Phelps is going down ....

Yeah, now let's try it in the same suits ??!!

:bow: I'll admit it...I'm just in awe of Phelps...How did he do that? He just had nothing going for him and somehow he pulled that out. I've not seen many like him in my lifetime and guess what....He's not done yet. Same here. The 200 fly didn't surprise me, but I just didn't expect him to be able to pull off the 100. He has this almost amazing ability to will himself to win- like surpassing Crocker in 2004 and at Worlds in 2007, last yr with Cavic, and now this 49.8. Just incredible.

And I know what male swimmers are like and I don't want them dating most people's daughters.Harsh. You've probably just been lurking around this forum too much.

Harsh. You've probably just been lurking around this forum too much. Probably correct - but then again I've seen/read nothing to dispell my knowledge of the brotherhood - of course I am the person your parents warned you about. :D

Say what you will about Cavic, but it was the one race in Rome where people talked about the swimmers and not (for the most part) the suits. It really is too bad that they probably won't meet both rested in 2010 because there's a nice rivalry here that has sport/entertainment interest outside the usual swimming fans.

:bow: I'll admit it...I'm just in awe of Phelps...How did he do that? He just had nothing going for him and somehow he pulled that out. I've not seen many like him in my lifetime and guess what....He's not done yet.

So I finally watched the 100 Fly yesterday. I had been looking forward to it, and ignoring this forum so I wouldn't accidentally learn the result. Great race. Unbelievable that Phelps could pull that off, especially right after he collided into someone in the warmup pool and broke his goggles. I enjoyed the rivalry and build-up to the race, with Cavic trash talking and whining about his loss in Beijing. I was relishing the prospect of watching Phelps beat him, even though I thought the chances of that were slim. But now, having seen the race and the way both swimmers handled themselves afterwards, I have an observation... Phelps is a ***. He's a sore loser and a graceless winner. His apelike antics in the pool were an embarrassment. Thumping his chest, sitting on the lane line and shoving his ass in Cavic's lane, refusing to look at Cavic and acknowledge him when Cavic congratulated him. Very disappointing. After that race I am now more of a Cavic fan than a Phelps fan, not that I was ever really a Phelps fan to begin with. Phelps is sort of like a donkey with a preternatural talent for playing Beethoven. It can play the notes with amazing skill, but it still brays like a donkey and sh*ts everywhere. You have to marvel at the phenomenon, but it's hard to admire the donkey. I also watched the 200 free where Phelps got his ass handed to him by Biederman, who destroyed him in every aspect of that race.. start, turns, final kick, etc. Phelp's mommy shaking her head with crossed arms was a sad spectacle. I seriously doubt that he lost because of the suit. Even if that was all, it would be utter hypocrisy to whine about it, since the US had the Lazer in '08 and the Germans had to wear crappy Adidas suits.

So Cavic gets the sportsmanship credit over Phelps for shaking his hand in the water vs. a few minutes later? What about the cockamamie conspiracy theory about how the timing system didn't work for one heat out of the thousands at the Olympics? We're not talking about Conspiracies or last year's race (THEY may well be, but we are not). Yes, we're talking about sportsmanship in the pool (competitors in the same water.......) or on the court (Tennis.......net.......handshake.......then trophy presentation then interviews). I want to see the natural and spontaneous sportsmanship of the athlete, not what their P.R. person tells them to say at the ceremony or interviews. I guess somebody missed the part where we try to teach our kids (and ourselves) some manners in that, after the race, you shake the hands of the two swimmers on either side of you (or to only one side, if one has sandbagged well) regardless of the result....... Somewhere else someone said that now the Phelps haters are coming out of the woodwork, or some such. Where does my hatred of Phelps manifest itself? I don't hate the guy at all. I admire the pure athlete in him.

Phelps carried on a bit, but he was pretty pumped. My theory: it is all part of his transformation into a sprinter. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and act a little crazy. It is just personal preference, but I've always liked the "act like you've been there" types rather than the Track & Field sprinters. Where even the silver and bronze modelists strut around as if they've just invented the cure for cancer. I also didn't mind Cavic's pre-race comments. They seemed honest (ie, reflecting what he thought) rather than the usual pre-race/game platitudes. It also made for better entertainment.

Wrestling is an interesting phenomenon: The entire popularity of the sport is based on heroes and villains that have been completely manufactured and is set against a backdrop of unauthentic athletic competition. So I'll throw this out there: Does Mike Cavic really think that he beat Phelps in Beijing? Or was he just trying to lay the ground work for a one on one dual with Phelps? Cavic did mention something at the end of the postrace interview about being ok with wearing the black hat if it helped stir interest in the sport of swimming.