My Michael Phelps rant...

[Adam West]

Most decorated is definitely the best way to describe him....best Olympian ever will always be up for debate. It's also difficult to compare Olympians from different decades. I do think it is pretty amazing that he won Gold in every single event he competed in 4 years ago and medaled in every single event except one this time around. I would be really impressed to see a track star win Gold in a 100M, 200M, 400M, 1500M, etc. because that is what Michael Phelps has done. He has won at short distances and long distances also using a variety of strokes. He is competing against athletes who might specialize in only one event like the 200M Butterfly and another in a 200M Freestyle and beats all of them. A superior track star could rack up the medals of Phelps by participating and winning runs and relays of various lengths. He definitely receives props for winning so many medals at various distances and strokes especially going up against everyone else in the world some who can only do one or two events well

[Hector]

Best answer in this entire thread!

Agreed.

[Brad]

It's more of a semantics issue. Instead of GREATEST, they should be saying MOST DECORATED. Greatest is a subjective term, and can be argued till the cows come. You cannot argue that he has won the most medals of any other Olympian. Of course, seeing as a number of those are from team events (the relays) it does get into a gray area in a way.

Best answer in this entire thread!

[Hector]

[toys2cool]

Wow...I was born to experience this...now my life is truly complete...

ok now that you've acknowledged that we can move on

[Hector]

he now retires with 22 medals including an additional 2 more golds since this thread started Pure greatness, don't take this for granted guys, it'll never happen again in our life times

Wow...I was born to experience this...now my life is truly complete...

[Hector]

It's funny, because to be in the discussion for greatest Olympians ever you pretty much have to be American.

That statement is not true. Nadia Comaneci is arguably the best female gymnast of all time. Americans still use her as the measuring stick for greatness. There is a differnece between being a "baddazz" as you say and a great olympian. Playing down the accomplishment of 22 olympic medals 18 which are gold in any event is ridiculous. Saying swimmers are not athletes is bs as well. I challenge anyone her to swim a 400 im. I bet 99% of the people on this forum could not even finish the event, let alone do it at a fast pace.

And I can smoke Phelps in a cheeseburger eating and beer drinking contest. So what's your point?

What does that have to do with any of us on a personal level for these ongoing arguments?

None of us here have said that we could remotely do the things he does...so that's irrelevant, moot point...and kinda of a personal jab at some who happened to disagree with you. So that was quite ridiculous on your part as well.

I didn't say anything about him not being an athlete, that was someone else...so please address that quote to whomever said it...I sure didn't.

This is nothing personal on my part...I'm not criticizing you or your family...just some dude who you and I...have never even met in person...let alone hang out with the dude. Phelps is not Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, William Shakespeare, Pablo Picasso, or even Charlie Chaplin...to me...he's just a very wealthy swimmer who does lame Subway commercials, lol.


P.S. Don't take my rant as anti-American, far from it...as I think Jesse Owens is the greatest Olympian ever...the enormous pressure he was under...and to stuff it to Hitler like that...in his own backyard...now that...was beyond mere Gold medals...that was truly LEGENDARY.

[jwyblejr]

Mark Spitz was during our life time. So was Phelps.

[toys2cool]

he now retires with 22 medals including an additional 2 more golds since this thread started Pure greatness, don't take this for granted guys, it'll never happen again in our life times

[jacsfc]

[QUOTE=Hector;945145]It's funny, because to be in the discussion for greatest Olympians ever you pretty much have to be American.

That statement is not true. Nadia Comaneci is arguably the best female gymnast of all time. Americans still use her as the measuring stick for greatness. There is a differnece between being a "baddazz" as you say and a great olympian. Playing down the accomplishment of 22 olympic medals 18 which are gold in any event is ridiculous. Saying swimmers are not athletes is bs as well. I challenge anyone her to swim a 400 im. I bet 99% of the people on this forum could not even finish the event, let alone do it at a fast pace.

[Hector]

It's funny, because to be in the discussion for greatest Olympians ever you pretty much have to be American.

Russian Aleksandr Karelin didn't lose a single match in 16 years of Greco Roman en route to 3 golds and a silver...and yet is never even in the discussion...especially in American media...



Olympic Games:

Gold 1988 Seoul

Gold 1992 Barcelona

Gold 1996 Atlanta

Silver 2000 Sydney


If that's not baddazz...I don't know what is.

[toys2cool]

To say he is not an athlete is disrespecting the man's obvious talents.

The beautiful thing is that records are made to be broken. Might take years, but someone will come along and potentially break this record phelps has made.

Until then, give the man respect for earning his medals and representing the United States. I know personally I couldn't do what he did and nobody here either.

Great post

[toys2cool]

Damian, there's a reason why the guys in high school sign up to swim..and only swim...well the rest all sign up to play all of the athletic sports - football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and T&F..you have swimmers, and then you have 5-sport athletes...

-Chris

lol it's different here bro, the Swimmers down here are pretty good athletes and most are in other sports as well

[megomania]

Damian, there's a reason why the guys in high school sign up to swim..and only swim...well the rest all sign up to play all of the athletic sports - football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and T&F..you have swimmers, and then you have 5-sport athletes...

-Chris

[Hector]

Yes...I know they are jack of all trades...and masters of none...but that's a straight up all around baddass...