The Rebel Yeller
Aquaman (Not the 'Aqua' in Teen Hunger Force)Wednesday, August 20, 2008 By Drew Thornton
A few unexpected events come around every so often that raise a sense of awareness about our beloved U. S. of A. 9/11, war and talk surrounding a new President (hopefully the next one will be better than the last), are things that serve as an adhesive for citizens of the United States to come together. There’s one main event, however, that we can count on to always do just that…and it comes every four years. The Olympics. The grand stage to showcase your talent and perform beyond the human body’s limit in a given sport not just for a medal, but to represent your country. The amount of pride demonstrated in these athletes are an inspiration, not just to other athletes, but to the ordinary Joe. Even students here at Richland draw from that feeling of pride. “I think that you don’t just have to be good at a sport, but you have to show that your there for your country”, says Junior Lloyd Barr. One man has defiantly not only been “reppin’” where he’s from, but putting on a show in the process. Aquaman has often been used to identify the man we simply know as Michael Phelps. From a one-hundredth of a second lead to win his seventh out of a record eight gold medals to his celebration in the relay with his teammates, Phelps has been truly outstanding. Yes, his out of this world swimming was the thing that caught most peoples eye, but another student begs to differ. “I thought he was amazing. I didn’t know you could be that buff and still swim that fast!” says junior Harley Waller. “He is also a role model for not only swimmers young and old, but all athletes.” As a recent Young Jeezy song titled “Put On” appropriately says, Phelps put on for not only his city, but for his country. With the events having come to a close, we’ll have to either wait another four years for that unspoken bond in this country to happen again, or wait for that next unexpected event to draw us closer than any other time before. Until these games come back to us in 2012 and for the remaining events left…go USA! |