0,4804875.story">Sorry this is so hard, but new Dodgers owners earn early praise</a></p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgersnow/la-sp-dn-scully-blinkin-unbelievable-20120807,0,1826963.story">More evidence for Dodgers why Vin Scully is blinkin' incredible</a></p></div><div id="mod-a-body-after-second-para-ad-cpc" class="mod-adcpc"> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var loc = window.location.href + ""; var float = ""; google_hints = "small laptop watches";google_ad_client="pub-0227802054925200"; google_ad_output="js"; google_ad_channel="5212128158,9744208858,5346202670,8261105409"; google_ad_type="text"; google_image_size="600x125"; 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