Loyal readers of The King know that a recurring theme is just how riduculously talented even the biggest bum on a professional team is. The guy waving the towel at the end of an NBA bench is so insanely, stupidly talented that it defies understanding.

What I'm saying is that you're arguing with the wrong audience. We understand that while we may play shinny on the weekend, we are NOT Alex Ovechkin, and never will be...no matter how hard we practice.

p.s. to micro ms. - about that whole "gold or bust" sentiment. One of the nice things about my country (Canada) being woefully outclassed in Summer Olympics is that the focus often turns to just how happy these athletes are to be competing on such a stage. When you see a swimmer make the finals who by rights shouldn't have, and you see how pleased they are to have swam a personal best (even if it only netted them an 8th place finish)...well it reaffirms your faith that these atheletes are actually, you know, real people and not obsessive freaks of nature ;)

My original intent was to respond along the lines of, “Jennifer, dear, didn’t anyone tell you that what you did is OK, but generally we do this in private?”. But you’ve been sufficiently chastised on a number of fronts in the other comments.

Then I realized that I’ve been to museums on a number of occasions and have never heard, “Mommy painted watercolors in high school.” There’s something about great fine art that reminds all but a few that we just aren’t in the same league as the artists who create it. The value of great art lies in its rarity and the same holds true with Olympic performances. This piece is actually a pretty good reminder that excellence should be appreciated and valued wherever we find it.

Just how pointless and wasteful sports are. Years of dedication for 30 seconds and feeling like a failure. Yup, that's useful.

In my view, Sey managed to express many of the feelings that I have when watching the Olympics. People really do feel perfectly justified in criticizing performances; people are not at all respectful of the toll athletics takes on life to compete at an Olympic level. I now am a partner with a very large law firm. The job is simple from a physical, psychological and emotional perspective compared to the elite athlete part of my life. The emotional, psychological, and physical strain imposed by elite athlete is just unimaginable unless you have lived it. As a parent, I'm always amazed at other parents who actually want their kids to develop into elite athletes and push them hard in that direction. I wouldn't wish such a life on my worst enemy, let alone my child. For those of you who are or were elite athletes, go ahead and criticize Sey's article all you want. For those of you who weren't, try to understand the point she makes rather than just criticize.

Also, for those of you who weren't, but want your children to compete at an elite level, keep in mind a few things: (1) the child who is by far the best in his/her county and his/her state often still cannot compete at an elite level (kids who can are genetic anamolies); (2) even if your child has the luck of being born with amazing athletic talent, talent alone won't get you anywhere at an elite level -- you need an abnormal pain tolerance and an intensely self-focused, competitive nature as well; and (3) your child will be subject to extreme psychological and physical abuse at every step along the way if he/she somehow does make it into that rarified world of elite athletics.

Turns up nothing.

It's not often that I read something here that makes me both angry at the author's narcissism AND insecure about trying to do (or appreciate) anything athletic.

Please do watch the rest of the Olympics by yourself. Don't subject anyone else to your ego.

I get the feeling that regular folks believe that if they just had the heart to stick with it through 10th grade, they too would be celebrating on the medal stand in Beijing along with Michael Phelps and Dara Torres.

You aren't defensively projecting, you are observing the reason why people give a shit at all about the olympics. It sure as hell isn't about watching the sports. This explains why the winter games have lousy ratings (except for ice skating... which everyone does as a kid, and hence can dream a bit).

In the end, the fan is just like you: completely self absorbed, and convinced it's all about them.

The entire pursuit of sport as something honorable and glorious in the human tragi-comedy is made possible by precisely those types of comments: "Mommy used to swim the 400."

Those little bits of respect for the sacrifice made by athletes, as well as the inspiration by others' achievements to do something more just a little bit special with one's life, add up across the billions of sports fans across the world to concentrate glory upon these Olympic athletes.

As a competitor, this is your reward. In rejecting the hoi polloi, you reject your prize as well.

...should not watch the Olympics. Of course, as others have pointed out, that'll mean horrible ratings with NBC eventually spending far less for the rights to the games...and you can imagine how that'll trickle down to the elite athletes- but that's OK, they've got each other.

Now I'm gonna google the author to find out who she is.

I'll never be able to buy another product from Levi Strauss without being reminded that I'm supporting this contemptible woman in some small way.

You're doing a hell of a marketing job for your employer Jen.

I learned gymnastics as a kid and competed in gymnastics in high school, but my parents weren't interested in my interests and I was only able to be as good as my natural abilities and during-season coaching allowed. Thus, after reading your article, I feel as though I must humbly apologize and beg your forgiveness that I ever identified myself as a gymnast to anyone who ever asked about my high school years. From this point forward, I will tell them, "I didn't do a damn thing."