NBC has inundated us all with their version of the Olympics. Swimming kidnapped the main stage and all of prime time TV the past two weeks and right in the middle of it was Michael Phelps – the golden boy. Maybe they should call him Flipper. He is faster than lightning.
Anyway, Phelps was asked before the competition if he was the greatest Olympian ever. He smiled and said he would answer that after the Olympics. So our buddy Bobby Costas cornered the water-wonder boy and asked him again. Phelps pretty much said yes, he was.
Seriously?
Just because you have captured and held your sport hostage for three or four Olympics you are now a GOAT? (Greatest of all time).
Come on, Mikey. You know that’s not for you to decide but the rest of us. You just lost my vote. Yes, the things you do in the pool are not humanly possible but the greatest Olympian? Ever heard of Jessie Owens? The dude who put Hitler in his place with his great Olympic performance and in front of the little fuhrer himself. Or how about Wilma Rudolph who due to childhood diseases couldn’t even use one of her legs. She sprinted her way to Gold.
There’s a long list ahead of you, Phelps. Oh, should we bring up the fact that you were caught smoking dope after the last Olympics? Yes, that’s what all great Olympians do…NOT! Come on, you can’t possibly think you’re better than the 1976 version of Bruce Jenner? What about Edwin Moses and his hurdling skills that he used forever? Oh, and Michael Johnson the wing-footed, gold-cleated track superstar and I may even have to drop Carl Lewis on your wet head.
The Greatest Olympian of all Time? Now that is something we can debate for years, sport by sport. The Dream Team – you even said you look up to Michael Jordan. You can’t even carry his jock strap though I don’t know if swimmers use them. A little help here…
And what about the so-called minor sports? Are there fencers and dressage and water polo folks who disagree with you? Probably so. You lost more fans than you gained by your proclamation. Are you better than Cassius Clay? He backed up his chatter but I guess your medals do speak loudly but that’s just it. You let your performance and your records and your medals speak for you. You shut up, Michael. Hire a PR firm and place some ads and billboards but keep your mouth shut and your proclamations to yourself.
Retire and do whatever it is you do with 22 Olympic medals and world records. Just don’t tell us you are the greatest. Mark Spitz, Nadia Comaneci, Jim Thorpe, Bob Beamon, Teofilo Stevenson, Sergei Bubka, Jesse Owens and hundreds more can prove you wrong, Mikey.
Were you smoking more dope before/during that interview?
Who is the Greatest Olympian of all time?….lemme know….
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