The American Spectator

Reader Mail

If Slogans Were Jobs

8.15.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 3)

Granted, most of those changes didn't make the game inaccessible to the layman. During the beginning of the metal driver era, most duffers could still keep their old woods in their bag and hang with the metal players, and kids in the sandlot probably didn't worry about lowering their mound in '68. But just the same, are swimmers today going to give up the sport if they can't afford a $500 suit? Not if they enjoy the sport as much as the kids on the basketball court who can't afford Air Jordans but play nonetheless. And the kid who can't afford the Ping G10 driver probably won't quit the game because he can't get it.

It's inevitable that when a sport becomes popular, changes are going to happen. In fact, the more popular it gets, especially if it's in a short amount of time, it will change drastically. Take NASCAR's cars from 15 years ago and compare them to today's. And take a look at their TV ratings over that period. You'll notice the trend.

The new suits don't change swimming drastically. They may be expensive, but they don't make swimming inaccessible -- anyone can swim whether they have a $500 suit or a $5 one. They may be hard to get, but it's not as if they make the competition unfair as long as everyone's wearing something comparable. They improve the times, but do advances in training technology also cheat the sport, then? All but the most recalcitrant opponent of anything resembling technology in sports would have to say no.

What the suits do show us, however, is that people are starting to care about the sport of swimming and that other people now want a piece of the pie. Like it or not, it's the price of success in American sports. And if the other sports are any indicator, it's not going to hurt swimming one bit.
-- Richard Vana

Give me a break, the guy is fast! Don Scholander was great, Mark Spitz even a tad greater, hair, moustache, et al. And I'd wager (if such things were allowed, no thanks to an overactive/protective bunch of Republican congresswimps) that Phelps would've been as successful without that newfangled suit. You see, you left out the biggest factor, desire.

Did a 22.4 split anchoring a 200-freestyle relay in the Princeton pool back in '52 or '53, nearly a second better than my previous best. Was just a little behind, and wanted to win. And did.

I applaud Phelps, and probably respect his predecessor, Mark Spitz, above any other athlete I've seen -- excepting Edwin Moses, the magnificent hurdler, the very best, ever.
-- frost

It pains me to disagree with Mr. Tyrrell, and especially so with Mr. Somers. These men are experts when it comes to competitive swimming. To prove that I am no expert, I challenge both to a swimming competition of any length, and any stroke. The only stipulation is that I get to wear the $500 suit (and that Messrs. Somers and Tyrrell promise not to laugh). The smart money will be on the aforementioned experts.

I can't imagine a sport where the equipment has a lesser bearing on the outcome.
-- Dan Martin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
P.S. This article leads me to believe that RET's Olympic boycott has ended. My personal boycott ended while channel-surfing and catching NBC, only to see a special report on Panda bears. My boycott has resumed.

Perhaps there is a solution to the whole swimsuit-technology problem. That would be to eschew the suit. (And the goggles.)

Thank you for your take on the Current Crisis! Such dry humor.

Cheers,
-- Ran Hay
Ohio

HORTON HEARS A WHO
Re: Larry Thornberry's We've Got Zeal Too:

Mr. Thornberry references the strong Republican voter base of Central Florida and the fact that the big, liberal, Kathy Castor holds the U.S. Congressional seat, turned over by Jim Davis' run for Governor. The interesting question to ask the Hillsborough County Executive Committee Chairman is: Why is there no pro-active support for Eddie Adams Jr., who is the Republican challenger to Ms. Castor?

Eddie Adams Jr. is a first-time politician, and a traditional Conservative Republican. He has a good set of answers to legislative issues and is a community role model, as a black man who pulled himself out of poverty to become a professional architect. Neither the National RNC, the RPOF [Rep. Party of Florida] or the local county chair are offering any support of substance. All three groups make noise about "outreach" to the black and Hispanic communities, but don't seize the opportunities offered to them. Jim Greer, chairman of the RPOF doesn't have the "extra" monetary resources to help in a year that the party is worried about keeping what they have, but the local county party encouragement is embarrassingly shallow.

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