You know what I like to see in the world's greatest athletes? Exuberance, and joy, and tears. I'd like to see them rip their clothes off and run around the Bird's Nest naked. I'd like to see a guy who's fast enough to beat his competitors then walk slowly across the finish line while grabbing his package. There's your world record right there, motherfrackers. Take that, masters of the corporate-sponsored Olympic universe. I'm just too goddamn fast to heed your mortal concerns.

Wait, that subject line is wrong. What I meant to write was, "Fuck yeah, right on, Heather!"

Gosh, I sure hope not! I was doing my dad-burned best to follow her imperative to diss-respect (Good one, Heather! You're now an honorary negress!) bad whitey. Did the naughty words I used get my letter pulled? Gee whillikers! That stuff is okay on HBO, but not on Salon, which is apparently still run by uptight Ward Cleaver types who choke on their pipe tobacco if they see an expletive spelled correctly.

Usain Bolt is still a dhick (Get it, Heather? HAR!), and you're still a hypocritical, privileged white girl from Duke University who watches TV for a living, yet somehow sees this as activism against "The Man." One day the irony of writing about a medium that is killing literacy will dawn upon you, you cucking funt.

love,

Dad

PS Don't ever forget that my salary, which comes directly from plantation aristocracy tobacco money, is what makes your faux rebelliousness possible.

Probably repeating what someone else has said, but...

Whether it was joy or arrogance (and I think it was a combination of both) Usain Bolt has surely been part of enough competitions even at his young age to know that it's just common deceny to acknowledge your competitors At Some Point after a race.. and by slowing down to bask in his own glory he showed disrespect, not to the fans or the Olympic Committee, but to the sport itself by not running the entire sprint *as if it mattered*. Did he smash the record to smithereens? Absolutely, and he was poetry in motion every time I saw him run. But my husband (an addicted runner and T&F enthusiast) and I were both turned off by how he behaved, even while scooping our jaws off the floor at his speed. I was very glad to see that he toned it down and shook hands with other runners after other races later in the games. He is young, wacky and immature but apparently Gets It once It is explained to him.

Arrogance stinks everywhere it crops up, and it is least welcome in venues like the Olympics. I was thrilled to see France's swim team get smacked down after their smack talk in the relay, and not because it was my country's team that beat them. These games are about striving for the best humanity has to offer; hostile baiting and/or what usually goes in the NFL (whose bread and butter is arrogance) doesn't qualify. Dismissing sportsmanship as having a modern relevance on par with nice penmanship, or suggesting that only geriatric wasps give a frick about it, is way off base. Our species could use a lot more humility and good grace, not less. And 'antiquated' social guidelines like sportsmanship do a lot more to help that than HeatherHav (and I am a fan) might think.

Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, last I knew, considered themselves Hungarian, regardless of the name of the nation on their passport. Large parts of Romania were carved out of Hungary and Hungarian is still the language spoken in those areas.

He is a bit much, I agree.

Maybe bob costas should follow Usain Bolt to the bank. I think he would discover that the world still demand a lil extra from entertainers.They pay him to give his personal opinion on what the world wants to see.I think Carl Lewis, michael Green or an expert in the field could better understand do the "color"with more appreciation than a want to be expert on every sport thats aired on the big screen. Relax and do your job Bob.

I've adopted a tough name, because I'm an internet bully. That faggy wimp tomreedtoon revealed something personal, so of course I beat up on him. He didn't have the testosterone to beat up on Havrilesky when she wrote last week about how her retirement was irretrievably screwed, so he isn't good enough to be a bully. Never leave a hurt person until they're unconscious and bleeding, that's what I always say. In fact, that's all I ever say.

I don't need to build my muscles and possibly confront the possibility of getting my face punched in by my targets. I can hide behind a pretentious username and miles of Cat 5 cable and verbally humiliate people. My kid brother did the same to a kid on Facebook, and got the kid to commit suicide. I'm proud of you, Elephantman my bro!

I can't help but notice most of the people chiming in to support Ms. Havrilesky's position seem to be more concerned with ripping on Bob Costas than defending Usain Bolt.

Indeed, the author herself displays what would be called something ending in -ism were it directed at someone who wasn't white, rich, male, etc. etc.

Get over yourselves. Insisting on respectful behavior from athletes does not make you elitist, and being Jamaican does not excuse in-race celebration (if that rationale isn't the epitome of backdoor racism, I don't know what is).

Has anybody here actually played competitive sports? Tell me what your high school coach would've done if he/she saw you pounding your chest while the game was going on around you. For me, it would have meant a long stay on the bench.

Bob Costas and all the other haters out there seem to have forgotten (or maybe never knew) that male sprinters are some of the biggest showboaters on earth and over-the-top celebrations are part of what they do. Remember when former world record-holder Maurice Greene ran the 100, threw off his shoes and had some guy blast them with a fire extinguisher? Here's the link so you can experience the foolishness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NvXhb52bAk

Usain Bolt CRUSHED the 100m world record. Had he not slowed down and started celebrating near the end of the race, the record would be even lower. As far as I'm concerned, when you set a world record, you can celebrate any damn way you want. His expression was pure joy and he kept it TV-appropriate, which is all that should be required of him. What an amazing moment.

God I hope he's clean.