One of the problems with doing this in my spare time is that I don't do it all the time. When work, life, kids, parental obligations, volunteer activities and spousal obligations conflict with my writing, I miss things I want to write about. Then I have to decide whether to give it no attention, little attention or untimely attention.
The past few days I have thought of several things I wanted to "observe". Unfortunately, I took our "off weekend" (meaning all we had was a soccer game on Saturday and a flag football game on Sunday) to help put the house back in order, somewhat. I also went out to dinner with the Wife, sans children. That was a rare treat. Oh, yeah, taxes were also due Tuesday, so I had to work on those a little. The end result of all this is that I find myself with several things to say, and limited time to say them. If I ignore the timing of the events that sparked my thoughts, I could probably pull off setting a couple aside.
My thoughts are on various subjects, making them even more difficult to fit into one cohesive post. I have thoughts as an individual, as a spouse, as a parent, as a sports fan and as an amatuer Olympic Blogger. I am already somewhat untimely on a few of these, and the clock is ticking on the rest. I could try to cover everything, but I would miss something. Instead, as the Olympics have been my most consistent muse for this blog, I'll go with the big Olympics story.
He's back.
"He" is, of course, Michael Phelps. The eighteen time Olympic gold medalist and twenty-two time Olympic medalist has un-retired and is swimming in competition again. To many, this is a surprise. To a few, this is expected. I fit somewhat in both categories. When Phelps retired in 2012, I believed him. He was a multi-millionaire, he had a golf show and he had spent the better part of the previous 12 years being little more than a swimmer. Sure, he had a dalliance with a bong and an education in camera phones in 2009. He also had a drinking and driving arrest in 2004. All in all, though, this is a person who needed to learn what it was to be a human, not an Olympic medal winning, world record breaking, dominant machine.
Six months ago, Phelps re-entered the US Anti-Doping Agency testing program. For a guy who had his picture taken with a bong after the 2008 Olympics, this was a pretty good sign that he intended to compete again. In that sense, his decision to enter a meet six months later is not a surprise.
Indecision on retirement is a pro athlete staple. The gold standard recently is Brett Favre. The constant yes and no from Favre for the last several years of his career, plus dalliances with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings, turned him into a bit of a national joke. Of course, Favre was joining a fairly large and non-exclusive club. Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Jordan, George Foreman, Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong, Deion Sanders, Muhammed Ali are just some of the numerous athletes who retired, then returned to the field of play. I read an article once stating that John Elway called the Broncos halway through his first year of retirement to ask if they wanted him to come back. All he did was retire after two Super Bowl victories. Not everyone can be Mike Schmidt.
Even in the world of swimming, retirement is a hard thing to do. Mark Spitz came out of retirement in 1992, but failed to qualify for Olympic Trials. Dara Torres came out of retirement in 2008 and won three silver medals. Anthony Ervin came out of retirement in 2012 and qualified for the Olympics. Janet Evans came back to compete in the 2012 Olympic Trials.
There are several theories why athletes can't just retire. One is that the "high" of competition is addictive, much like a drug. I think this explains Michael Jordan. He isn't happy unless he is crushing someone in something. He was better at basketball than anyone else, so he wanted to keep crushing people in that.
Another theory is money. Athletes stop making money when their playing days are over, unless they are in the rarified air of Michael Jordan, Arnold Palmer and George Foreman. The rare few continue to make money off their fame, most need to "get a real job." Real jobs aren't as much fun as jobs playing sports. I know, I have one. When faced with the prospect of "a real job" and getting back in the pool, or on the field or court, most people would choose the field or court. Plus, "real jobs" typically don't pay what athletes are used to, so they also have to change their lifestyle. That sucks.
Going along with the previous theory is the "love of the game" theory. Most athletes get to where they are going through natural talent and hard work. It takes a lot of hard work to be one of the best in the world at anything. You have to be motivated beyond a normal level, and most of them actually love the game. Sugar Ray Leonard was a boxer. I don't understand it, but I am sure he loved to fight people. Michael Phelps is a swimmer. He loves to swim. I understand this, because I was a swimmer once. When I exercise, I prefer to swim. It is boring, it hurts and my ego makes it difficult for me to allow anyone at the rec center pool to swim faster than me, whether or not they are wearing fins, so it exhausts me. It also makes me feel good. I feel in control in the water. As dumb as this sounds, I feel like I am where I belong. I feel free. If I could become a multi-millionaire doing it, I would not want to stop either.
The problem is that time is the only undefeated opponent in sports. Eventually, time beats everyone. Mike Schmidt retired mid-season (well, early in a season) because he couldn't play up to his standards. Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Sugar Ray Leonard all eventually had to admit that they couldn't do it anymore. Dara Torres showed us greatness into her forties, as did Nolan Ryan. Dara failed to make the 2012 Olympics and Ryan is now the owner of the Texas Rangers. Jack, Arnie and Gary are the Ceremonial starters at the Masters. One shot each, then let the tournament begin without them.
The problem for fans is that we love greatness. No one wants to see Michael Jordan get outplayed by Tracy McGrady, or Brett Favre throwing 4 interceptions in a game. Wait, that probably wasn't the best example. You get the point, though. We want to see the great perform at their peak, then leave before they become average. Well, average for a professional at least. Fans want the Mike Schmidt ending, where the player decides he isn't great anymore and can't live with being an OK baseball player; or the Elway ending, with two Super Bowls and a Super Bowl MVP to close out nearly two decades of greatness. Fans want to see Phelps finish with four new Olympic gold medals and two new silver medals. They don't want to see him finish 7th in Olympic Trials and be "just another guy".
That ignores the love of the game. Dara Torres wanted to make the 2012 Olympics, but she was swimming to swim. Janet Evans swam in the 2012 Olympic Trials just to swim. She finished 80th in the 400 freestyle and 53rd in the 800 freestyle. She swam to swim, not to win. Maybe Brett Favre isn't just an egomaniac who needs 60,00 people screaming for or against him. Maybe he just loves to play football. I was never a football player and I love to play football.
Michael Phelps is a swimmer. I want to see what he can do. I want my boys to be able to watch the most decorated Olympian of all time compete again, just so they can remember it. I want to see the greatest swimmer ever continue to swim. I believe he could win as many as six more Olympic medals if he puts his mind to it. I also believe he could finish 7th in Olympic Trials in two years. That is fine. There is a lesson in failure, especially when someone who has been more successful than anyone else in history tries and fails.
Two years ago I started this blog and betweeen jokes about US dominance and medal counts I waxed poetic about the pursuit of excellence. That pursuit should exist in any form. I pursue excellence by writing this blog, and I believe it has improved over two years. I'm not saying it is excellent, I am saying the pursuit matters and I believe I am moving in the right direction. Others pursue excellence on the golf course, on a soccer pitch, in the kitchen, on the road, designing a website, in their office, and any number of other places. Michael Phelps has achieved excellence. He is going to have to retire, soon. Father Time will make sure. For now, I plan to sit back and enjoy the ride.
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