It's just been a very quiet day. A rather emotionally flat day. It feels like the day after Christmas.
With Michael Phelps astonishing accomplishment, Mark Spitz has been brought back into the spotlight a bit. The day Michael tied Spitz's record, NBC did a live interview with the two of them. Of course, Spitz's part had to be broadcast from wherever he lives, because he refused to go to Beijing to watch Michael race. Why? Because nobody would pay his way for him.
I'd heard a bit about Mark Spitz's ego and arrogance, and during that TV interview I saw just a bit of it for myself. It seemed to me that through the whole thing, he was trying to downplay Michael's accomplishment and return the attention to how great he himself was.
At one point, Spitz was asked the question, "All else being equal, who would win between you and Michael?" Spitz hemmed and hawed around quite a bit, desperately trying to tactfully find a way to say that he would, and I wondered if Michael hadn't been right there, would he just have come right out and said it. In the end, he said that they would tie.
I'm not so sure. Spitz didn't swim as many strokes as Michael, nor did he swim the farther distances. He didn't face nearly as challenging a program as Michael. After all, Michael swam 17 races in 8 days. That's a tougher schedule than Spitz ever had to face. I think if you raced them head to head (if you could make Spitz 23 again) Michael would win hands down. The days of Mark the Shark are over. It's time to make way for Superman.
But I give Spitz credit for one thing: he swam with all his hair.
(Neil Leifer)For your viewing pleasure, I present photos of Michael's amazing finish in the 100 meter butterfly, from above and from below;
(Nick Lalham/Getty Images)
(Underwater Camera/Water Cube/Beijing China)
(Al Bello/Getty Images)
4 comments:
Mr. Phelps has been amazing and awesome to watch. I love it that he has been a team player too. I did not see the interview with Mark Spitz, but Wiki has some quotes that clear up some of Mark's words and make him look less arrogant.
Poor Mark Spitz. I'm glad I'm not a celebrity, they seem to be so mistreated. ;)
I saw the interview with MP and Spitz and my take-away was much different than yours, Becky. I thought Spitz was sufficiently deferential and gave Phelps the credit he deserves. My issues were with the guy that ran the interview... he seemed to be pushing Spitz to say something Spitz wasn't quite willing to say. IMHO, of course.
Lou, I was very young when Spitz competed, so I was unaware of the behind the scenes stuff. However, I've read several articles and heard several references here in the last week that mention Mr. Spitz's ego and arrogance and how he was not well liked by his team mates. It was more than just that one article.
Amy, yes the poor things...
Buck, I heard the words, but as the old saying goes, his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
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