Michael Phelps. Have you seen this kid swim? Of course, you have. If not, you've either been living under a rock or have no contact to the outside world or are really unpatriotic.
Being a swimmer myself, I'm in awe. I can't believe how good he is. He is the fastest swimmer ever. Ever. This is raw talent. No artificial flavors. No preservatives. Pure, raw, unexplainable talent.
He has won gold in ever single race he has swam in this Olympics, and done it in world record time. Five gold medals already in these games. Two more and he gets $1 million from Speedo. He's got 11 overall. The most decorated Olympic athlete. Ever. Top that! Oh, and did I mention he made history with his eyes closed. Yep. Sure did. His goggles were malfunctioning and the more he swam the 200 meters the more water filled his goggles. No stroke is easy to swim with your eyes closed but the butterfly definitely has to be the hardest.
Have you seen his mom too? She is too cute. She's a middle school principal. And a single mom to three kids. What a legacy she is seeing played out right now! God's definitely blessed her.
I usually get excited about the Olympics. Especially the summer ones. There are more sports that catch my attention in the Summer Olympics than the winter. However, I don't think that I've been more into any other Olympics (besides '96 in Atlanta and the Magificent 7) than the Beijing installment. This picture says it all:
This was my expression as I was watching the men's 4x100 IM the other night. I think that my neighbor's probably thought I was being attacked because I was jumping on my couch, yelling, "Go Jason! Go Jason! Get there! Get there! To the wall! Push it! Go! Go! Go!"
I felt like I could've been there standing by Debbie Phelps because I felt like such a part of the the experience. That is the most exciting relay in history. I hope nothing tops it. Nothing. Unless Michael Phelps is involved. (Did I mention I'm moving to Baltimore just to be closer to Michael Phelps. I think he'd be into me.)
It's just so fun to watch these guys (and girls) do what they do and do it at their best and be proud to say that they are an American. This is patriotism at its best. I want to be an Olympian. I could be...if I lost about 50 pounds, grew a couple of inches (unless I was an gymnast and in that case, I'd have to be really, really flexible), and be really, really fast...in the water and on land.
It just gives me such great joy and just a great feeling of pride to say that I am an American. I was proud to say that I come from the same country that the men's gymnastics team does even after they won the bronze. That was a huge deal for them. Three of those guys competed, and just a few months ago they thought they would be watching from the stands. They acccomplished an amazing feat and did it as a team. The women's gymnastics team was a bit sad that they couldn't push for that gold medal but they were happy to have that silver medal around their necks, even after all that they've been through. The best thing about it though was when someone messed up, no one blamed. They encouraged. And that's what it is all about. Believing in yourself and believing in your team. That's what sports is about and that's what life is about. Believing and pushing towards that goal. Being glad that you are able to participate, never being satisfied with second best, but always, ALWAYS, doing your very best.
YAY AMERICA!
No comments:
Post a Comment