I woke up early this morning to do my daily run on the East River. It was like any other morning. I went through my normal routine. I ate a piece of fruit, drank some water, and did some slight stretching. As I walked to the East River path, I skipped along the way, did lunges, different types of kicking/jogging motions, side ways movements, and even some backwards jogging ala a cornerback. I do this to prevent pulling or tweaking something and to get the best run. As I was doing this, I thought about how cool it would be if I could win multiple gold medals for my stretching/warm up routine. Granted, running backwards, sideways, doing lunges, skipping, and jumping jacks, are not the most normal or routine “sports” or competitions and there probably is not a huge competitor base…but hey, if I can get a medal I’ll do it. Sporty nation, this is a parallel to Michael Phelps, his "weird" swimming strokes and “awkward” sport. He became a multi millionaire with an estimated net worth between 40 and 50 million, won SI sportsmen of the year, and was one of the most beloved athletes in recent memory. He was proclaimed periodically to be the best Olympic athlete ever for doing some strange swimming strokes…yeah exactly…huh?
Now, this post is not to demean or belittle Michael Phelps and his accomplishments, but rather to put things in perspective and not over react to what is recent and/or what is promoted by the media and what we are told is so noteworthy and spectacular. What he did, was no doubt spectacular and dominant, but it is not as great as the media made it out to be this summer. In fact, it was probably the 3rd or 4th best achievement of the ‘08 summer games and maybe not in the top 5 for the year. See below two brief lists....
Olympic list
1. Usain Bolt
2. Olympic men’s basketball team
3. Michael Phelps
4. Japanese softball team close and maybe ahead of Phelps
2008 list
1. Usain Bolt
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Tiger Woods
4. Olympic men’s basketball team
5. Tim Tebow
6. Michael Phelps/Cristiano Ronaldo/Alex Ovechkin tie
7. Spanish (UEFA) national soccer team
8. C.C. Sabathia
First, we have Tiger Woods. This is easy. There won’t be much commentary here. Tiger Woods limped around a golf course in San Diego and won a tournament. This tournament was the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Two days after the tournament Woods announced that he would have surgery due to severe injuries. The reason for his limp was a torn ACL, and a double stress fracture in his left tibia (leg). He allegedly played with a torn ACL for more than 10 months. To recap, Tiger Woods won a major golf championship with a torn ACL and two breaks in his leg that lead to major surgery that kept him out of his sport for 8 months. Yeah…unbelievable. BROKEN/SHREDDED LEG!
Usain Bolt shattered Olympic track and field records without putting full effort. He set 3 world records in every event that he competed in. Bolt utterly dominated and set world records in the most basic, most practical, most accessible sport in the world: running. Anyone can run...men, women, children, rich, poor, black, white, urban, suburban, and any nationality. In addition to that, there are no social stigmas associated with this sport as there are with sports such as golf, tennis, baseball, and soccer. I mean cmon’ it is running. It is because of the aforementioned accessibilities and practicalities that track and field running has probably the deepest field of competitors. Usain Bolt slowed down and showboated before his race ended while setting a world record in the deepest field possible in the most basic sport: running. And, let’s not forget that he did this in a wife beater and only started running 100M dahses A FEW MONTHS BEFORE! A mere few months before the games. He was considered a 200M specialist! Geez louise!
Michael Phelps juxtaposed with Usain Bolt yields a clear “winner.” And, it ain't lil Mikey. My two biggest problems with the Phelps’ “accomplishments” are that the sport allows one to win too many medals and that he excelled in “weird” events.
To begin, why does the swimming sport offer so many medals to its participants? And, why does the U.S. Olympic basketball team only get the opportunity to win one gold medal despite playing 8 games? They won one medal for all of there efforts and Coach K nor any of the other coaches receive a medal. Phelps won 8 gold medals in 7 days. While this is a truly noteworthy and incredible feat, the nature of the swimming sport and the opportunity that he had to make this achievement should not go unnoticed. How many swimming events are enough? Now some may say that this is a stretch, but I believe that the basketball equivalent to swimming is if there were a three on three tournament, a two on two tournament, a one on one tournament, a 4 on 4 tournament, a 4 half basketball game, an 8 half basketball game, and a one half basketball game. Is this ridiculous? I don’t think that this is ridiculous. In fact, I think that this is more practical than its swimming counterpart because these hypothetical events are more practical, realistic, and “normal.” That is to suggest that the 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, 4 x 100m medley relay, and 200m individual medley are “weird” events. One cannot argue that these are inherently “normal” events. It is not particularly normal to jump in a pool a break out into a 200m butterfly or 400m individual medley. It is, however, normal to do the freestyle stroke particularly the 50m or 100m freestyle, but Phelps wouldn't do that. That's too normal, practical, or realistic. That's the most basic stroke that everyone can relate to and also the most exhilarating race. Just think about the last time that you did any of these aforementioned Michael Phelps events. If you have done any of them, you are an anomaly. Then, I’ll ask you the last time that you played basketball, played golf, ran, jogged, played tennis or etc? Phelps dominated a “weird” sport that offered many opportunities to win gold medals.
However, the two aforementioned reasons are not my only issues with the Phelps “accomplishment.” Michael Phelps also benefitted from a swimsuit that was developed by NASA and the Australian Institute of Sport called the LZR which was designed to repel water, allow oxygen to flow to the muscles, and hold the body in a more hydrodynamic position. The suits had been proven to give the swimmer a lower time by 1.9 to 2.2%. And, by the final day 62 world records had been broken by swimmers wearing this LZR swimsuit. Indeed, this suit was and is immensely innovative and crucial to the development of the sport, but everyone, was not able to use this suit due to contractual obligations with other companies and/or the exorbitant price of the suit which can retail for more than $550 dollars. $550 dollars for ONE swimsuit is hardly cheap. And, is it fair for someone to have a clear advantage over another athlete because of a swimsuit? The lack of some sort of standardization in the sport further amplifies some of the issues surrounding Michael Phelps’ Olympic accomplishments…
Usain Bolt wore a wife beater and his shoe came untied during his race.
Next, the accessibility of the sport of swimming should be pointed out. Access to a swimming pool, lake, or ocean is far more limited than many other sports such as soccer, running, and basketball. Does a kid from Manhattan or Kansas have the same access to swimming opportunities that a kid from Florida? In addition to that, there are social issues surrounding swimming. For example, if you are swimmer. While an abundance of equipment is not necessarily imperative for one to swim, it still remains an expensive sport. Access to a swimming pool can be pricey particularly in regions that do not have pools readily available. Not only can pool access to s swimming pool be expensive, but a coach becomes a must in this sport in order to be successful due to the technical nature of the sport.
Finally, it can be argued that Phelps loses some points because of the immensely technical nature of the sport. Swimming seems to be a sport that is based on technique rather than athleticism. Indeed, every sport including, baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and etc. have technical aspects. But, they aren’t based almost exclusively on technique. A late starter in swimming is at more of a disadvantage than a late sprinter, soccer player, football player, or basketball player. Not just anyone can jump in a pool and beat one that has been swimming for a while with a coach. However, hidden talents and late bloomers emerge frequently in other sports. This inherent fact or flaw with swimming further minimizes Phelps’ “accomplishments.” This is probably the least compelling argument against Michael Phelps, but it too should not go unnoticed. I guess that it is the second part of the accessibility/practicality argument of the swimming sport.
What Michael Phelps did in the summer of 2008 is undoubtedly one of the better accomplishments in sports history, but we must put things in perspective and not succumb to the over the top media coverage and declarations of his greatness. Athletes such as Rafael Nadal whom won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Olympics (on three different surfaces) deserve a certain amount of coverage and glory. Athletes such as Tiger Woods whom play with broken bones and torn muscles and tendons should be portrayed in a manner that is fair and reasonable. Tim Tebow gets too much coverage, but talent…well great accomplishment is there. The C.C. Sabathia’s and Cristiano Ronaldos whom put there heart and soul in the game and have astronomical impacts on there teams and single handedly will and carry their teams to victory. I’ll leave you with this...Is Michael Phelps a better athlete than LeBron James? or Dwayne Wade? or Dwight Howard? or Rafael Nadal? or Tim Tebow? or Cristiano Rondaldo? Or Iker Casillas? Terrell Owens or Candace Parker? Or is Phelps a great athlete that benefits from a relatively weaker athlete pool, the media and the fact that he is a part of a sport that lends itself to winning gold medals and breaking records?
To further illustrate how great players like LeBron are, I will leave you with this…who would be the better swimmer if they both started swimming at the same time in there lives, both had the same swimsuits, and coaching…LeBron or Phelps. Who would be the better basketball player in the same scenario? I am predicting that Katie Hoff will do what Phelps did this past summer in the next Olympics.
Sporty nation, the best athletes in the world don’t swim, they play basketball, football, soccer, tennis, baseball, and other sports. While it is exceedingly hard to imagine that there is some guy sitting on his couch, or merely just going to his office, or playing sports on the weekends with buddies, that is just as good as or better than LeBron James or most any basketball pro, it is not as hard to imagine that there is someone out there than can be a professional swimmer. Of course, swimming takes a great amount of hardwork, training, and dedication, but all sports do. I’ll roll with LeBron even if he is 6’8” 250lbs.
This is my minority report.
(Disclaimer-I will edit this post soon. I just wanted to get this posted tonight.)
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