A last Olympic post…
Some of the legendary performances at this year’s Olympic Games:
Mo Farah, GBR - Gold Medalist - 5000 Meters and 10,000 Meters
Oscar Pistorius, RSA - Did not medal but who cares
Gaby Douglas, USA - Gold Medalist - Team Gymnastics and All Around.
Ashton Eaton, USA - Gold Medalist - Decathalon
Trey Hardee, USA - Silver Medalist - Decathalon
Meb Keflezighi, USA - 4th place finish - Men’s Marathon
Jordan Burroughs, USA - Gold Medalist - Wrestling
One does not become a ‘legend’ by proclaiming oneself a legend. One becomes a legend over time because of continued performance and because of the mythology that grows around your persona. A performance may be legendary. A persona may be less so.
In other words calling yourself a legend does not make it a fact. Legend = Time x The Square Root Of Sustained Performance + Reputation + The Esteem Of Your Peers… or something like that.
There is a profound statement in The Wizard of Oz. The Wizard to the Tin Man: “A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.”
I admire Barry Bonds, his skill, his eye, his unrivaled performance at the plate. He possessed the right stuff all along, but the question continues to plague him - did he have enough of the right stuff? I believe he deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame regardless, yet there will always be a cloud over his statistics, just as there is a cloud over the statistics and records of a number of the greatest athletes.
I felt sick when it came to light that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire had cheated in their home run race.
I loved Marion Jones. I still love her. Her athletic feats were legendary. She was an inspiration for women everywhere. I never thought Marion Jones, a track and field icon, could possibly be guilty of cheating. She’d never once failed a drug test. And yet she went to prison- a punishment which I found harsh but obviously someone wanted to make an example of her- for lying to a grand jury about the use of undetectable performance-enhancing drugs. She did lie. She did use performance enhancing drugs. She gamed the system and she nearly got away with it.
You can’t put all the blame on the athletes. How can a gifted athlete, no matter how hard he or she trains, compete against other athletes who avail themselves of pixie dust? Besides, the public demands world record setting performances. If we set the bar high enough, world records will never be broken without resorting to magic beans.
If you take skill, strength, innate gifts and the right raw material, and you add a little pixie dust, who knows how far you can go…
My husband and I discussed this as we watched the thrilling second to the last day of the Olympics.
Here’s what I have to say - long after any athlete’s legendary career has ended, the pee remains.
***Post Script - Sunday morning, my husband pointed to an article by Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle expressing exactly the same sentiment. Apparently Mr. Ostler and I were climbing the same magic beanstalk.
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I wish I could have seen more of the games. Only saw the women gymnasts compete like two times, then the boys got in their heads they could do the same. *slaps head* But I agree with you, being a legend takes time. It’s a lot of factors like you mention over the years.
I guess I was always misinformed, believing Marion went to jail for failing tests, that is really harsh if they just sent her for lying. It makes me wonder what her life is like now. I admired her when she was in her prime.
Very well said, as always! My husband and I watched the most Olympics we have ever seen. We cheated a bit ourselves by recording both the day and evening coverage as well as any additional channels we wanted to see, then fast forwarding through commercials and things we didn’t want to see. We watched hours of coverage each day/night. We were in heaven as two sports fans. We are both suffering serious Olympic withdrawal this week. I can say there probably aren’t many people who watched more hours of the Olympics than our household shy of announcers!
It is time to hold the Doctors/coaches of the athletes and teams to a MUCH higher level. The athletes are often just the “vehicle” the coach and doctor the driver (in Nascar terms).
I think this brings up a very good point….a legend can still be human and fallible. That doesn’t necessarily negate all of their accomplishments, although their legendary status might be tarnished.
You, Penny and Jaye are already legends to us
xxx
My four year fix is over so as far as sporting legends go, really haven’t got any apart from maybe Daley Thompson who I will always remember for being the Worlds best Decathlete and I saw him winning Gold in two Olympics. He was made many offers that would have kept him in the limelight but really took the decision to concentrate on his sporting business interests, occasionally popping up.
He was a cheeky chappy, but never really in anyone else’s face other than his continual sporting fights over records with Germany’s Jurgen Hingsmen and so if I was going to name one Legendary Icon it would be him, a guy who let his skill do the talking.
Even with my great love affair with the TDF there are many who call many from that arena Legends and Icons, me I just admire them all knowing that next year and the year after newcomers are going to take their place and I will remember guys from the past but support the new guys…..
I remember Daley Thompson. He was amazing.
I agree, Penny. I think drug use, when it comes to competitive sports, is a slippery slope - because the human body can only do so much without help. I love watching sports, but I don’t want to see things pushed to the point where regular old physical ability, training, practice isn’t enough.
I love the Olympics, Alana. We were glued to the set at times. It sort of seems that the tests for doping can’t keep pace with new designer drugs. However, I admire athletes who succeed with plain old hard work.
Delilah - your boys are funny and you never know - maybe they will be gymnasts! As long as they aren’t flipping off tables! Yes, Marion Jones’ story broke my heart. She’s a great athlete and her punishment was so harsh.
This year I missed most of the games. But kept up with the news stories and such for coverage. It is amazing how well everyone did. so much skill and dedication.
AND NOW HERE IS A LEGEND IN THE TRIATHLON
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188373/Rick-van-Beek-Devoted-dad-runs-triathlon-carrying-teenager-daughter-cerebral-palsy.html
Oh wow, Tom, that is love and devotion.
Hi Savannah - yes, pretty amazing games this year.
For me, It’s not the medals, it’s the athletes and their personal stories…
Anny, the more compelling the personal story the more interesting the athlete.