A Little Help

We watched history in the making. What Michael Phelps did in winning 8 gold medals in a single Summer Olympics is utterly amazing.

But he could not have done it without the help of his friends.

Particularly the 4x100 free relay.

But that's what makes Phelps' achieved dream so amazing...he could not do it on his own. Swimming 17 races takes a lot of endurance, concentration and strength that not many possess. And he had to win 8 of them.

Three out of those eight he was part of a team. In a way, he had to give more of himself to not let his teammates down. On his last race, the 4x100 medley relay, he did not disappoint; he swam the fastest butterfly leg in the relay's history. He did not achieve his dream alone; he had done in it the company of his team, his friends.

Jason Lezak, who had won the 4x100 free relay by one of the more historic moments in Olympic history (well, ones that we have seen) stated before that they did not do it for Phelps. And I believe it. That was never the team's expectation; another win for Phelps. They all wanted gold, and they had to do it together. And they could not have done it without each other.

From NBCOlympics.com: "It wouldn't have been possible without the help of my teammates." Phelps said. "For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

I like Phelps for many reasons. One of the greatest things I admire is that while he is a phenomenon as an individual, Phelps also displayed spectacular sportsmanship as a team player.
I suppose that is why I loved that Phelps' eighth gold was a team relay. We are truly better together, but it also depends on what we bring to it. And everyone on that team brought everything they had in everything they did.

Again...if only we did that in our every day lives.

Which, I have to get back to come Monday morning.