Re: t-and-f: TNF does it again

[Ed & Dana Parrot]

Conway wrote:   >The sport is about competition and athletes should be rewarded for competing NOT for not competing ... And if rankers would rate >MJ over MO because he was undefeated in the 400 and MO had a  few loses then they're doing a dis-service to the sport, as MO >put up an outstanding series of races and times .. And should be commended for meeting whomever, whenever ... THAT is the >mark of a champion ..   As a rule, I agree with you.  I certainly think that if you are an elite athlete and you pick only meets that you know you can win fairly easily, you are doing a disservice to the sport.  You have every right to do it, but a lot of fans may think less of you.   On the other hand, I look at someone like Lasse Viren, who did almost nothing except win four Olympic distance golds in 1972 and 1976 (plus top 5 in his first marathon - the Olympics in 1976).  In my book, he was as great a champion as anyone.  It's a challenge to go out and race the best ten times in a season.  It's an equal challenge to spend years focusing on nothing but winning the Olympics (twice).   MJ is a great champion, and it is important to note that he has run very few 200's period since 1996.  Yes, there is a sense of him avoiding Mo, and yes it detracts a little from his image.  I personally would have ranked Mo somewhere around 5th and MJ barely in the top ten, just because there were plenty of other deserving performers.    - Ed Parrot