Others making waves in the pool

"We wanted to win, too."

Cullen Jones (right), the third swimmer in the the US men's 4x100m freestyle relay team that captured gold on Monday, said these five words to Meredith Vieira on NBC's Today Show hours after his team's dramatic triumph. He was responding to a question about any pressure the team was facing because of teammate Michael Phelps' highly-publicized quest for 8 Olympic golds. The most interesting thing about the comment was that he sounded like he was trying to remind everybody that, oh yeah, he was an Olympic athlete, too. And, in case you forgot, he was swimming for a gold medal of his own.

There are always athletes that are going to transcend their teams, and sometimes their sport. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Right now, Michael Phelps can most certainly be put in this category. But, by elevating Phelps to such heights, the media threatens to downplay and cheapen the accomplishments of those around him. So much so that an Olympian has to remind the public that he was racing for his own gold medal.

Michael Phelps did not gift that gold medal to Cullen Jones. Cullen Jones, along with Garrett Weber-Gale and Jason Lezak, have put in thousands of hours in the pool to get where they are, and sometimes the bright light that shines on Phelps gets in the eyes of the viewers, keeping them from seeing the accomplishments of others.

Is this Phelps' fault? Probably not. I have never met Michael Phelps, and I might not ever meet him. I've heard from several people who have met him and interviewed him that he is not the most personable guy to be around. I've heard more than a few say that he comes across as arrogant. But, I highly doubt he runs around chasing cameras and pleading for interviews. And, while I haven't read every interview he's ever done, I'm sure he's very proud and appreciative of his teammates. His swimming capabilities are unparalleled, and his goal of swimming after Mark Spitz is an engaging story that warrants following. But, let's make sure we don't drown out the efforts of others making waves in the pool.