Don't believe the hype

The point I was trying to make about Michael Phelps winning 19 medals to become the most decorated Olympian ever is, why is this record only now important? Why wasn't it a big deal when Larisa Latynina was the most decorated Olympian ever? If your answer is, because Phelps is an American, then you're proving my point about American-media hype. Sports shouldn't be about hype. That's the great thing about sports. You have a winner and a loser. The first swimmer to touch the wall wins. Period. Why can't we leave the hype out of it. If being the most decorated Olympian of all time meant that person was the greatest Olympian, why was Larisa Latynina not in the discussion four years ago when the Phelps' hype train first got on the tracks? As a media member, it's probably sacrilegious to say this but, I hate hype. The only intelligent thing to ever come out of Flavor Flav's mouth was, "Don't believe the hype." And, no, I'm not saying Michael Phelps is all hype. He's one of the greatest Olympians ever, one of the greatest swimmers ever. But why are we so quick to say he's the best of all time? Hell, he might not be the best Subway pitch man, right now. I kind of like Michael Strahan. The point is, hype is what makes people leap to conclusions. We can't wait to proclaim this athlete as the greatest ever, whether it's Tiger Woods or LeBron James or Brett Favre. We're so quick to forget about Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan and Joe Montana. We can't wait to sweep them to the side. We can't wait for the next big thing. Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? Since, apparently, only Americans can qualify for this title, I'll say he's not the best American Olympian ever. I guess Carl Lewis didn't win gold in the 100, 200 and long jump in 1984, didn't win gold in the 100 and long jump in 1988, didn't win gold in 1992, didn't win gold in 1996. I'll do the math. That's 12 years of world class excellence. Did I dream Jackie Joyner Kersee won back-to-back golds in the heptathlon in 1988 and 1992 along with a long jump gold? She came back and won silver in 1984 and bronze medals in 1992 and 1996. I'll do the math again. That's more than a decade of world class excellence. Ever heard of Edwin Moses? Probably not. Well, all he did was go undefeated in the 400-meter hurdles from 1977 to 1987. I didn't stutter. He didn't lose a race for nine years, nine months and nine days, 122 consecutive races. He won gold in 1976 and 1984 and didn't win in 1980 because of the U.S. boycott. Along the way, he set four world records. But, yeah, you're right. What Phelps has done is much more impressive than an unbeaten streak that lasted a damn decade. I'm not even going to talk about Al Oerter winning Olympic gold in the discus in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. Yeah, nobody has ever done what Michael Phelps has done. Except for Mark Spitz, who won every time he leaped into the pool in 1972. I was eight years old when Spitz went 7-for-7, seven gold medals, seven world records. It's not really his fault there are more races now than back then. Actually, I guess it is his fault. Back then, he didn't have the American-media hype machine lifting him up. He had to let his performance speak for him.