Something about Lolo

I don't know if you've been following the Olympics, but if you have, you likely know of Lolo Jones.

There are probably at least a couple of things you know:

1) Lolo Jones is very, very attractive.
2) Lolo Jones didn't win a medal.

There are probably at least a couple of things you've heard:

1) Lolo Jones is a product of the USA Marketing Machine.
2) Lolo Jones is not a very good hurdler.

The things you know are 100% true. Lolo is extremely attractive. Like... crazy good looking. She's in phenomenal shape, and she's pretty too. She also didn't win a medal for the second Olympics in a row. The first time she was leading with one hurdle to go, and she fell. The second time she ran cleanly but was beaten and came in fourth.

The things you've heard are another story.

It's probably true, at least to some degree, that Lolo has enjoyed a distinct level of fame reserved for exceptionally pretty athletes in glamor athletic events. If I'm thinking about marketing US Olympians to the American people, I'd probably see her and think about featuring her as well. This is, decidedly, not her fault, and not her issue. If McDonalds wants to pay me to be in their ads, I'm taking their money too.

What isn't true in the very least is that she's not a very good hurdler.

If you're making that statement as a simple reaction to her lack of a win, that's an insane exaggeration. This isn't Highlander. There can be more than one very good, world class, hurdler. Not only does it disrespect her, but it disrespects her opponents as well. Just because she wasn't the best on this particular day, or even if she's never been the absolute best, to say that she's not any good is patently insane and stupid.

Factually, it's also just wrong. She's a multiple time indoor track champion. She runs the 100 Meter Hurdles in under 13 seconds regularly, and the 100 meter dash in under 12. That's really fucking fast.

Just because there are women who are faster (the total number of which could be counted on 3 fingers) doesn't mean that her skills or her abilities are less impressive.

The frustration comes, I believe, out of the fact that someone along the way decided to bring her to our collective attention as a superstar, and for the most part those people usually are superstars. The fact that she is merely exceptional and not the best has seemingly turned the media, and in turn many people who aren't paying attention or thinking about her actual achievements, against her.

Let me be clear on this point... That is NOT on her. That's on us. That's on the media. It's not her responsibility to "live up to" the hype. She may not have discouraged the hype, but what track athlete would? Track stars are, by nature, insanely confident. Personally, I think it's a shame that we, as a culture, feel the need first create stars, and then tear them down if they don't entertain us the way we want.

Lolo Jones is the 4th fastest hurdler in the world. That's pretty fucking amazing.

While we're talking about how fucked up our world is (with the Olympics as the looking glass), let's talk for a minute about Gabby Douglas.

Again, I assume that if you've been watching the Olympics, you know who Gabby Douglas is... For those of you needing a reminder, she's a 16 year old girl who also happened to have won the women's gymnastics all-around gold medal.

This Gabby Douglas has now been criticized by 2 groups within the American people (at least) that I'm aware of...

I saw her criticized on Fox News (...) because during the individual all-around competition she wore a pink outfit as opposed to something representing America. She was essentially accused of having some sort of American self-loathing, or something. Or that she was embarrassed to be an exceptional American, so she subconsciously wore "unAmerican colors".

This?? Is total, fucking, bullshit. It is. It's just sitting there LOOKING for something to criticize. Last I checked, nobody was unsure of where she came from, and she stood and held her hand over her heart during the National Anthem. The fact that she wore pink doesn't make her a commie. In fact, I'm fairly sure commies hate pink. . Nastia Liukin, the actual Russan-born American, won the 2008 all-around gold wearing... PINK. Did anyone mention this? I don't know why people are looking for reasons to criticize this amazing teenager.

The other point of criticism came from a much more disappointing place.

Gabby Douglas has been criticized in the black community, because she didn't fix her hair "black enough". Oh... did I forget to mention that Gabby Douglas is black? Instead of being proud of her a a teenager who won a gold medal for her country, people can't leave the poor girl alone. I don't want to get into the history of black women's hair in the US. I don't much care. I don't care if she shaved her head. I don't care if she wore braids. I don't care if she added a weave. I don't care if she straightened it. It's 100% irrelevant. She's an exceptional athlete, who seems to handle herself in an exceptional manner, and her hair is totally fucking beside the point.

I am so sad that we have a girl who can potentially serve as a role model for Americans everywhere. Boys, girls. Anyone. She's a teenager who can be held up as a success as opposed to being famous for being on some horrible MTV show.

I'm offended that we're not celebrating her success more.

This isn't my last blog about the Olympics. Over on Facebook, I made the statement that Michael Phelps is clearly the greatest Olympian ever, and while many people agreed, other people vehemently disagreed. Or at least felt like it was a fun debate (It totally is!), so....

Over the next couple of days I'm going to formulate my own little greatest Olympian tournament, and we'll break it down. I hope that I can be open enough to not crown Phelps automatically.

A Tongue Bath for the Ages

The following image best represents my current feelings regarding the Darrelle Revis hype:The last month of the football season has featured a lot of great performances by a lot of great players. No player has enjoyed the kind of verbal tongue bathing that Darrelle Revis has been treated to by the media. Frankly, I don't care if he's the next Dick "Night Train" Lane. He may have had one of the greatest seasons by a defensive back ever, but I'm getting tired of it.

While I'm on the subject, I want to give special Shout-Out to the Brett Favre Annual Slurp-Fest by showing a graphic representative of my feelings on him as well:Of course, don't tell that to Randy Cross. If he is to be believed, Brett Favre doesn't like the attention. Not one bit.

Done.

Poetry. Inspiration. Greatness

Hey Folks-

So I wanted to get this post in before any of the events had occured, because I don't want any of my copious readers to think that my opinion was in any way built around this Olympics.

As it is, the men's 400 Individual Medley has literally just started, and I'm about to watch Phelps get his first gold medal (I assume)

I'm a huge sports fan. I follow a lot of different ones. Swimming is among my favorites, but it's clearly not the most popular of the ones I follow.

Here's the thing... Michael Phelps is the greatest athlete of all time. Seriously...like...in any sport.

This post is going to include a lot of statistics, because let's be honest no sports argument is worth much without stats.

First, some facts about Phelps in general...

--The race I just watched...the one that he claimed would be his toughest race of his quest to win 8 Gold Medals in China. He won by a solid 2 seconds and broke the world record by almost that amount. No athlete I've ever seen consistently performs so flawlessly under pressure.

-- He currently holds the world record in 6 separate events.

-- He has set separate records 26 times (including tonight).

-- He has NEVER lost the 400 IM. In the 6 years of his swimming that race at that distance, no one has ever beaten him.

-- There are 4 different events where he holds at least 5 of the top 10 times EVER in those events.

-- In the 400 IM, he's set the last 7 world records

-- Same with the 200 IM.

-- The last 6 200 Butterfly records.

-- In 2007 he attempted to win 8 Gold Medals at the World Championships. He won 7. The race he lost was a relay where his teammate caused the USA to be disqualified in an event they were heavily favored.

-- At 15, he was the youngest American man to qualify for the US swim team for 68 years.

-- He currently (with his gold medal tonight) has 7 career Olympic Gold medals and 9 overall. With 3 more Golds at this Olympics, he'd be the all time leader not just in swimming, but over-all. If he medals in each of his events he'll move into 2nd all time with 16 total medals.

-- Keep all of that in mind, and then remember that he's only 23. He will certainly be still in his prime in 2012 at the age of 27. It's conceivable that he swims in 2 more Olympics after this.

Here's my argument:
No athlete in any sport has been as dominant at an age that should by all accounts be BEFORE their prime. Michael Phelps was widely considered to be the greatest swimmer in the world at the age of 18. Most great International swimmers swim in 2 Olympics and compete in 3 or 4 events at most. He's doing 8, and is favored to win them all. He'll have the most gold medals of any athlete ever if he wins half of the events. People can always say "sure...great...the Olympics." Well yeah. The Olympics. Imagine the pressure of working toward a goal that only happens every 4 years. You work that hard for that long and one fuck-up and your dream is done. Over. Yet, the guy comes through every time. He's totally focused. It's unreal.

Lastly, and perhaps my biggest argument. Please name for me an athlete that not only was the best in their sport, but the best by such a great distance. Jordan had Drexler and Magic and Barkley who were not as good as him, but not miles behind. Tiger has had his challengers. Federer has Nadal. There's no one. NO ONE that comes close to Michael Phelps. He's so much better than everyone else that Rowdy Gaines was criticizing him for not coasting in a preliminary because his presence in the finals was already such a foregone conclusion that he should just relax.

People talk about other athletes...
Michael Jordan
Wayne Gretzky
Tiger Woods
Roger Federer
Jim Brown
Muhammed Ali

Yes...those guys are all in the conversation, but lemme break it down for you..

Michael Jordan: A good choice, but arguably not the greatest ever in his sport. There are too many other options that make sense. The Big O? Russell? Bird? Wilt? Also, while Jordan was truly great, he was always but one man on a team of 12. Not until he became slightly less selfish with the arrival of Scottie Pippin and Phil Jackson did he ever WIN anything. Essentially... I don't believe anyone in a team sport can be the greatest, because they always rely on others to ultimately succeed.

Federer: Totally dominant for years at a time? Yes. So far above the rest that no one even challenges him? Raphael Nadal would say no. He's never won the French Open. He's great, but not even yet the definitive best tennis player. It's an individual sport, yes, so he has an edge, but it's a little hard to argue for him this week, as Nadal just overtook him in the World Rankings.

Tiger Woods. Speaking of World Rankings... Tiger is so far ahead of everyone else in the golf rankings that he's going to be number one at the end of the year, even though he won't even play in 70% of the events for the year. Of course... Golf's not a sport, it's a game, so he's not really an athlete as much as a "gamer". He's clearly the worlds greatest gamer though.

Jim Brown... Not dominant for long enough. Team sports. Those are the things against him. For him? In the argument for "Greatest Athlete" in 2 sports. LaCrosse and Football. It's close, but his 8 years in the NFL just isn't enough of a sample.

Ali... An interesting argument could be made for Ali... Gold medalist, several heavyweight titles, longevity. Those are all in his favor. The biggest thing I'd say against him...he was legitimately beaten on the big stage a couple of times. My buddy Alan could weigh in on Ali better than I could. The thing with Ali is that there's a mystique that seems to sort of create a "greatness" aura in his favor. It's hard to say though.... He's the one that I think gives Phelps the biggest race, but I have a hard time separating the actual athletic performance and the legend.

Gretzky... He definitely fits the bill as far as being miles ahead of his contemporaries in HIS sport. He's got the records. He's got the championships. He's got the trophies. If Gretzky's performances hadn't been dependent in any way on teammates, I'd give it to him. He's so clearly the greatest hockey player ever that he transcends a sport I hate and made me want to watch on a occasion. He gets credit for that. Still... there's no way to judge him 100% as an individual because he was never on the ice alone.

Michael Phelps just amazes me. The scariest part though? He's maybe only half done in his career. Dara Torres is 41 and is a favorite in the 50 Freestyle. If he swims in 2 more Olympics after this one, he could potentially have 15-20 gold medals. That would be more Golds than all but one person has MEDALS at all.

Anyway, I know this was a boring one, but I wanted to throw it out there before the hype gets crazy if he breaks Spitz's record.