As mentioned in my previous post, some people are just better than others at certain things in the sports world. Is it because of genetics or God's will? Who knows? Or maybe it's because they've spent more time at it than anybody else over the years.
Few would doubt the Kenyans have long owned marathon running. Then again, what else do they have to do in Kenya?
For decades Canadians WERE the NHL. An American was rare, and nobody in the Western Hemisphere gave a second thought about hockey going on anywhere else. Then those pesky Soviets did a western tour and made Canadian bacon out of their best teams. Turned out, the guys in red were really good.
Nowadays, Americans and Russians are commonplace in the NHL, along with Swedes, Czechs, and several other nationalities. In short, while they still produce many excellent players, perhaps even the majority, the Canadians no longer solely rule the roost at the highest levels of hockey.
But America has it's own problems in the world of big time sports.
Sure, the NFL still reigns supreme -- but only in America. No other countries around the world are interested in playing such a game. Conversely, the American men remain second-class citizens in the world of big-time soccer, though the women have fared well.
NASCAR is it's own entity. As American as it gets, and certainly a big deal. Yet all other countries couldn't care less about starting up such a "league".
Indy car racing used to attract drivers and teams from around the world, and still does, but they've never recovered from their major internal feud a few decades ago. The sport is a shell of what it once was.
At that, even when Indy was a big deal in the USA, others around the globe considered such racing a second class sport compared to Formula 1. They had a point. F1 cars (and drivers) were superior to their Indy counterparts in most every way. Still are. When it comes to advanced engineering, horsepower, and the driver skills required to navigate the courses -- it's really not a close call. Yes, Indy cars average higher speeds, but only because of the long straightaways and high banking in the turns.
The Major Leagues of baseball present an interesting scenario. They've long crowned "World Series" champions every year, but for the longest time only Americans and American teams even had professional baseball. Good grief, even in the present, only one team remains located outside the United States in nearby Toronto. Claiming to be world champions in a game no other country participated in seemed to ring a bit hollow, if not self-serving. (Isn't that a bit like the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant? We have no idea what else is out there but we just assume our women are the most beautiful in the cosmos?) Yes, the Japanese have professional baseball leagues these days, and several of their players have become stars in MLB. So how come their best teams aren't invited to the "World" Series? Are the powers that be in MLB scared to death a team from abroad might actually win it?
Another interesting phenomenon has happened to MLB in recent years. The influx of Latino players. Cubans, Venezuelans, Dominicans, and others have become a major presence on most teams -- many of them super-star players.
America still reigns supreme in pro basketball, but others in the world are catching up to a degree. In the Olympics every four years, the USA assembles their Dream Team and typically wins the gold medal. But the days of 40-50 point blow-outs against at least a few other national teams are over. The scores are getting closer. The Americans aren't getting worse -- others are getting better. At that, the NBA is hardly an "all-American" league any more. It abounds with players that came from abroad.
Consider the reigning World Champion San Antonio Spurs. Few would think they would have been anywhere near as good if they didn't have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Duncan's from the Virgin Islands, Parker from France, and Ginobili is, duh, Italian. Delete them, and role players like Boris Diaw (another Frenchman), Tiago Splitter (a Brazilian), and Marco Belinelli (hello?) and the Spurs would be lucky to win a single game, let alone be perennial championship contenders.
But where Americans have totally lost their way in professional sports is tennis. Sure, Serena Williams remains the #1 player in the world and looks as strong as ever. But she's also 33 years old. That's getting up there in the professional tennis world. Her sister Venus, only a year older, has already begun to experience the inevitable fall that comes with age. She can't compete at the highest levels anymore. When Serena's swoon will come is unknown. Perhaps she'll retire on top. But if she hangs around, it's just a matter of time -- and likely within a year or two.
When that happens, American ladies' tennis is in trouble. Not counting Venus (currently #10, who will surely nosedive in the rankings if she persists), the next best American player is named Madison Keys at #20. When's the last time you saw her play in a final or even semi-final of a tournament, much less win it?
The American men have already experienced this. The highest ranked American male tennis player is currently one John Isner at #18. After Isner, one has to go all the way down to #37 to find another Yank. His name is Steve Johnson. Ever hear of him? Not me.
The rest of the world has lapped American male tennis, and the ladies' version is on deck for a similar fall. Only Serena remains and, as mentioned above, not for long.
Yet Americans need not hang their heads. They're still far ahead of the rest of the world in another sports category, and stretching their lead by the day. That would be scandals, of course. No other country, or all the rest of them combined, can offer what America has in recent years.
I mean, c'mon. A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Ray Rice, Adrian Petersen, Lance Armstrong, Donald Sterling, academic fraud and cheating at universities, Roger Goodell's recent foibles, the current murder trial of Aaron Hernandez, and even going back to OJ, amongst many other examples, clearly shows that America is still #1.
So bring it, world. Try to top THAT........
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