The Olympics are nearing their end, and as always, the U.S. stands atop the medal leader board with a double-digit lead. Americans expect dominance in sports, dominance like what Michael Phelps has done in swimming, and what the women's softball team has done to the rest of the softball world.
While watching our country dominate again (with the notable exception of our men's basketball team, which is another whole episode), I began to wonder why other countries weren't up to par.
The most notable reason is because of the freedoms which some, including myself at times, take for granted in our country. Part of the success of Americans, I think, comes from their confidence, that swagger, that "I am better than you and I'm going to show the world" attitude.
While there are many that would disagree with me, I believe this confidence is important to athletes. I appreciate guys like Muhammad Ali and even guys like Chad Johnson, who give credit to their teammates and coaches, but still do a fair share of talking to get inside an opponent's head. It is entertaining.
Unfortunately, some take it over the top and bring self-centeredness to a whole new level, especially Terrell Owens, with his "if it looks like a rat, and it smells like a rat, then by golly, it's a rat" comments, but most athletes get it.
Some other countries don't even have those freedoms, countries such as Iraq where soccer players used to get tortured for making mistakes, and countries like Iran, where last week a 16-year-old girl was hanged in public for having a "sharp tongue."
If the U.S. existed with such ignorant rules and leaders, then people like Deion Sanders, Terrell Owens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Kellen Winslow, Jr, the entire NBA, and Mike Tyson would have to do their trash talking from six-feet under.
Not all countries are this asinine, and I wondered why they didn't pose a real challenge to America in the sporting world. It became apparent that some countries were becoming more like America, but they were only picking up on the bad traits.
Traits like whining like a little girl and blaming everyone else when you lose, tactics similar to those used by fans of the Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs. These traits were picked up nicely by Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina.
Svetlana is making ludicrous claims that the all-around competition in women's gymnastics was fixed so American Carly Patterson would win gold. Immediately after the all-around event, the silver medalist claimed it was one of the best days of her life, but after the John Kerry of Russian gymnasts had a day to think about it, she is now "furious" at anything and everything.
"I practically did everything right, still they just set me up and fleeced me," Khorkina said.
I think it's great that she almost did everything right, but in gymnastics, almost isn't going to get the job done. Although I'm sure her claim is valid, right now, the judges are having a good laugh at her expense about how they "fleeced" her.
At least you can't blame her for having the wrong attitude.
"I knew well in advance, even before I stepped on the stage for my first event, that I was going to lose," Svetlana said.
What a great role model, that is what upset stories are all about. When the breaks are beating you and everyone counts you out ... you fold up the tent and go home. This is a realistic attitude -- the fact of the matter is when you go up against the U.S., you probably will lose. At least she knows where she stands.
Svetlana said the judges should have favored her since she got jobbed in Sydney in 2000 and then even suggested that gymnastics should be judged more on grace and beauty than mechanics. Now, I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't believe there are any beholders out there, other than Russians and blind people, who would find any beauty in Svetlana Khorkina.
Now while Khorkina's poor trait picked up from the U.S. is in her attitude, a pair of star Olympians for Greece got involved in another bad habit: a business relationship with Victor Conte and BALCO. The two involved were Greece's Konstantinos Kenteris and Katerina Thanou.
Both athletes had long been suspected of using performance enhancing drugs, especially Kenteris, who is more skilled at running from drug tests than running races. They both blamed their coach and said they didn't know what they were taking.
This would make sense, if the two didn't fake a motorcycle accident to miss the latest drug test. This would make sense, if Kenteris didn't disappear for months at a time (like Deion Sanders' common sense) to avoid drug tests. While the lawyer for the two said he has serious evidence that they are not guilty (he must have left it next to Andre Rison's child support payments), e-mails between Conte and their coach have named both Olympians. Kenteris believes he is taking one for the team.
"After the crucifixion, there always comes the resurrection," Kenteris said. Wrong. I seem to only remember one story of a resurrection, and that is about 2,000-years-old. Kenteris may not be a historical scholar, but I'm fairly certain that there were thousands of crucifixions, all without a resurrection. This will be no different.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for athletes like Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who gave it everything she had but it just wasn't her day. On the other hand, I have no respect for losers who make excuses or cheat and make excuses.
Now that I have a little more perspective and more appreciation for the freedoms in our country, I can go back to enjoying our country winning a lot of medals for a few more days. And, like they say, if it looks like a champion, and it smells like a champion, then by golly, it's an American.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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