Wow... So many negative comments. I'm not only stunned but I'm disappointed. So many people really are lost today huh?
One person writes that she won't buy stuff that's endorsed - and grinds on the parents for teaching their kids that they can be exploited by brands who use the power of endorsement to gain a competitive edge. I guarantee her kid's will have some issues when they grow up - and hopefully will find some help and not pass that along to their own.
Another tells Jason to get a job. Ah, I'm sure he'll do what he has to.
Another calls him greedy. Boy... Being in the top 3 in any other sport will bring you far more than what he's looking for. Plus, the window is closing - he's got to get what he can. (Minimum MLB contract: $390k, NFL $285k, NBA Woohoo $442k) $200k? ah... Beating a dead horse.
I swim. As a matter of fact, I swim a lane or two over from Jason a few times a week. He's fast. But more importantly, unlike so many athletes who get caught up in their success and scream "Look at me, I'm the best!" he's still just a dude.
He is approachable. He's kind. He's a role model for kids. He's not busting out the steroids like these other 100+ million dollar stars....
Anyhow, in other countries athletes of Jason's caliber are supported by their country - because these people are gifted, talented and special. They also bring us together in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible. He carry the pride of the nation on their backs.
The aren't like you and me - but are gifted in other ways. Some of us unfortunately just haven't figured that out yet and it's one of the things that breeds negativity. Hopefully, mom who's torturing your kids, you'll figure that out.
And by the way, mom, if Jason was your son, I'm sure your story would change.
Anyway, Jason deserves our support. He works hard. I see it all the time. He's a real champion.
If you were around your TV when he magically pulled that last length out a hat you too were probably screaming your head off and cheering like a maniac. I know you were because I could hear just about everyone on my block screaming.
But if you weren't, you missed something special.
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America’s Unemployed Olympic Hero
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Avoiding such an indignity is part of why he's here in Phoenix subjecting himself to another one. USA Swimming created the "speed-dating" event this year to help its athletes connect with representatives from corporate America and, with any luck, find themselves a steady paycheck. Lezak is the oldest swimmer here by nearly a decade, and if this doesn't work he's got some thinking to do. "I'm committed to swim through the summer," he says. "Then, it's like, 'Is this the right thing for me?' I'm married and I want a family."
Many elite swimmers started out as teen prodigies, but Lezak, a native of Irvine, Calif., didn't make his Olympic debut until he was 24. "I never made any huge leaps," he says. "I just got a little better each year." All four of his gold medals have come in relays; he won his only individual medal, a bronze, in Beijing. After Lezak helped preserve Phelps's quest for a $1 million bonus from Speedo for seven gold medals in one Olympics, many wags joked that Phelps owed him a cut of the loot. But Phelps and Lezak have never been close. There's nine years between them, and Phelps has spent most of his life in a Baltimore pool. The two haven't seen each other since an awards ceremony in November—and no, there was no gift. Lezak says he swam for his country, not for Phelps, so none was necessary. "Jason was kind of like the dad of our group," says Sandeno. "He's one of those all-American, clean-cut, very nice guys."
In any other era, Lezak's career already would be long over. In the 1970s, Mark Spitz had to quit swimming when he was 22 because he had to get a job. Today, thanks to endorsement deals, even for second-tier stars, swimming is the job. They must train up to three times a day, 11 months a year, just to sustain their top times. Races are routinely decided by 0.04 seconds, and those razor-thin margins take four years of training to earn. "Now is the time to put the hay in the barn," says USA Swimming head Chuck Wielgus. In other words, even if money comes back into the sport in 2010, it might be too late for some London 2012 hopefuls.
For now, that includes Lezak, though his chances of competing in London, at age 36, are slim. But he's still having fun, so he'll keep trying to make the money work. And he's made an impression on Hildenbiddle. "I would love to have you on our team," the exec tells him when the bell rings and their date ends. In a few weeks, Lezak expects to have a deal with Mutual of Omaha. But it'll be small, not enough on its own. Just like in Beijing, Jason Lezak is on his last lap, he's still behind and time is running out.
© 2009
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