Originally Posted by The Phantom
Seb, what I was alluding to when I mentioned that other riders don't see Rossi as the fun-loving huggable bear his fans do, is that you need to view Stoner's reaction in the context of that. Stoner's reaction to the showboating apology is more than likely coloured by his far deeper knowledge of Rossi's character than any of his fans could possibly have, if that makes sense.
To put it another way, and I know the analog doesn't replicate the incident but look at the intent behind the analogy - if a kid bullies another kid at school in private, then gets caught doing it, and apologises to the kid - do you think that kid is going to take the apology on face value? Or dismiss it as a waste of breath?
We don't see all of Rossi's tricks and mindgames, but the riders sharing the track and the garages do. They have a very different take on Rossi. Stoner, being a guy who is prepared to speak his mind (or whinge, if you are a Rossi fanboi), simply made it clear just how much value can be attached to Rossi's apology. In fact I reckon Stoner's mindset at the time was on Rossi's pattern of behaviour as a whole, rather than just that one incident.