Roto Baseball Guru

With all of the feel good stories that have developed in the Olympics thus far, it is inevitable that there would be some disappointments as well.  The largest one of these games will undoubtedly be Liu Xiang’s withdrawal from the 110-meter hurdles, before running his first race.  There are many reasons why this story would be considered one of the larger disappointments, but one single point dwarfs them all, which is the reality that the entire nation of China weighed on Liu Xiang, and that many of the over 1 billion people in China are devastated by the results.

Now that may seem a bit dramatic, however there is substance to that claim.  There is reason why his coach could not hold back tears during the post-race press conference when explaining Liu’s injury.  There is reason why just about every member of the Chinese media were in tears during that interview.  There is a reason why the crowd at the Bird’s Nest (the Olympic stadium hosting the event) let out a shriek when they heard of Liu’s withdrawal and after moments of stunned silence, they exited the stadium.  There is a reason why volunteers and security personnel alike where seen in tears around the stadium.

When Liu Xiang won the gold in the 110-meter hurdles 4 years ago in Athens, it was the first time a Chinese male won a gold medal in track and field.  In a sport where it’s been widely believed that the physique of a typical Asian does not stack up with the rest of the world, Liu Xiang was able to bust this myth and capture the hearts of an entire nation.  Every day since that memorable feat, the expectation and desire for Liu Xiang to repeat in Beijing, the capital of the nation he represents, grew to an immeasurable size.  You see, the Chinese are a very proud people.  As a Canadian born Chinese, I can speak to that first hand from my own upbringing and the traits of my parents.  In a time where China itself is beginning to seek acceptance on the global stage, Liu Xiang’s previous accomplishments represented the possibility for hope, and breaking through the typical misconceptions and stereotypes.  Here was a Chinese man succeeding in a genre, let alone sport, where none other has done so before him.  Whether it’s fair or not, the burden and expectation of an entire nation was on Liu Xiang this time around, willing him to show to the world once more that China does belong on the global stage.

With this in mind, and the knowledge that the entire nation was behind him, Liu Xiang pushed forward.  He willed himself to bear the pain of his injury and decided to at least give the race a try, even though he was sporting an injury to his Achilles tendon that should have kept him out for at least a month.  When it was all said and done, there was no fairy tale ending this time around.  No heroic feats that could bend the reality of the situation.  No, in the end there was only tears and disappointment, as well as the constant what-if and what could have been.  Alas, at times Olympic moments may be magical and uplifting, but like any other fairy tale relationship, it can also break your heart.  Keep your head up Liu Xiang, the nation still loves you.

First off, let me start off to say to my loyal readers that I have not forgotten about baseball.  You may have noticed that the most recent posts have been related to other sports, and that’s more related to my attention following the Olympics and the other sports news dominating the airwaves over the past couple of weeks than anything else.  With that said, look for some new baseball related blog articles coming up in the near future!

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s focus on some of the amazing stories that have developed from the Olympic games in the past week.  I have always been a big fan of the Olympics.  I can still recall watching events from the ‘88 Olympic games in Seoul, in our two bedroom apartment in Canada with my family, all six of us crowding in front of our 24″ CRT television, cheering on both Canada and China in the various events.  I find that the Olympics is one of those television sporting events that will bring people together … family members of various ages will gather around and cheer on the nations as well as athletes that display incredible ability and accomplishments in their respective sports.  The fact that the Olympics can bring people together, regardless of age, interests or beliefs, is one of the reasons why the games are so special.  With that said, let me share some of these Olympic moments that I’ve been fortunate enough to savor and enjoy over the past week:

Michael Phelps - 8 Gold Medals

Phelps did what many would consider impossible, until he proved them otherwise.  I had the opportunity to watch most of Phelp’s final races live, and those that I missed were quickly up on YouTube.  You can say that he was destined to achieve this incredible milestone of winning 8 gold medals in a single Olympics … the comeback of the American 4×100 relay team to overtake the French was the first example of his destiny and the fact that he was able to win the 100 metre butterfly by only 0.01 of a second, grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat, was the second example.  Regardless of your belief, there is no question the amazing feat of Phelp’s accomplishments and it would be one of those moments where many years later you’ll be asked and remember: Where were you when Phelp’s won his recording setting 8th gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics?  A true Olympic moment indeed.

Usain Bolt - World’s Fastest Man

 
I wasn’t sure what I was more amazed with.  The fact that Usain “Lightning” Bolt obliterated the field in the 100 meter dash to earn his title as the “World’s Fastest Man” or the fact that he obviously eased up in the last 20 to 15 meters and began celebrating his victory and STILL broke the world record.  When he was interviewed after the race, he indicated that if he knew that he was breaking the world record he would have continued pushing forward but since he had already won the race he didn’t feel the need to add insult to injury.

Some may take this as an athlete being too cocky and full of himself, but I didn’t interpret it this way.  Usain is clearly having fun and savoring the moment … dancing and posing for the fans with the Jamaican flag draped over him, becoming an instant hero in his home country.  Through his success and clear display of confidence, there is humility and a feel good feeling that you get that encourages you to cheer him on.  Knowing the fact that he did not go all out during his race leaves the door open for many “what if” scenarios and the audience at the edge of their seats waiting to see what’s to come from this amazing athlete.

These are the top two Olympic moments that I have been able to enjoy from the first week of the Beijing games.  Feel free to share yours and what events that you have savored thus far that would qualify to you as an “Olympic moment”.

After dominating the sports media waves for the past few weeks, the Brett Favre vs. Green Bay Packers saga has finally drawn to a conclusion.  The end result was a best case scenario for both sides with Brett Favre getting his chance to play again, albeit sporting a different shade of green of the New York Jets as opposed to the familiarity of the green and yellow of Green Bay.  The Packers on the other hand, got rid of their publicity nightmare and on-field distraction of arguably the best and most admired player to ever to don a Green Bay uniform.  So how did the former icon, future first ballot hall of famer and player most synonymous with the Packers get to this state where the relationship with his team soured to a point that it became irrecoverable?  The single and most concise answer to that is - ego.  Although there were elements of ego in play on both sides, I am going to take the undiplomatic approach and put the ultimate blame of this on the player, Brett Favre.

Perhaps it is my cynicism of athletes of this age that has lead me to this bias.  The cynicism stems from the fact that most athletes of this era, especially the superstars, have such a larger than life persona and ego that they seriously do believe that everything revolves around them, both on and off the field.  It maybe because of how they dominate the on-field predicaments that they feel that they are entitled to the same treatment and results off the field.  The fact that Brett Favre felt that he was a victim of this whole self-inflicted soap opera is something that I find quite disturbing.  It is this “me first” and “the world revolves around my needs attitude” of these cry baby athletes making multi-million dollar salaries that really turns me off and gives a negative stigma to professional athletes.  What ever happened to playing for the love of the game and there is no “I” in team?  Players like Brett Favre and Roger Clemens should take a lesson from Toronto Maple Leafs own Mats Sundin on how to handle retirement.  If you’re not sure, then say you’re not sure and don’t hold a team hostage by flip-flopping back and forth and expect the team to be accommodating each time you change your mind.

Thank goodness the Olympics are on.  After a few weeks of this ugly soap opera between Favre and the Packers dominating every sports news headline, it’s refreshing to see some real athletes that compete for the sake of competition, for the sport they love and of course, a lot national pride.  Now that’s something that you can cheer for.