Phelps' Epic Return

As a former collegiate swimmer, Michael Phelps has been a hero of mine for a long time.  While I don’t necessarily enjoy his personality out of the pool (I’ve gotten the chance to meet him a few times), there’s no doubt that he’s an absolute stud in the water.  For those of you who haven’t heard, Phelps ‘unretired’ last week and is swimming in a grand prix meet in Arizona that commences tomorrow. 

            His coach, Bob Bowman, doesn’t necessarily have any high expectations, but says that Phelps is certainly in good enough shape to “not get embarrassed at all.”  Phelps will begin the meet tomorrow with the 100 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly.  Even if he makes it to the finals in both events, he’s only going to choose one and scratch the other (according to Bowman).  The meet sold out hours after the news broke about Phelps returning to competition, and all swim fans are anxiously awaiting to see what the best Olympic athlete in history has in store.

            Many are currently debating whether or not Phelps would even be able to qualify for the Olympics in 2016.  He’ll be 31 by that point in time and the average age of Olympic male swimmers is 21.4.  I find it rather amusing that everyone doubts Phelps based on stats, as he’s proven for his entire career that he can break any statistic that he wants to.  I personally think he could swim even better after taking a year and a half off of training than he did in London in 2012. 

            Phelps will be the first to say that he wasn’t very focused leading up to the 2012 games.  He was worn out from all the training and wasn’t necessarily enjoying it anymore.  Now, he’s ‘retired’, taken time to golf, travel, live life outside of the pool, and has realized that he misses being in the water.  This level of comfort might get him into a better mental state leading into training and events, which is proven to help swimmers perform at a higher level.  Either way, this weekend will be a good indicator of how much Phelps truly wants to compete. 

            If he gets destroyed, will he come out and say that he’s done competing and that he just wants to stay in shape?  Or will he use it as fuel to train harder and come back even stronger at the next meet?  What if he wins a bunch of events this weekend? Nobody can accurately guess what’s going to happen so we’ll all have to wait and see.

            As a last “pump-up” for his return, I’ve included two of my favorite races by Phelps.  The first is the 100 fly from Beijing in 2008, and the second is the 100 fly from the World championships in 2009.  The swimmer Phelps out-touched in ’08 started talking trash constantly about destroying Phelps in ’09, so watch and enjoy.

  

Works Cited

Metcalfe, Jeff. It's not only about Michael Phelps at Arizona swim meet. 22 April 2014. 23 April 2014 <http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/2014/04/22/phelps-arena-grand-prix-swim-meet/8036311/>.

Remembering the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon

I hope everyone had a very happy Easter.  As my last few weeks here in Ireland commence, I want to examine a few final comparisons between American and Irish sports media coverage.  Today, in particular, is a significant day for all Americans as the Boston Marathon kicks off.

Nobody will forget the horrifying events that transpired last year, and while Americans were the ones mainly affected, the Irish followed the story as well. Upon opening today’s RTÉ Newspaper and going online to cnn.com, I was struck by the fact that both countries had major articles surrounding today’s event.  This wouldn’t happen in America so, to me, it shows why America gets the stereotype that it does.  If something tragic were to happen in Ireland, I guarantee that local and national news would report it in the states, but I can almost guarantee with the same amount of certainty that it wouldn’t be covered the following year.  It therefore makes sense that American’s are viewed as “stuck up” and that we don’t see anything beyond our borders.  While I cannot change the whole country, I have learned this semester about the importance of keeping up with international news and I will continue to follow what is happening in Ireland.

What I find most interesting about the whole story though, is that both news sources report about the increased level of security at the marathon this year.  Fans aren’t allowed to carry backpacks, and there are almost twice as many police officers as there were at last years.  While this makes “logical sense” when first heard, it’s a tad confusing when you actually think about it.  Just because something happened last year doesn’t mean that anything will this year…so why such a drastic change in security? 

That’s basically the same as if a terrorist attack happened in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals one year and security was raised the next year, yet security at the World Series (a MUCH more popular event) would stay the same.  Doesn’t this seem a bit absurd?  Anyone who would want to attack would obviously know that doing something ‘new’ is smarter than trying to repeat a past attempt.  I’m not trying to say that there shouldn’t be security at the marathon, but it seems over-dramatic as is typical of most American events.  I believe that there should be the same level of security but that the ‘hoopla’ should be centered around last years victims and the country coming together rather than how much the police force is doing to prevent another attack. 

At the end of the day, unless you have the same level of security at every single event, there’s no way to legitimately prevent attacks.  Those who want to carry out evil acts will find a way around the system; they always do which is why attacks keep happening.  It leads me to wonder if this would be the same in Ireland or if the focus would be on remembering the lives of those who were lost?  I hope you never have to find out, but it’s an interesting twist on sports coverage in American media.

Links to both stories:

RTÉ: http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0421/610054-boston-marathon/
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/us/boston-marathon-security/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Ready, set, go: 2014 Masters

Today marks the official beginning of the 78^th Masters Tournament.  Obviously, the biggest story line revolving this year’s championship is that Tiger Woods isn’t playing.  This has caused ticket prices to drastically decrease, and will probably result in a lack of television viewers (CBS.com).  However, even with Tiger gone, there is plenty of excitement to be had over the next 4 days.

As an American, I’m used to not being able to legally bet on sporting events.  Now that I’m in Ireland, I can bet all I want, which is fantastic for the tournament!  A few of my buddies put down €5 on Jim Furyk to win at 80/1 odds.  I personally chose a more likely scenario by putting €8 on Henrik Stenson at 33/1 odds.  I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.

With play set to begin in just a few short hours, I want to get everybody excited for the best golf tournament of the year.  Here are some of the top moments in Master’s history…could there be an addition to the list this year? I certainly hope so.

#3: Tiger destroying everyone in 1997

Sure you have all these seasoned golfers playing every year, but who says it can’t be a kids game?  Just a year after turning pro, Tiger proved why anyone can contest for the green jacket.  He shot 270 on the weekend, 18 strokes under par.  For anyone who follows the Masters, you know that it’s an incredible score in and of itself.  However, the more amazing stat is that the second place finisher, Tom Kite, shot 282, giving Tiger an unprecedented 12 stroke victory.

#2: Craig Wood never loses the lead in 1941

The Masters is typically a tournament where a handful of golfers battle back and forth until one pulls away for the win.  It’s very rare that one player leads after day one and goes on to win the whole thing.  Craig Wood was one of these rare gems with his performance in 1941.  He ended up shooting 280 (-8) and winning the tournament by 3 strokes.

#1: Gary Player’s Wild Comeback victory of 1978

If you’ve ever watched the Master’s, you’ve at least heard about this.  Gary Player entered the final day of the 1978 tournament down by 7 strokes.  With a bit of luck, and some unbelievable putting, he overcame that deficit and went on to win the whole thing.  You can see more analysis here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10573364

So, there you have it.  For me, those are the top 3 moments in Master’s history.  The best thing about this tournament, though, is that it unites the world just like the Olympics.  I can be in Ireland and discuss the tournament with all sports fans just like I could at home.  It makes you feel a sense of brotherhood that can’t be separated by a national border.

Works Cited

Porter, Kyle. 10 predictions for the 2014 Masters. 9 April 2014. 10 April 2014 <http://www.cbssports.com/golf/eye-on-golf/24520011/predictions-for-the-2014-masters>.

The two greatest athlete role-models of all time

While I’ve only gotten to watch rugby for a few months, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy the sport.  Unlike American sports, it’s fast-paced and brutality is at an all time high.  Another striking difference is that the players compete for the benefit of the team, not the well being of themselves.

In the states, 99% of athletes care about how much money they’re making rather than how many games their team wins each season.  Despite all the selfish pigs out there, there are still a few class acts; most notably, Peyton Manning.  It’s funny, too.  He’s the one athlete that never complains about money (he simply plays for the love of football), yet he is one of the highest paid players in history.  When I think of a rugby player comparable as a person to Peyton, Brian O’Driscoll is the first that comes to mind.

Again, with only a few months worth of viewing, my radar could be off for who I think has the best personality.  But from what I’ve seen, O’Driscoll is the man.  He’s a hard competitor, but never bad mouths anyone and always takes the time out to sign his autograph for a fan. 

Due to all the negativity in sport back home, it’s nice to be reminded that sport is supposed to be about brotherhood.  It’s a place where people can come regardless of their color, background, current location, etc. to cheer on their favorite team.  Athletes like Manning and O’Driscoll are the knights in shining armor that remind us of this.  The following two clips are evidence of what sport should be. 

The first is O’Driscoll walking off the Aviva for the final time and the crowd’s response to his unparalleled career with the Irish.  The second is when Peyton Manning returned to play Indianapolis as a Denver Bronco (he played his entire career in Indianapolis until he had neck surgery).  Both videos give me goosebumps and send chills down my spine.

I can only hope that there are more athletes like these two in the future.  They have certainly left a legacy that will never be tarnished.