Deserved result

 

Early last year, Australian swimmer James Magnussen (nicknamed 'The Missile' by the Aussie press) told the Australian media to 'brace themselves', as he would go into the London Olympics later that year and wreak havoc in the pool.

Once the Olympics went underway, the Australian Men's Freestyle Relay team, consisting of Magnussen, James Roberts, Eamon Sullivan and Matt Targett were red-hot favourites to win the event (even against a strong US team that had Michael Phelps in its team). So heavily favoured were the Aussie boys to win that they christened themselves the 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' shortly before the race.

Well, as we now know, Magnussen may as well have warned the Australian media to brace themselves for a lamentable effort from him and the relay team may as well have named themselves the 'Weapons of Self Destruction'.
Magnussen failed to capture a single gold medal on his own and went home with a silver and bronze, which isn't bad but given the way he talked himself up prior to the games, it was a disappointing result.
As for the relay team, they came in fourth behind France, the USA and Russia. Way to be the heavy favourites going in, eh?
In other words, Magnussen and his boys went home branded as overhyped, egotistical losers and to add insult to injury, rumours of misbehaviour on their part began to surface after the games were over.

As it turns out, the rumours were true. Some time last week, Magnussen, Sullivan, Roberts, Targett, Cameron McEvoy and Tommaso D'Orsogna held a media conference to apologise for engaging in inappropriate behaviour at a training camp shortly before last year's Olympics. Boozing, partying, playing pranks on and harassing female swimmers, bullying younger swimmers and taking the controversial sedative Stilnox during 'bonding sessions'.

Roberts claimed not to have taken Stilnox but he admitted to partaking in the other antics that his teammates got up to. Sullivan, in particular should have known better, seeing as how he was a senior member of the swimming team and should have showed more leadership and responsibility.

And considering the effort they put up once the Olympics went underway, I think it's fair to say that they were still doing some goofing around on the side instead of warming up and getting into 'fighting' mode.

To make matters worse, the team's head coach Leigh Nugent did next to nothing about the situation and some female swimmers have come forward and said that the boys may not have been entirely truthful in their confession.

This is not to say that the boys were the only ones who misbehaved. 100m backstroke silver medallist Emily Seebohm blamed long sessions on facebook and twitter for her lack of focus and there were reports of coaches failing to discipline and control their athletes.

In short, the swimming team that represented Australia last year was in complete disarray and the weak results on the medal tally reflected it.

 

You know, when I watched the Men's freestyle relay team go down I was disappointed. Not just in the result, but mainly because I knew that the guys had allowed their egos to get the better of them. All throughout 2012 I had to read yet another ego-driven statement from Magnussen and when I read that the relay team gave themselves a nickname, I thought to myself 'I hope you boys realise that you've just placed ENORMOUS pressure on yourselves. You had better back up the trash-talk or forever be known as hypejobs'.
As for Magnussen, once I heard that he had gone home with just a silver medal and failed to qualify for one of his pet events, I have to admit that a part of my was snickering. All that talk and he couldn't back it up? Way to go, big man. A silver medal is a great result but the way that Jimbo Mag was talking, ONLY a gold would have been acceptable.

Needless to say that my disappointment in these guys were compounded when the allegations of bad behaviour on their part was exposed as truth. Talk about an embarrassment for themselves and for the country. Here they are, about to compete for the event that they have spent their whole sporting lives preparing for and use it as an opportunity to act like idiots. No, I don't buy the few who dismiss their antics as just 'boys will be boys' and 'kids being kids'. They are PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES about to represent THEIR COUNTRY in the freakin' Olympics! Thus, they are expected to conduct themselves professionally and that means staying focused and giving it their all.

But you know, they don't deserve all the blame. What the hell were the coaches doing throughout all this!? Enjoying the sights and sounds of London? Why wasn't there someone to lay down the law and get these crazy kids back in line?
Seriously, you guys failed your athletes and so the whole debacle rests partly, if not entirely on your shoulders. Shame on all of you!

The next Olympics is three years away, and I hope that by then, athletes AND coaches had cleaned up their acts. For most members of the swimming team, this is a chance to redeem themselves since most of them are still young enough to make amends.
As for the members of the team who might be too old or may have perhaps retired by the time the next Olympics happens, what can I say? It's a damn shame that you had to end your Olympic careers on a low.
As for the coaches, you guys had better get your act together unless you want to be crucified by the media yet again for bringing in a team of losers into the biggest show on earth.
When a team that lacks unity and leadership, there's only one guaranteed outcome - disaster. Looking back now, the poor results yielded from the pool was well deserved.

Time to get serious, guys.

The importance of watching your mouth

Last week, Australian boxer Anthony Mundine was defeated by his countryman (and reigning IBF middleweight boxing champ) Daniel Geale. Sure, losing a fight is bad, but to make matters worse for Mundine, he had failed miserably to back up the non-stop trash-talk he had heaped onto Geale in the months leading up to the fight.
From the moment the match-up was announced, Mundine was every bit the ill-mannered, tactless motormouth. He called Geale a limited fighter among other things, and then had the nerve to take a shot at the champion's family and Aboriginal heritage. Journalists and internet boxing forums had a field day roasting Mundine for his disgusting comments and all the while, he proclaimed that he would not only take Geale's title away from him, but that he would beat him worse than he did during their first fight, which took place four years ago and saw Mundine win a controversial decision.

Anthony Mundine (L) samples Daniel Geale's right hand

Anyway, Mundine's antics and subsequent failure came to mind when I watched an episode of My Kitchen Rules on TV last night. The show focuses on teams of two representing the Australian states competing against each other to transform their humble homes into instant restaurants, complete with menus, themes, decorations etc for one night. Two judges, both professional chefs, will oversee the proceedings.
From the moment this show began, best friends and New South Wales representatives Jessie and Biswa stirred controversy with their harsh judgment on their fellow contestants' offerings, frequently complaining that there was an element (or three) in the dishes that they don't like. Let's just say that I've lost track as to which foods they can and (supposedly) can't have.
If that wasn't enough, they talked a big game, boasting that they had what it took to get top marks and that they'd show the others how this competition should be played and that everyone will be in for a big surprise.

Needless to say, their moment to shine was eagerly anticipated. Problem was, the opposite happened.

Firstly, they greeted their guests at their home with the promise of 'no more boring dishes'. And just like that, any chance of them gaining any semblance of respect from their competitors and even the judges just went flying out the window.

Then came a series of disasters and silly mistakes in the kitchen that led to them being absurdly late in serving the entree and then the main course. The biggest shock there is that none of the guests left. I know I would have.

In between catastrophes and watching fellow contestants and the judges sample their dishes, the girls criticised themselves and each other and then started crying on each others' shoulders - although they did jump up and down for joy during the fleeting moments that something went right in the kitchen. I watched all this and thought, 'forget about whining, groaning and yahoo-ing, GET BACK TO WORK!!!!!!'

Finally, they served dessert on time - unfortunately it tasted so bad that at least 3 contestants nearly vomitted and even the judges had a hard time keeping it down.

In the end, Jessie and Biswa's boasting that they would get a perfect score went down in flames and instead they ended up with the lowest score in the competition to date.

You can call it bad luck or karma, but to me, I'd say it was them crumbling to the extremely high expectation that they inadvertently set for themselves thanks to the non-stop yapping they did leading up to their turn. It's one thing to merely state that they didn't like another competitor's food - it's another to constantly whinge and make a big deal about it as though they were served poison and then let the cat out of the bag by making stupid statements like 'NO MORE BORING DISHES!!!!!' If there is one key benefit to staying humble, it's that win or lose, you'll still have your fellow peers' respect.

Jessie (L) and Biswa

Sure, confidence is a good thing. If you don't back yourself you won't go as far as you believe you can. But there is a BIG difference between confidence and arrogance and people like Anthony Mundine and Jessie and Biswa need to realise that. Constantly putting others down just to talk yourself up is not confidence, it is arrogant and downright disgusting and immature behaviour, especially if you resort to malicious personal attacks the way Mundine did before he fought Daniel Geale.
If hating on someone just to give yourself an advantage in a competition is what works for you, then by all means go for it. But keep your dignity intact and watch your mouth. Some things are best left unsaid. That way, if you win, people will still be willing to give you the respect you deserve.

Remember, the more you brag and put people down in your pursuit of victory, the higher people's expectations of you will be - and if you fail to meet these expectations even by the slimmest of margins, you will hear about it loud and clear for a very, very long time.