Mark Spitz; Does he need to Get Over It?

[Tuffcookie]

Mark Spitz worked hard for his achievements. He is entitled to his opinions without some writer criticizing him.

TC

 

[Galahad]

I am sure he is a "good guy", but his comments have been aired and in print, and if he felt that way, he should have only told his best friend. His own comments have not flattered him.

I didn't say he is a "good guy".
I said he is a good guy.

In addition to being a good guy - he didn't make being an Olympic Athlete a career - something it should never be, IMO. He actually moved on and is contributing to society in a bit more than a nebulous way.

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Spitz was on the Today show about an hour ago and was very gracious and said all the right things IMO. He also said some of the things mentioned in this article, but in the context of a conversation, they didn't come off as nasty and petty as they do in print.

I think that public has unreasonable expectations on how polished athletes and former athletes should be with the media. Especially with the pressure that "journalists" are under to add more drama to something like the Olympics. These are very skilled professionals, who can twist and manipulate context with zero accountability versus children (in the case of most current athletes), and everyday people in the case of former athletes like Spitz.

I just wish the Mark Spitz and Ian Thorpe 's of the world would just go away. But more than that, I wish the media could resist the need to add more drama to the competition. But I guess its a case of "if we're buying, they are selling"

 

[DawnCt1]

I didn't say he is a "good guy".
I said he is a good guy.

In addition to being a good guy - he didn't make being an Olympic Athlete a career - something it should never be, IMO. He actually moved on and is contributing to society in a bit more than a nebulous way.

The "good guy" wasn't meant to be facetious. I was quoting your description of him. I don't doubt that he was and is a good guy. His comments were not good however, and to those of us who have lost track of him over the years, his comments make him appear less than gracious.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I don't get all the Mark Spitz hate here. Seriously, have any of us come close to accomplishing what he did? I doubt it, only one other person on earth has. I think the title of this thread should be "Meeeeeow." It would have been fun to see Spitz in China placing one of the medals on the new kid. I don't blame him for feeling overlooked. Could we go back to blasting Obama please?

I agree with this. While I do think the "I could have won 8" comment was a bit much, I think it would have been nice to include him in the passing of the torch. If I were in his shoes I think I'd be a bit hurt too.

 

[lillygator]

I'm sure he is a good guy, but he is being somewhat of a spoil sport.

get over it Mark.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I don't get all the Mark Spitz hate here. Seriously, have any of us come close to accomplishing what he did? I doubt it, only one other person on earth has. I think the title of this thread should be "Meeeeeow." It would have been fun to see Spitz in China placing one of the medals on the new kid. I don't blame him for feeling overlooked. Could we go back to blasting Obama please?

I would have loved to see Spitz included in some sort of media driven "passing of the torch" type ceremony as well. We, as sports fans, love the new guy, but there is always a place in our hearts for the former champions and record holders as well.

 

[ameraumi]

I don't know. I thought his interview this morning with Matt on the Today show was fine. He said it is time that the torch gets passed and there is no one better suited for that then Phelps. I think he is disappointed that he will not be there for when that happens, but he said he did not expect them to send him.

 

[TennVolTony]

Spitz cleared all of this up on The Today Show. What he said was not what was printed. He has nothing to get over himself about. For 36 years he was the best in the world and now he knows that his time has gone and he proud of the fact the the torch is being passed to Phelps.

I'm sure he would like to be there in person but as he said with his work load it's just not possible. Spitz was a great champion for many, many years. I'm sure Phelps will live up to that.

 

[Robinrs]

Spitz cleared all of this up on The Today Show. What he said was not what was printed. He has nothing to get over himself about. For 36 years he was the best in the world and now he knows that his time has gone and he proud of the fact the the torch is being passed to Phelps.

I'm sure he would like to be there in person but as he said with his work load it's just not possible. Spitz was a great champion for many, many years. I'm sure Phelps will live up to that.

I couldn't have said it better, Tony!!

And like Meredith Viera, I wanted to get married to him, too.....

 

[Todd&Copper]

You know, the only reason I even recognize the name Mark Spitz is b/c of the Animalympics cartoon movie on HBO in the early 1980's. I believe a dolphin was parodying him? Is that right? If not, then I agree with the hookiars. How many people are even going to remember who Phelps is 36 years from now? Not to be rude, but I don't think there are really *that* many olympic athletes who become household names. There are some who do, but most more or less fade slowly into obscurity.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Saw the interview on the TODAY show...He was GREAT! (and still HOT!)

I have no idea where all the garbage came from.

 

[Olaf]

The "good guy" wasn't meant to be facetious. I was quoting your description of him. I don't doubt that he was and is a good guy. His comments were not good however, and to those of us who have lost track of him over the years, his comments make him appear less than gracious.

Exactly. He's in damage control mode now. He's a motivational speaker and he realizes that he has done some serious damage.

BTW I saw something on the TV several years ago about him, and I don't think he went to dental school.

 

[Deb in IA]

From Wiki:

Issues with 2008 Summer Olympics
According to a report released by Agence France Presse (AFP) wire service, Spitz felt snubbed about not being asked to attend the 2008 Olympics to watch Michael Phelps attempt to break his record of 7 gold medals. In the article, he is quoted as saying, "I never got invited. 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."[16] Spitz also says he could have won 8 gold medals if given the chance. "I won seven events. If they had the 50m freestyle back then, which they do now, I probably would have won that too," he said. And Spitz thinks Phelps will succeed, "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," Spitz said. "He reminds me of myself."[16] Other than to pose for an odd picture with Phelps, Spitz doesn't have much interaction with the superstar. "He's not sitting down with me asking for advice," he said.[17]

Although Spitz has stated that he has no hard feelings towards Phelps, he is unhappy that he was not invited to the Olympics. As a result, Spitz has refused to attend the games. [19] "They voted me one of the top five Olympians in all time. Some of them are dead. But they invited the other ones to go to the Olympics, but not me," he said. "Yes, I am a bit upset about it." [20]

However, Spitz argues these unhappy claims on NBC's Today show coverage, August 14, 2008[21]. Mark Spitz appeared and clarified his statement and his pride in Michael Phelps. "I was working with a corporate sponsor who elected not to bring their US contingent over to China, and they piled on more work for me here in the United States, which was great. So I wasn't able to get to the Olympics and watch Michael in the first couple of days. And they thought, some of these reporters, that I was supposed to be invited by some entity, and I told them that that wasn't really the case, that doesn't happen that way. And so, I'm sort of disappointed that I wasn't there, but, you know, that interview somehow took a different turn, and I've done hundreds and hundreds of them, and I've been true to form about the way I feel about Michael, and he's doing a great job for the United States and inspiring a lot of great performances by the other team members." See video interview: [22].


On August 14, 2008[23]. Mark Spitz appeared on the NBC's Today Show and commented "It’s about time that somebody else takes the throne. And I’m very happy for him. I really truly am". [24]

I personally don't see anything whining or bitter. But I happen to remember the time when Spitz was THE most celebrated athlete in the world, much like, no, EXACTLY like Phelps is today.

He is merely stating that the 50 m free was not an event in his 1972 Olumpics, and that given that opportunity, there is a chance he could have won 8 golds. Having seen him (on TV) then, I think he's right.

And the fact that EVERYONE has been comparing Phelps' achievement to Spitz's in just about every other comment, yeah, I think it would have been nice for Spitz to have been there, maybe even to present Phelps' 8th gold. If nothing else, I think NBC should have paid for it - it would have been a great TV moment.

 

[bookgirl]

I think he got the message, he was on the today show...and what I saw of it he was very gracious and made no whiney remarks. I didn't see the first of it but the last of it was what you would expect from a athelete. He was very open about how hard it was, that M. Phelps was working hard and no swimsuit could make up for talent and hard work and that Phelps deserved to be the greatest olympic athelete and he was glad to pass on the baton so to speak.

Maybe he took the criticism of his remarks to heart, but good on him for being a good sport this morning and showing a true olympic caliber attitude.

Posted this before I saw everyone else's remarks about the first of the interview.
Glad they asked him about the interview...if he was misquoted then I'm glad he cleared it up, if he is backpedling, then at least he knows he needed to back up a bit.

 

[DawnCt1]

Glad they asked him about the interview...if he was misquoted then I'm glad he cleared it up, if he is backpedling, then at least he knows he needed to back up a bit.

However he got to the "right place", I am glad he made the effort.

 

[suzannen]

From Wiki:




I personally don't see anything whining or bitter. But I happen to remember the time when Spitz was THE most celebrated athlete in the world, much like, no, EXACTLY like Phelps is today.

He is merely stating that the 50 m free was not an event in his 1972 Olumpics, and that given that opportunity, there is a chance he could have won 8 golds. Having seen him (on TV) then, I think he's right.

And the fact that EVERYONE has been comparing Phelps' achievement to Spitz's in just about every other comment, yeah, I think it would have been nice for Spitz to have been there, maybe even to present Phelps' 8th gold. If nothing else, I think NBC should have paid for it - it would have been a great TV moment.

It's an olympic moment I would have loved to see! I still vividly remember being a young teen and so thrilled when it was Mark Spitz winning all of those medals.

 

[Muffin]

You know, the only reason I even recognize the name Mark Spitz is b/c of the Animalympics cartoon movie on HBO in the early 1980's. I believe a dolphin was parodying him? Is that right? If not, then I agree with the hookiars. How many people are even going to remember who Phelps is 36 years from now? Not to be rude, but I don't think there are really *that* many olympic athletes who become household names. There are some who do, but most more or less fade slowly into obscurity.

How young are you? (please note the wink, I'm not being snarky at all). I was 11 when Mark Spitz won his 7 medals and I and every other girl in my class had a huge crush on him, every boy wanted to be him. I'd bet anyone in my age group remembers his accomplishment. A reference was even made to him in one of the Jaws movies, it was Jaws 2 I think, that came out in 1978.

Many, many olympians become household names like Peggy Fleming, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comeneci, Dorothy Hamill. Surely you've heard of some of them.

 

[Robinrs]

How young are you? (please note the wink, I'm not being snarky at all). I was 11 when Mark Spitz won his 7 medals and I and every other girl in my class had a huge crush on him, every boy wanted to be him. I'd bet anyone in my age group remembers his accomplishment. A reference was even made to him in one of the Jaws movies, it was Jaws 2 I think, that came out in 1978.

Many, many olympians become household names like Peggy Fleming, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comeneci, Dorothy Hamill. Surely you've heard of some of them.

I had to explain him to my 15yo this week, too. Had his head REELING with the YouTube vids and the news stories about Mark Spitz. I will never forget how he made me FEEL!! Wow!!! And I was a senior in high school... madly in love with him!!

I have no idea what he's done or been since then but in the summer of 72 he was MY boyfriend!!! And as wonderful as MP is, he will never replace MS in my heart.

 

[Todd&Copper]

How young are you? (please note the wink, I'm not being snarky at all). I was 11 when Mark Spitz won his 7 medals and I and every other girl in my class had a huge crush on him, every boy wanted to be him. I'd bet anyone in my age group remembers his accomplishment. A reference was even made to him in one of the Jaws movies, it was Jaws 2 I think, that came out in 1978.

Many, many olympians become household names like Peggy Fleming, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comeneci, Dorothy Hamill. Surely you've heard of some of them.

I am 34. And yes, I have heard of Peggy, Nadia and Dorothy (but not Olga, sorry!). But I still contend that you have named only 4 (3 of which I am familiar with, and 2 of them were skaters and one a gymnast who was doubly famous for her personal struggles as well as her Olympic glory) and they represent a very small handful of "known" names from Olympics past. I am not saying that NO Olympic athletes go on to stay in our hearts and minds for the long haul. I am just saying that, honestly, the vast majority do not.
The US female beach volleyball team is apparently a force to be reckoned with and has won nearly every match they have been in. But I bet you at least 9 out of 10 people on the street cannot even name one of those women, much less both. Olympic medal winners, but little to no name recognition among the general populace.