“…I guess believing all along I could do it goes a long way.”
Photo: Associated Press
That’s a quote from Michael Phelps shortly after his time-warping victory in the 100 meter fly final. Belief is a common theme in sports, with just about every team and their fanbase believing this year is their year - from the Chicago Cubs and their fans to the Detroit Lions and their fans, to the Red Wings, Red Sox, Patriots and Spurs and their collective fan bases. Of course there are also occasions when that belief gets put to the test and the team can either accept defeat or somehow find a way to pull off the improbable and perhaps get a little lucky as well.
Photo: Sports Illustrated
One one-hundredth of a second is all that separated Michael Phelps from Milorad Cavic and the silver medal. Determining the winner required the use of a television that can break down time into the ten-thousandth of a second. Cavic obviously deserves sympathy as he would have at least tied for the gold or possibly been declared the sole winner if not for the impressive technology that is available to tell us what we couldn’t see with our own two eyes. The Serbians immediately filed a protest but withdrew their protest after watching the end of the race on the mother of all high def and dvr hookups.
Up to this point the Serbian had the best chance to upset Michael Phelps’ pursuit of history and he’ll probably think “what if…?” for a long time. Michael Rosenberg offers up one scenario where if he’d just gotten off the blocks two-hundredths of a second quicker he’d have won by one-hundredth of a second instead of Phelps. What if…?
This race is what makes sports so incredibly entertaining and unfortunately for Cavic he will always be the University of Kentucky basketball team to Phelps’ Duke University in the 1992 NCAA Tournament, he’ll be the Buffalo Bills to Phelps’ Tennessee Titans in the Music City Miracle. Cavic did everything he should have done and was perfectly positioned to win the gold medal. Phelps just somehow dug deep and summoned up enough energy and willpower to snatch the gold from Cavic and continue his attempt to become the most decorated Olympian in history.
Mitch Albom referenced this picture of Mark Spitz in his column this morning. You can be sure Michael Phelps will be photographed in similar fashion; the only question is whether he also poses with the 7 golds Spitz has in that picture or sets the new gold standard with 8. michael phelps milorad cavic Other Sports
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