Michael Phelps is cheating

[Bikewer]

NBC this morning had a short segment on the various athlete's use of music. Most all of them, regardless of discipline, listen to music (of whatever type) that "pumps them up".

A psychologist explains that music an individual finds invigorating does indeed raise endorphin levels and improves mood and energy.
Since they virtually all do it....

 

[JoeEllison]

As Travis notes below, there are restriction on what practice is allowed for certain athletic teams (high school, college). Your case may not have been against the rules, but the concept that you were violating league rules is not silly. The devil is in the details, not in the concept.

Yes, but... on rainy days?!?!

 

[JoeEllison]

When I was running Cross Country in High School we would meet up, voluntarily, over the summer to train together and we were also accused of breaking a no summer training rule. However the rule only stated the coach couldn't coach us during the summer and we were just doing it on our own so their protests were in vain. We were first place in the league that year too if I might brag for a moment.

My old team has some ridiculous winning record that started when I was there and has continued through the last few years. We didn't have "practices" all year round, or ever on the weekends, but most of us ran over 300 days a year. I think my longest personal streak was close to 700 straight days. On the other hand, we had a conference meet where the coaches on the other teams wanted to cancel on account of the fact that it was rainy two weeks before the meet. Apparently there was an unwritten "don't get your shoes wet" rule that our coach wasn't aware of. That's probably why they named the athletic field after him...

 

[Travis]

Yes, but... on rainy days?!?!

Well, complaining about that is just stupid. I'm guessing they didn't train on rainy days and assumed no one else would.......oops.

We used to run on rainy days and in fact that was one of my favorite things. The big league meet my Sophomore year was in a torrential downpour and I got one of my best times in that race.

 

[Travis]

My old team has some ridiculous winning record that started when I was there and has continued through the last few years. We didn't have "practices" all year round, or ever on the weekends, but most of us ran over 300 days a year. I think my longest personal streak was close to 700 straight days. On the other hand, we had a conference meet where the coaches on the other teams wanted to cancel on account of the fact that it was rainy two weeks before the meet. Apparently there was an unwritten "don't get your shoes wet" rule that our coach wasn't aware of. That's probably why they named the athletic field after him...

Wow, 700 days straight, that beats me. My personal best was 150 days before winter snows made it impossible and I took a few weeks off from running and did other things.

 

[Gravy]

I heard Phelps secretly shaves his body. Don't know if I believe someone would go that far though.

 

[Drudgewire]

Not sure how it affects swimming, but listening to Ronnie James Dio has been proven by Hollywood to help shoot down enemy war planes.

 

[HarryKeogh]

Y'know all those stories about his eating 12,000 calories a day? That's because he stole everyone else's food in the Olympic village. He's a cheat and a fraud.

And that lady in the stands they kept focusing in on? Not his mom. That was a robot who shot laser beams out of its eyes to blind the other swimmers in the water.

Damn robots.

 

[cwalner]

I heard Phelps secretly shaves his body. Don't know if I believe someone would go that far though.

Don't think it is so secretly. I had several freinds in college that swam competetively and all of them would shave thier bodies before big competitions. This is not going far but SOP for swimmers as I understand it.

 

[krelnik]

This reminds me of the Kurt Vonnegut short story Harrison Bergeron.

(For those who want just the class notes: Harrison Bergeron^WP)

 

[Vic Vega]

Don't think it is so secretly. I had several freinds in college that swam competetively and all of them would shave thier bodies before big competitions. This is not going far but SOP for swimmers as I understand it.

I think Gravy said that tounge-in-cheek.

 

[JoeEllison]

Wow, 700 days straight, that beats me. My personal best was 150 days before winter snows made it impossible and I took a few weeks off from running and did other things.

I went out and got pneumonia and almost died...

A little more on-topic: if everyone has more or less equal access to something, then it isn't an unfair advantage if one person or team uses it and the others don't. And, how would you enforce a "no music" rule fairly, when there's no question that there are other mental tricks that give you a similar outcome? I guess we'd have to institute a "no meditation" rule, and a "no visualizing positive outcomes" rule as well.

 

[dudalb]

I do agree that Phelps has been cheating - apparently he trains most days and tries to swim faster than anyone else. If that isn't cheating I don't know what is!

Ah, the British Cult of the Amateur lives!

 

[Gagglegnash]

Hi

I remember reading a story from World War II, or as the Brits called, it, "The Recent Difficulty," where a British unit challenged an American unit to a friendly game of cricket.

The Americans won.

Later, one of the Brits accused them, over some good British beer, the stake in the game, of poor sportsmanship:

"...but they practiced!"

But everyone was drinking the beer, so all was forgiven.

Gotta love them Brits.

 

[Darat]

That has to be an urban myth - WWII didn't last that long.

 

[malbui]

Hi

I remember reading a story from World War II, or as the Brits called, it, "The Recent Difficulty," where a British unit challenged an American unit to a friendly game of cricket.

The Americans won.

Later, one of the Brits accused them, over some good British beer, the stake in the game, of poor sportsmanship:

"...but they practiced!"

But everyone was drinking the beer, so all was forgiven.

Gotta love them Brits.

Going on what my grandfathers told me about their time in uniform, I find it hard to believe that any British and American units were even on speaking terms, let alone organising sporting encounters between themselves.

 

[Morrigan]

Not sure how it affects swimming, but listening to Ronnie James Dio has been proven by Hollywood to help shoot down enemy war planes.

Listening to Ronnie james Dio help with everything, though.

And, how would you enforce a "no music" rule fairly, when there's no question that there are other mental tricks that give you a similar outcome? I guess we'd have to institute a "no meditation" rule, and a "no visualizing positive outcomes" rule as well.

I suggest brain scans on every athletes to make sure they aren't concentrating too hard. Oh, and no one can have his or her mom or friends tell them "good luck", since it may boost their morale and give them an unfair advantage. What about those orphan athletes, huh?

 

[aerosolben]

I hear Michael Phelps frequently consumes food, often in large quantities. This substance apparently contains molecules which, when consumed in conjunction with exercise, enter the bloodstream and allow the user to dramatically increase muscle mass and stamina far beyond what they could reach with exercise alone.

Frankly, I'm outraged at this breach of sportsmanship.

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

You are all missing the most basic (and blatant) of his cheating schemes. He performs his swimming in a pool full of water. Scientific studies have shown time and time again that moving from dirt to water can decrease one's swimming times by minutes or even hours. I can but wonder that this has been allowed to continue so long.

 

[shemp]

You are all missing the most basic (and blatant) of his cheating schemes. He performs his swimming in a pool full of water. Scientific studies have shown time and time again that moving from dirt to water can decrease one's swimming times by minutes or even hours. I can but wonder that this has been allowed to continue so long.

It would be much more interesting if he had to swim in urine or vomit, or maybe the blood of the damned.