This little piece came to mind,
(actually I found it at the bottom of the "pile" while clearing my desk off ;)
after reading the latest "champion loses title".
He never talked about himself in
the third person. He didn't trash-talk, taunt or hang on the rim. Down the
stretch of the Kentucky Derby, he didn't turn and point at Bluegrass Cat, and he
didn't somersault over the finish line. After crossing the line, he didn't pull
out a Sharpie and autograph his saddle.
He never referred to his
handlers as "my supporting cast". He never tried to renegotiate his contract. He
never turned down an eight-figure offer by saying, "I've got a family to feed,
man." He did no commercials for cell phone plans, credit cards, fast food chains
or time shares. He never had his agent issue a statement in which he apologized
"if anybody took my actions the wrong way."
He never appeared before a
congressional committee and lied about his steroid use. He never dated Paris
Hilton. He was never involved in an altercation with a belligerent fan outside a
club at 4 in the morning..
He never claimed he'd been
disrespected. He never left his competitors in the dust and then said "I didn't
have my A game." He did not attribute his victories to the glory of his personal
Savior. He never claimed he was misquoted in his autobiography. He never
confessed to a double murder in the subjunctive tense.
He trained, ate and slept. He
ran his races, gave his best effort, accepted plaudits graciously, went back to
his stall and prepared to do it again the next timeout. He never fathered
multiple offspring out of wedlock. Alas.
