Does Phelps Really Deserve All This Praise for Winning His Gold Medals?

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Does Phelps Really Deserve All This Praise for Winning His Gold Medals?

Posted Aug 13th 2008 5:00PM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Young Turks, Video, Sports

Michael Phelps is a great Olympian and I'm proud that he's won approximately 187 medals for us (take that Guatemala!). Having said that, there are two issues here. First, swimming has eight races and if you're the best swimmer you can win all of those races. The basketball team has a shot at one medal and one medal only. Is Michael Phelps really a "better" Olympian than Kobe Bryant because Kobe is only going to win one gold medal in this Olympics (presumably)?

Second, Phelps' body is built for swimming. So, there's a part of me that finds it hard to celebrate people who are extraordinarily gifted physically winning in their respective sports. I know there are other folks who are gifted physically who don't accomplish as much, but it's a fairly limited pool of people who can succeed in that arena (the "pool" pun was actually not intended, but now that I look back it, I like it).

This is why we root for Rocky. The little guy that isn't quite as physically gifted that does it through sheer will power. That's the heart of competition that I love. So, having said that, here is my annoying take on Michael Phelps medals that has been making people really angry when they watch it:

Understand that I am obviously saying some of this stuff tongue-in-cheek, but overall, I think this is a conversation worth having. And in the part of the show we didn't include here (you can watch the whole show here), I talked about why I respected Michael Jordan more than Shaquille O'Neal.

While Jordan was obviously extraordinarily athletic there were about 200 guys in the NBA with his skill set and he rose above all of them with his sheer will to win. Whereas there are about three guys in the whole world as big and agile as Shaq (there might actually be no one else in the world that big and that quick). Shaq still had to work hard and it was not a given that he was going to win any of his championships but I still respect Jordan more because it was harder for him.

Okay, that's my thoughts. Now, let me have it. Tell me why I don't understand athletics or appreciate swimming enough or tell me what an unpatriotic "lib" I am. But understand that I say all of this because of how I love competition. My favorite moments in sports are when you have two great evenly matched teams and they battle out to see who wants it more.

Finally, I understand that I am ironically taking credit away from Michael Phelps for being so great that he blows away the competition. But conversely, you have to admit, somehow claiming he is the greatest Olympic athlete because his sport has eight different races you can win medals in per every Olympics is a bit ridiculous.

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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 4)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1.
It was enough for me to razz you about your Rothlisberger comments in January. Everything you've posted on the gold medals, who cares?

JefFlyingV at 5:56PM on Aug 13th 2008

2. Hey there Big Guy,

I guess he desevers the medals boss. I realize that big, fat, dumpy people like you and me who would have trouble wading across the kiddie pool, much less swimming across it, don't understand these kinds of people.

You know what I'm going to do bossman....go get a sack of double-cheese burgers and fries and watch the Olympics on the tube. And everytime one of our people don't take the gold or break a world record,
I may have to e-mail them and just remind them how easy it is to swim.

Willet at 6:04PM on Aug 13th 2008

3. Who cares what you think. Mr. tongue-in-cheek.

JIM at 6:04PM on Aug 13th 2008

4. Mr. Buzzkill strikes again.

bob at 6:05PM on Aug 13th 2008

5. This coming from a fat slug who could not swim his way out of a wading pool? Pardon me but your ignorance and jealousy is showing. You have no talent for anything, especially writing columns. Michael Phelps makes you look an extra in Night of The Living Dead.

ginger at 6:15PM on Aug 13th 2008

6. Young Turk is correct when he says that Phelps is blessed to have genetic gifts.
But -- so what? Plenty of people are natural athletes. It still takes years of discipline and hard work to perform at an Olympic caliber. For every Michael Phelps who qualifies for competition in the Olympic Games, there are thousands of equally gifted swimmers who didn't have his drive to hone his game.
What is it about performing above average in one's field that is always so annoying to leftists?

Heath Griner at 7:05PM on Aug 13th 2008

7. YES!!!

He certainly deserves all of this praise as the winning-est gold medal Olympian on record... but does that make him the greatest Olympian of all time???

Well, I think that is still up for debate.

FINN at 7:15PM on Aug 13th 2008

8. YOU want accolades for taking all 4" of George Soros penis. Why are you dissing Phelps for winning Gold Medals? Penis envy, prhaps?

U R Kiddin Mee at 7:19PM on Aug 13th 2008

9. Bob (Comment #4) appears to be a very perceptive individual, and humorous! I certainly don't mean to be demeaning; but doesn't this guy (Slimbo, not Bob) come acrosss as the fat kid in grade school that got picked last for Dodge-Ball and picked on first, in Dodge-Ball? I mean; you like Jordan better than Shaq? So what; I like Isiah better than Bird. What the hell does that have to do with the point? And people loved "Rocky" because everyone loves an underdog you mental midget; and a great montage to go with a killer soundtrack. I am quite certain I could be infinitely more astute and perspicacious that this writer...and I haven't even mentioned the "lib" factor. Sorry.

Dennis at 7:22PM on Aug 13th 2008

10. Uygur; 1)you never swam competively did you? Didn't think so. 2) Michael Jordan had possibly the MOST unique skill set of any athelete in sports history outside of Jim Thorpe. 3) This is too easy and has surely been said before but are you a young turk or a young turkey?

gd at 7:47PM on Aug 13th 2008

11. um... you think Kobe doesn't have a 'physical advantage'?? duh! lol i'm proud of ALL of our American athletes in the Olympics! esp. Phelps. his attitude and support of his fellow team-mates is an inspiration! maybe you could learn from him instead of criticize him???

tad at 7:51PM on Aug 13th 2008

12. your dumb

chris at 7:52PM on Aug 13th 2008

13. hater

TJ at 8:55PM on Aug 13th 2008

14. oh and you're a drip

TJ at 8:55PM on Aug 13th 2008

15. or maybe that's a dip

TJ at 8:56PM on Aug 13th 2008

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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.