I had heard a couple of his comments but not all of them. This opinion article spells it all out. What are your thoughts?
Dear Mark Spitz: Get over it. Move on with your life
Maese et al.,
I'll get back to you in a second, because I want to take a second and address someone else who needs a few words of advice right now:
Mark Spitz.
Dear Mark: For 36 years, you've been the greatest Olympian of all time. I really believe that. It's hard to believe anyone would have ever come along with the ability to top what you did in Munich in 1972, but it's about to happen. And instead of whining about how no one has shown you enough respect, or grumbling that it would be demeaning for you to fly to Beijing on your own dime and watch Michael Phelps break your record for most gold medals in a single Olympic Games, I have a better idea what you could do with your time.
You could get over yourself.
I sort of wonder if you might be a little bit bipolar. Seriously. I sat in a news conference less than two months ago at the U.S. trials and listened to you say all the right things. You were graceful. You were respectful. You said that, after all these years, it was time. That if Phelps did break your mark, it wouldn't take away from what you accomplished.
"It's about time someone else takes on this responsibility and I am happy to pass the baton onto somebody that I'm sure I have inspired. There is nothing bad about that. It is only positive. ... He's shown a different kind of courage than I did. I was not chasing seven gold medals."
Those are your words. I scribbled them down in a notebook because I thought it was a a classy thing for you to say. It's hard for a lot of athletes to deal with it when someone better and faster comes along to wipe them from the record books, but you seemed to be at peace with it.
Now you're pouting. You want to be here in Beijing if and when Phelps blows past you like Jason Lezak blew past Alain Bernard in the 400 free relay. But you only want to do it if you can share a little bit of the spotlight.
"I never got invited," you told the Agence France-Presse. "You don't go to the Olympics just to say, I am going to go. Especially because of who I am. ... I am going to sit there and watch Michael Phelps break my record anonymously? That's almost demeaning to me. It is not almost -- it is."
You also wanted to remind people that you probably could have won more events. That you could have won eight medals if they had the 50-meter freestyle back then. (Never mind that Phelps could probably win both backstroke events if he trained for them, which he likely will in preparation for London in 2012, but whatever.) But the most ridiculous thing you said was that you weren't happy how little air time you got when Phelps had a chance to break your record the first time, four years ago in Athens.
"They did not once put my face on television," you recalled. "But as soon as the swimming was over, and Michael Phelps didn't break my record, every time I went to beach volley, they put my face on the volleyballs."
Here is the harsh truth, Mark: A lot of people in the world of swimming really want to see Phelps do this because they've grown tired of your ego over the years. Earlier this year, you took an unnecessary shot at Ian Crocker, saying he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself. You know what's funny about that? Ian Crocker can swim the 100 butterfly (50.40) faster than you swam the 100 free (51.22) in Munich. And he did that in 2005, without wearing a LZR Racer. When the USA coaches heard about your comments, they were incensed. Eddie Reese and Mark Schubert rolled their eyes and Reese looked like he wanted to bite the microphone in half. I'm pretty sure they'd like to see you fade away too.
"His time is gone," said Jon Urbanchek, an assistant coach for Team USA and one of the most respected voices in swimming. "I'm sure he can afford a ticket if he wants to be here. It would have been have nice for him to be here and witness it. I really feel he contributed a lot to swimming. But it's time to turn the reins over to somebody else. You've got to move on with life. Get a life after swimming."
Phelps tells everyone he doesn't want to be the second Mark Spitz, he wants to be the first Michael Phelps. Does that bug you? It sure seems like it. It drives you crazy that it isn't about you.
"He's almost identical to me. He's a world-record holder in all these events, so he is dominating the events just like I did. He reminds me of myself."
You had a great run. You were an inspiration, and you'll always be a legend.
But it's about to end. Handle it with grace. Everyone seems to agree that, even though it's a different era, Phelps is the better swimmer. He's more diverse, he's handling more events, and even though he has a healthy ego, he knows it's not all about him.
Phelps showed up in Beijing with a Fu Manchu that was, in some ways, an homage to you.
That's all the Mark Spitz these Olympic Games really needed.
Posted by Kevin Van Valkenburg on August 13, 2008 6:28 AM | Permalink
Dear Mark Spitz: Get over it. Move on with your life
Maese et al.,
I'll get back to you in a second, because I want to take a second and address someone else who needs a few words of advice right now:
Mark Spitz.
Dear Mark: For 36 years, you've been the greatest Olympian of all time. I really believe that. It's hard to believe anyone would have ever come along with the ability to top what you did in Munich in 1972, but it's about to happen. And instead of whining about how no one has shown you enough respect, or grumbling that it would be demeaning for you to fly to Beijing on your own dime and watch Michael Phelps break your record for most gold medals in a single Olympic Games, I have a better idea what you could do with your time.
You could get over yourself.
I sort of wonder if you might be a little bit bipolar. Seriously. I sat in a news conference less than two months ago at the U.S. trials and listened to you say all the right things. You were graceful. You were respectful. You said that, after all these years, it was time. That if Phelps did break your mark, it wouldn't take away from what you accomplished.
"It's about time someone else takes on this responsibility and I am happy to pass the baton onto somebody that I'm sure I have inspired. There is nothing bad about that. It is only positive. ... He's shown a different kind of courage than I did. I was not chasing seven gold medals."
Those are your words. I scribbled them down in a notebook because I thought it was a a classy thing for you to say. It's hard for a lot of athletes to deal with it when someone better and faster comes along to wipe them from the record books, but you seemed to be at peace with it.
Now you're pouting. You want to be here in Beijing if and when Phelps blows past you like Jason Lezak blew past Alain Bernard in the 400 free relay. But you only want to do it if you can share a little bit of the spotlight.
"I never got invited," you told the Agence France-Presse. "You don't go to the Olympics just to say, I am going to go. Especially because of who I am. ... I am going to sit there and watch Michael Phelps break my record anonymously? That's almost demeaning to me. It is not almost -- it is."
You also wanted to remind people that you probably could have won more events. That you could have won eight medals if they had the 50-meter freestyle back then. (Never mind that Phelps could probably win both backstroke events if he trained for them, which he likely will in preparation for London in 2012, but whatever.) But the most ridiculous thing you said was that you weren't happy how little air time you got when Phelps had a chance to break your record the first time, four years ago in Athens.
"They did not once put my face on television," you recalled. "But as soon as the swimming was over, and Michael Phelps didn't break my record, every time I went to beach volley, they put my face on the volleyballs."
Here is the harsh truth, Mark: A lot of people in the world of swimming really want to see Phelps do this because they've grown tired of your ego over the years. Earlier this year, you took an unnecessary shot at Ian Crocker, saying he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself. You know what's funny about that? Ian Crocker can swim the 100 butterfly (50.40) faster than you swam the 100 free (51.22) in Munich. And he did that in 2005, without wearing a LZR Racer. When the USA coaches heard about your comments, they were incensed. Eddie Reese and Mark Schubert rolled their eyes and Reese looked like he wanted to bite the microphone in half. I'm pretty sure they'd like to see you fade away too.
"His time is gone," said Jon Urbanchek, an assistant coach for Team USA and one of the most respected voices in swimming. "I'm sure he can afford a ticket if he wants to be here. It would have been have nice for him to be here and witness it. I really feel he contributed a lot to swimming. But it's time to turn the reins over to somebody else. You've got to move on with life. Get a life after swimming."
Phelps tells everyone he doesn't want to be the second Mark Spitz, he wants to be the first Michael Phelps. Does that bug you? It sure seems like it. It drives you crazy that it isn't about you.
"He's almost identical to me. He's a world-record holder in all these events, so he is dominating the events just like I did. He reminds me of myself."
You had a great run. You were an inspiration, and you'll always be a legend.
But it's about to end. Handle it with grace. Everyone seems to agree that, even though it's a different era, Phelps is the better swimmer. He's more diverse, he's handling more events, and even though he has a healthy ego, he knows it's not all about him.
Phelps showed up in Beijing with a Fu Manchu that was, in some ways, an homage to you.
That's all the Mark Spitz these Olympic Games really needed.
Posted by Kevin Van Valkenburg on August 13, 2008 6:28 AM | Permalink
Now he can make the circuit as the "Official Whiner of the Olympics".
).
