Team USA Dominates (We Hit Snooze Button)

Today, Shanoff dared broach the subject of Phelps fatigue. I thought at first he was referring to the fact that Michael looked a little tired and had water in his goggles, which is like LeBron’s Nikes having defective shoelaces. Then I read his column, and have to agree: I kind of want him to lose just so these Olympics take on some real intrigue. I get it, he’s the most dominant athlete ever. Don’t we think Tiger’s career has been more interesting for that down-period he experienced? Well, for all intents and purposes, the Olympics are Phelps’s super-compressed career, so let’s get some conflict in that narrative, ASAP. And no, the googles, or his fatigue, just aren’t enough.↵↵Which brings me to basketball, my station in life. I can’t keep track of when these games are on and, after watching USA/China, can’t really say they call out to me in the night. So today we obliterated Greece, a team best-known for a zone defense and strong shooting. Right, the NBA’s best, playing full-throttle, reading each other well, and knowing exactly why Greece could be a problem, were in danger galore. Hypothetically, do you really think the 2004 Pistons beat the 2004 Lakers in rematch where the latter knows what’s coming, and has pride to salvage? I’m as into this uptempo, highlight-fest as anyone—thank heavens we’re not playing a more All-American brand of ball—but between the confusing schedule, my need to sleep, and the fact that, for me, it’s comes as no surprise that Chris Bosh can be active and dominant against lesser players, I’m rapidly losing interest.↵

↵↵It’s like, yeah, team ball can trump the individual. But put the individual on a team full of other individuals and get them to use those freakish skills in service of a team, without compromising their range for explosion. And yeah, that’s pretty much a Phelps-ian exercise in foregoneness.↵

↵↵(The new slang: “Phelps-ian.” Usage: “Yeah, I was really stoked about going to Yosemite, but after a few days there it was totally Phelps-ian.”)↵

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