You could say Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik is a specialist in many ways. He specializes in appearing to be snoozing; whipping off his glasses like Clark Kent; solving the Rubik’s cube; coordinating outfits with his cat; and — of course — being Team USA’s “nerdy pommel horse specialist.”
Last Monday, Nedoroscik propelled the U.S. men’s gymnastics team to bronze — his team’s first medal in 16 years — with an iconic performance on the pommel horse in the men’s team final. The Penn State alum won another bronze on Saturday in the men’s gymnastics individual pommel horse final.
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And all of this specialization has impressed many online — including Elmo, who was so in awe of the 25-year-old Olympian that he expressed his desire to be a bit more like Nedoroscik.
“Mr. Stephen Nedoroscik, Elmo wants to be a specialist too!” the furry Muppet wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. “Elmo was thinking he could be the giggle specialist or maybe a monster-hug specialist. Elmo will keep thinking! #ParisOlympics.”
Instead of responding to the innocent “Sesame Street” character with burdens that stem from a feeling of existential dread, Nedoroscik proved to specialize in yet another area: providing sage advice.
“Elmo, the great thing about specializing in something is you get to decide,” Nedoroscik responded Tuesday on X. “I think you’ll be a great specialist in anything you end up choosing!”
Although Nedoroscik’s words of wisdom to Elmo are something everyone could benefit from reading, we’d argue that Elmo is already a specialist in one area. He’s proven to have Ph.D.-levels of proficiency in being irrationally petty toward a pet rock.
