After the Olympics: Where’s the humility?

[Assasin]

To be fair some some press has asked Jetta and Richardson about their assocaiation with a former Balco guy.

As I often say on this forum, nothing wrong with a little ego as long as they don't play it out. I didn't mind Maurice Greene etc. Mana have fi have a little spunk. Tyson Gay kinda too boring if you ask me. Talk your talk and back it up as long as you respect the fans and the sport.

[Paul Marin]

excerpt from an article by ed smith on cricinfo:

Being yourself is the most underrated virtue in sport, as we've learnt once again during the London Olympics. Some sports psychologists have argued that athletes could unlock hidden potential if they adopted the same uber-relaxed, super-confident pre-race routine as Usain Bolt.
I take the opposite view. The lesson of Usain Bolt (apart from the obvious one: be more talented than everyone else) is the profound value of being yourself. Watch again the few seconds before the 200 metre final, as the sprinters are introduced to the crowd. Bolt, of course, does his usual showman act - clowning and gesturing, looking at once intimidating and relaxed.
The revealing thing is that all the other sprinters awkwardly followed his example, trying to project the aura of Bolt without the underlying conviction. The American sprinter Wallace Spearmon stared into the camera lens as he shouted with bristling machismo, "My time, my time!" - all of which did nothing to persuade anyone that it was his time, but merely reinforced the truth that it was Bolt's.

This is my problem with Yohan - that "beast pose" nah seh nutting an jus mek him look fool. However, I suggest that only a very few people can "be themselves" and "be braggadocious" at the same time. Most people are inherently insecure, but sports figures and entertainers realise that the value of standing out is materially immense. Therefore, I submit that the Blakes & Spearmons of the world can forget being themselves (too boring to stand out), what they need to focus on is being original, even if they have to fake it.

[Don1]

DAMN, a voice of reason, "i want to be a legend" sets the target and then achieves it....

Bolt is game changer..T&F is dull except for die hard Fans...Basketball, USA Football ramp up, time for T&F...sad to see how Boxing regress world wide..

Sadly there is no "ramping up" track and field without a larger than life figure like Bolt. Even he will have only a short term effect

Track will return to its also ran category very shortly

[Islandman]

But if you ask Jamaicans to name them favorite American athletes, Gay high pon the list and it is because him so humble. We love dat when is an opponent, Asafa now, him too humble fe dis, lol.

A nuh just we stay so though, is human nature.

[Assasin]

You think if Ali was around and Boxing against a Jamaican today we woulda like him????

Man have to get a little excitement in the sports. I love players like "Neon Deon", Not TO who cuss his teammates in he press.

[Exile]

I Agree.

[Gamma]

we love him because he is our b@st@rd SOB ... everybody else loves theirs .....

[Islandman]

Ali ,bwoy me nuh know. That's a hard one. If him start ridicule our boxer like him used to do sometime then i think we woulda turn pon him for a while.Ali was sometimes cruel to his opponents in a way that Bolt certainly is not.

Me did like Deon most of the time too, exciting to watch but I would be the first to say that him was arrogant.

[Islandman]

LOL, fair enough.

[Gamma]

the ali thing is true ... he was particularly cruel to frazier who was at one time very kind to him.

having said that though, jamaicans on whole LOVE ali! maybe it was because he stood for so much more and his stand for what he believed in along with his immense talent.

[Assasin]

"having said that though, jamaicans on whole LOVE ali! maybe it was because he stood for so much more and his stand for what he believed in along with his immense talent."

And the fact that him never faced a Jamaican in the ring. LOL.

Yes I share the sentiment about Frazier too.

[Islandman]

Yes I think that's it.

It is a complex thing because with all we have said about US athletes, we love to see Serena and Venus win , and we love Daddy Williams because him don't give a damn! Its whether you can identify with the person or not that makes the difference I guess.

[Don1]

FYI Ali fought Berbick

[Assasin]

cho, them time deh a Ali shadow that man .

you are correct, but them time day the lyrics done.

[Gamma]

him was canadian at the time!