Charles Hartley, a free-lance writer based in New Jersey, has written more than a thousand published sports articles. He earned Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Journalism. In addition, he was awarded his Bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University where he majored in English and Communications.
Michael Jordan came into and out our lives so fast that now it seems like a blur. While we watched him play basketball, we thought to ourselves “I have never seen anybody play basketball better than him and probably never will again.”
Countless articles got written about him during his stupendous career. We know he won six NBA titles, made a game-winning shot in a college national title game, and likes to golf.
But who was he, really? It remains a mystery. It’s impossible to walk in the shoes of someone so fabulous at his craft.
Jerry Rice flashed into our lives and out quickly also. While we watched him play wide receiver in the NFL and become the greatest to ever play that position and, arguably, the best football player in the history of the game, we were stunned at how superior he was.
We learned about his incomparable practice habits and how he grew up in Mississippi catching bricks from his Dad while working on a construction site, which prepared him to catch a football better than anyone ever has.
But who was he, really?
No one really knows. He was too hard-working – beyond belief – and so skilled that just forget about even thinking about running in his cleats.
Michael Phelps has been a part of our lives for 16 years since he burst onto the swimming scene by finishing fifth place in the 200 meter butterfly in the Olympics at the age of 15. Since then, well, you know the rest of his accomplishments.
He’s had some troubles out of the pool in his private life, bickered with his coach, Bob Bowman, and come back to these Olympics because he said he was bored.
But who is he, really?
We can’t know. We’ll never know.
What’s it like to be a super-mega-star such as Jordan, Rice or Phelps? They’re born geniuses. Yes they each have practiced plenty and dedicated their lives to be great. But they also were born with phenomenal abilities. They are not top one percenters. They are top .00000000000000000000000000000000000001 percenters.
They are once in a lifetime talents. No one has been as great at them at their specialties and there’s a good chance it will never happen again.
But who are they at their core, when alone?
It’s unknowable.
Is Phelps cognizant of the fact that of the millions of people who have swum no one has done it faster and been more successful? No one. Ever.
Where do you go from there?
What do you think about when you wake up in the morning? Are you still not satisfied? Do you want to go faster still? How could you not be content? Has it all been so easy that you don’t even appreciate it much? Do you ever think about the fact that 100 years from now they will definitely still be talking about your swimming accomplishments? You made history. Does it ever hit you that there may never be a better swimmer than you for next 500 years?
Do you wonder why you were the one born with so much otherworldly talent?
When Phelps thinks about this, does it make him feel satisfied? Is all this so overwhelming to him that he can’t even think about it? Is it all just too much success, too much talent, too many Gold Medals, too many wins, too many people worshipping him, too many strangers asking for his autograph, too many just wanting to interview him?
Is it all just too much, more of a hassle than the lives us ordinary people live?
Do we really understand what it’s like to go outside in the morning and – every day – have people staring at you because you are Michael Phelps? There are more than 300 million Americans and you are one of the most recognizable of all them.
In a nation of more than three hundred million people, you who rose to the top of Mount Everest faster than anyone ever has. In a world of more than six billion people, no one has ever swam faster.
Is there a need for Phelps to not think about this or he will just get overwhelmed by the fact that he is that guy, the Boy Wonder, Superman.
Why him? Does he ask himself that question?
I don’t know. None of us ever really could walk in his footsteps. We can’t know super-humanness. Only a very few can. He is one of them.
He is a part of American sports history forever and ever. He is already one of the world’s greatest athletes ever.
Does that make him cocky? Does he appreciate this? Is it a burden? How much does this mean to him. How much does this play on his mind? How hard is it for him to remain modest?
When interviewed Phelps often keeps his responses general. He doesn’t really let anyone too deep into who he really is.
Maybe being as great as he hasn’t fully sunk in with him. Maybe he is still figuring out himself. Maybe thinking about it bores him. Maybe, if he was honest with himself, he doesn’t feel like he’s accomplished that much with his life?
Can you imagine?
Most people who win one Olympic Gold Medal treasure it all their lives and it no doubt gives them great satisfaction. Phelps has won 18.
How many did he win before it fulfilled him? After four? After six? When did he stop counting? Or did any truly fulfill him? We think accomplishing so much would feel so great, but he’s still a human being and we all have problems, anxieties, and misgivings.
What does what Michael Phelps has done in swimming mean? Is it important? Does he think it is? Should we think it is? Is his daily life more fulfilling than ours? Or does he get bothered by the same things that bother other people?
How troubled is he? How happy?
Can we ever really know who he really is?
He is talented. He is great. He is the best.
But what else is there to know about him?
Do superhuman athletes think like the rest of us? Is there something in their thought processes that is so powerful than none of us who aren’t superhuman could grasp?
What does his brain look like? If you see it, would it look different than everybody else’s? Is there something deep inside his brain that gives him the mental toughness to swim through pain, to suppress and overcome it, better than anyone else? Are there unique biochemical in his brain that tell his body during a race to swim faster?
Who are you, really, Michael Phelps? How do you feel about your life?
We will never know because it’s impossible.
You are not one of us.
Johnny Weismuller was the best ever and there would never be another like him for 500 years. (Uh …. wrong!). Mark Spitz was the best ever and there would never be another like him for 500 years. (Uh …. wrong!) Michael Phelps is the best ever and there will never be another like him for 500 years. (Uh …. wrong!) Yes, MP is an awesome swimmer, but this article implies his records will never be broken. Hmmm. I wonder if any of his records will still exist in 2020. There is another great swimmer coming, and he/she is probably already born. (And I’m not counting the great Katie Ledecky.)
107 billion people have ever lived. Thats:
107,000,000,000
Compared to your silly (1/.0000…….1):
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Which would be Billions and Billions of times more than the number
people who have ever lived.
Overkill. Point made, but overkill.
Great article being mr phelps most devoted follower
I often ask myself the same question human or not
Maybe not
No we don’t know every single detail of Michael’s life, but why should we? I wouldn’t want to know everything, I’m just honoured that I got to grow up watching his unbelievable talent and will to win (or will not to be defeated) over the last 15 years.
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”
I like this article. I’ve wondered the same things about individuals such as Michael Phelps and what sets them apart from the masses and what’s really going on in their mind.
I found this article to be very….weird. Why do we need to know who Phelos “really” is? Dude, we’re lucky if we know who our spouse is, or our son or daughter. As for Phelps…. We know JUST enough about him… And we don’t really have a reason or a right to know more. We know that he has accomplished his goal…” To change the sport of swimming.” I am so incredibly thankful for this man. My son was 7 and just entering age group swimming when we saw Phelps break a world record at world trials in 2007. This year, my son swam st Olympic trials with Phelps. Phelos overcame adversity again and again and is now going to… Read more »
A big thumbs up to your post. You’re right; this article is weird….very weird. I just didn’t see the point in it. And you’re right; we really don’t have a reason to know any more about him.
I agree that we will never know what it would be like to be in his shoes.
But superhuman? No
Bob Bowman once quoted that Michael worked harder and for a longer period of time than any other person in history. That is how he has achieved what he has.
Michael Phelps puts on his suit the same way we all do.
He is also very strong mentally.
The child of my neighbor was killed by drunk driver. After his DUI I don’t respect him much as a responsible mentally strong person and see him only as an archived sportsman.
Mentality is a different thing from dui. Unless you are mentally ill. He has a fierce tenacity in the pool, whenever he sets his focus on something, he wins. He has not lost a race while in good shape tapered since 2006. He may have done DUIs 2 times known, but honestly. Nobody is perfect. Far from it. I would challenge someone who thinks he is better than Phelps to say he hasn’t done something that was regretable in his life.
Dude you’re off base. I applaud Phelps for his brave recovery… Difficult enough let alone ALSO training to be the best in the world…AGAIN. He is amazing mentally and physically.
I won’t argue because I don’t want to spoil your unconditional love to this swimmer. You love this article – good for you. I don’t.
I suspect he had strong adhd medication that allowed this singular pursuit . Left off them maybe not so much .
He took Ritalin up until the 6th grade and was weaned off of it by his physician. One of the symptoms of ADHD is hyperfocus on those things that interest them. It is not surprising that Phelps has the ability to focus in the pool like he does. Unfortunately when things don’t interest them they have difficulty concentrating. Impulsive behavior is another symptom. I am not sure what “left off of them not so much” means.
We have no right to know who “he is”. We may have an expectation, based on the overwhelming, invasive, and ceaseless social media world we live in, but if he wants to remain a private person or keep aspects of his private life his own, I say good for him. We don’t know who most world-class athletes or celebrities are, really, and I think that’s fair – who among us wants our lives and innermost selves exposed for all to see, just because we’re talented at something? I cannot imagine how tiresome it would be when everyone wants a piece of you 24/7. He’s done a very nice job of being an ambassador for the sport lately (with his Facebook… Read more »
So many arguments worth making about the GOAT, so much available context, and Charles Hartley’s compelling narrative is a list of vague, general questions, strange over-simplifications and an overall argument of “I don’t know and I have no opinion.”