Originally Posted By mele I'm one of those people who really doesn't care what people accomplish in sports. It's great that they have a skill, but it doesn't make me look up to them or think they are somehow better people because of it. They're not saints. Most people who work that hard at something, play that hard, too. It's not a moral judgment. It just "is". It sounds like MP behaved in a certain way at the campus where Inspector is employed so he does have a little knowledge of MP that some of us might not have. I don't think Inspector needs to be a heart surgeon to make not of that. Inspector has helped a lot of people as a counselor (?) in the past. You can't say that a swimmer has done a lot for people simply because he won a lot of gold medals. It's kind of a weird premise and seems silly to continue talking about his swimming in relation to smoking pot. Big deal, many, many people do...probably some heart surgeons, too.
Originally Posted By mele Also...why are sponsors and FINA and the Olympic board (?) all forgiving him for this when they've not allowed other athletes to get away with this stuff? Is it because pot is more accepted these days or because MP has won so many gold medals? Both?
Originally Posted By dshyates Because he didn't fail a drug test during the period that he was competeing and he will be tested again when he returns to competeing. Other than that its not their problem. They did toss the American Snowboarder for it. But he tested positive right after his event. If he isn't in competition and can pass the tests when he returnes, it is none of the Olympis or FINAs business. And I don't think most people look at Dope a performance enhancing unless your a guitarist or painter.
Originally Posted By dshyates Actually Kellogs dropped the whole olympic team in December when its contract expired, and they are not renewing Phelps' that will expire at the end of this month. With them already dropping the whole olympic team in Dec. I feel they are PRing this in that I don't believe they were going to renew MP contract anyway. They are just trying to look moralistic.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<And inspector, you don't beat olympic/world recods by 4 full secs by coaching.>> Of course, the most important element in MP's success is his raw talent. Lots and lots of people have that. It's the ones who have it and who can afford to practice constantly and work intensely with coaches who end up advancing to the Olympics. Don't tell me that coaching is not an important element of Olympic training. I saw "Blades of Glory," thankyouverymuch. <<And phelps swimming made more money for NBC everytime he jumped in the water than a TJMaxx cashier will make for them in their entire life. That money paid the sallaries of a lot of folks. Or 1 midlevel VP.>> Judging by that standard, the guys who blew up the World Trade Center are even better than Phelps, aren't they? Phelps is an entertainer. He competes in a meaningless sport -- yet somehow fans across America attach some kind of significance to the fact that can swim faster than other people. Then comes the media-fueled hero worship. And then companies line up to use him to sell products. And then, it's revealed that when it comes down to it he's another of your your typical frat-types who drives drunk and smokes dope, and fans all over are like, "No, you can't criticize Michael! He can swim better than anyone! He's an American hero!" I just don't get that thinking.
Originally Posted By avromark Well the only thing I can say is he's not exactly a main stream athlete. There are many hard working people who make and don't make the Olympics. Anyone really involved in minor/amateur sports. Just because he may have more breaks/talent doesn't make him a better person. By that logic anyone who can put out a high output is a hero. Look at that guy at In & Out he can grill more than twice the burgers as anyone else! The other thing is how many people were into swimming before Phelps? Yes X. Exxe is a wonderful player for the Santa Clara Mosquitos. But many of those fans were fans of the Mosquitos before X. Exxe played for it. It's kind of like how people joined the band wagon when Rosie said "Tickle Me Elmo", or when Oprah says the best book now is "Wheres Aldo?" Finding a macho Italian Stud is much better than finding Waldo OK Rip apart this post now.
Originally Posted By dshyates I don't care one way or another about michael phelps. I don't in anyway think he is a hero. Capt. Sully is a Hero. Phelps is a talented, but not bright swimmer. He did good for the good ol' USof A in China. Good for him. If he can make some money swimming also good for him. But the vitriolic tone that I-57 came at him with is odd, to say the least. Its like he didn't win a high school swim meet and hasn't gotten over it. So I-57, you NEVER got behind the wheel after 2 drinks, or hit a joint?
Originally Posted By barboy ///<------Makes a note - barboy's a stoner./// LOL! ....... and don't forget a drunk too. Commonly each day I tap one or the other but never both---- sort of like "soup"(alcohol) or "salad"(weed) at a restaurant. And since I'm in Asia right now indefinitely for some fun and recreation you can safely assume that I am only getting hammered with mai tais and San Miguel lights each day followed by 2 hr massages by beautiful ladies each night and laying off the weed since I have no interest in sitting in a mosquito ridden jail for years. Life's great!
Originally Posted By barboy ///Outside of wanting to live in your parent's basement for the rest of your life, I don't think there are any health consequences no matter how it is consumed./// Good one RT! LOL But on a serious note I'd say that one does run a brain tumor risk with heavy smoking. I guess if one just eats it there shouldn't be any physiological/medical drawbacks...... or at least none that have been linked yet. But heavy usage kills off viable brain cells. I can say that I've become much slower- witted these past 5-7 years and I attribute that to my lifestyle rather than biology/DNA.
Originally Posted By avromark San Miguel I think was Philippines or was it Malaysia. Whatever. One of those two I think. <- Doesn't drink too much (maybe once every month or two and always "girlie" drinks a Mai Tai is as heavy as I go. Then again I first had alcoholic beverage when I was 23. Doesn't smoke, not even a single drag, doesn't do weed or anything else recreational. Boring huh? Well you can change your life style, join a monastery or something. Go to Tibet. There are 2 extremes -> people from both sides don't like the other. Now a role model however should try to "improve" themselves so even if they say lit up a joint in the past, it's somehow deemed more acceptable by society, then lighting up now. And if they add "Don't do drugs, cuz drugs are bad um-okay" Like a certain toon. Well all the better. That said swimmer Woo-hoo!
Originally Posted By wonderingalice ^^I don't know, barboy... That paragraph re: your lifestyle in Asia sure sounds worth any number of brain cells in trade! ;-)
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<But the vitriolic tone that I-57 came at [Phelps] with is odd, to say the least... So I-57, you NEVER got behind the wheel after 2 drinks, or hit a joint?>> Au contraire. I've done both. And I'm not judgmental of Phelps because he's done those things -- per se. What I am judgemental about are society's ridiculous mass-hysterical notions -- into which Phelps and company actively feed, actively milk, and completely depend upon -- that: A) It is a somehow an important thing to be able to swim really fast. And the MOST important thing is to be the single fastest. In my mind, every news-magazine story that covered Phelps' performance in the Olymics should have been replaced with a story about REAL news. Or perhaps with a human interest story about someone who's done something TRULY valuable. Who cares that the guy swims a few seconds faster than the next competitor? C'mon. You put eight highly-trained guys in a pool for a race, and the outcome is going to be completely predictable: one of them will be the fastest, and the others will be fast but will not win. Yawn. Then it turns out that you keep putting the same guys into the same pool and the same guy keeps winning. He's still the fastest. Yawn. Like it matters. B) If someone is an Olympics champion, they are a "good person." Gag me with the hero worship. Winning Olympic gold means that someone had a micro-focused talent, a lot of coaching, a ton of financing, and the luxury of spending half of one's waking life practicing. That's all. It doesn't say squat about their moral character. You'd've thought people would've started to get that after the countless Olympic doping, knee-bashing and other disqualification scandals. But, nope. "Olympic" = "wholesome" in people's minds. They appear incapable of thinking, "Wow, this person has a very high ability at a useless talent." They -- for reasons I cannot understand -- have to think, "This person is a HERO!" As I wrote, Michael Phelps actively fueled this irrational culture as if his livelihood depended upon the perpetuation of these myths -- which it does. He soaked up the adolation. He took on every sponsor he could get to maximize his gain. He did all the publicity he could. He basked in the insanity of it all. But apparently he didn't feel that profiting handsomely from this culture brought any responsibility upon himself. Me? Well, if someone said to me, "Hey, here's $400 million dollars. It's yours. Just don't do anything to embarrass us in the next couple of years," that would have been adequate motivation for me to refrain from lighting up next to a stranger who was holding a cell phone. No sympathy from me.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<Its like [I-57] didn't win a high school swim meet and hasn't gotten over it.>> Au contraire x 2. I've never been into watersports.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Me? Well, if someone said to me, "Hey, here's $400 million dollars. It's yours. Just don't do anything to embarrass us in the next couple of years," that would have been adequate motivation for me to refrain from lighting up next to a stranger who was holding a cell phone. No sympathy from me. < 'exactly my feeling on this -well just better worded than mine.... btw- isn't that scenario close to the plot for a Rodney Dangerfield movie ?
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Inspector and I don't always see eye to eye when it comes to sports and their value on a person life and society but on this one DUDE we are 100% in agreement.
Originally Posted By avromark All I can say is there are people who deserve more then they have just for being say a swimmer, or a heiress, or a studio designed singer. Can you make a guess what Phelps comes under to me? Hey he's "good" I mean "bad" like Ms. Spears and is about as useful as someone named after a major French city.
Originally Posted By dshyates I-57, I still think your bitter angry attitude about Phelps is just plain odd. He swam really well, people threw money at him. That makes him the devil? I just don't get it. What is Phelps doing that makes you think he believes he is the Pope? Or how is he trying to convince you that swimming is akin to cancer research? He swam well. People threw money. Phelps is perpetuating myths? Just an odd take on things. So all the olympics sports are worthless, and regular sports. I guess that goes for movies, theater, Dance, Art, TV, and music. And all media should cover is death destruction, and mayhem. Oh, and Politics.
Originally Posted By dshyates I just don't get the Phelps anger saying stuff like perpetuating myths. Really. Other than in the pool, I have only seen him on SNL. I haven't seen a huge media blitz with him trying to elevate swimming to internaional importance.
