indignation

This might have floated under your radar screen, but Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt beat Michael Phelps for the title of male athlete of the year in a poll of international journalists.

This makes me a little bit crazy, as I’m a floundering swimmer. But we’re talking about a guy, in Phelps, who won eight gold medals. Forget that some of them came in relays. He still won eight gold medals. Bolt won three including one in a relay. Each athlete set world records during their incredible time in
Beijing.

But this, to me, smells more like American backlash and unfortunately it has affected an individual, who seems like a really decent guy. I think the world was expecting great things from Phelps and the U.S. was definitely expecting great things. Needless to say, the U.S. and NBC hyped the hell out of Phelps and some of the media probably got tired of the Phelpsteria.

The shame of it is, the world is pretty tired of us. And they have some right to be. As a nation, we don’t always present ourselves well, history be damned. It’s recent history that has left the indelible mark that we can hopefully erase in the coming years.

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