Don't often agree with Jeff, but I do on this one. Good job!!

I saw the interview with Phelps,and it wasn't QUITE that way. They were talking about his retiring, and he said, quite matter-of-factly, that he'd accomplished everything he'd ever wanted to, and that there were other things he wanted to do with his life besides getting up at 6 a.m. every day and jumping into a cold pool. Yeah, in the process he made the statement about being the best swimmer of all time, but that's not bragging. It's a fact, and he said it in the context of the questions he was asked. So lighten up, Jeff!

Since I don't have the kind of natural talent, drive, and discipline exhibited by these athletes, I don't feel qualified to judge whether they are too full of themselves. If a person is the best in the world at something that he or she has worked at for a lifetime, they need to exhibit false modesty to protect the feelings of someone like Mr Jacoby? These athletes didn't succeed by being humble, they excelled by dint of incredibly hard work and an overarching belief in themselves. I suspect that they can live with My Jacoby's disapproval.

If "humility begins with the understanding that it's not all about you," then maybe Jacoby has found some common ground with President Obama when he tried to describe something similar but botched it by saying, "You didn't build that." In that same speech, the President said: "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help." He later continued, "The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together." Maybe Jacoby can direct some of his anti-self-importance efforts toward the likes of Romney and Ryan and the exaggerated importance they place on the very wealthy and big corporations. Where's his outrage, for example, about the arrogance represented by the now-$9 billion trading loss at JPMorgan, a federally insured bank? ""Essentially, JPMorgan has been operating a hedge fund with federal insured deposits within a bank," said Mark Williams, a professor of finance at Boston University, who also served as a Federal Reserve bank examiner. [ http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/jpmorgan-trading-loss-may-reach-9-billion/ ].

The public, and media, have these sports folks believing their own press clippings. We should blame ourselves for creating the hoopla. In reality the winners are the sponsors, the networks, the sports agents who all exploit these athletes who give up their childhood for a moment of fame. If you do not think it is just a moment, name the winner of the women's pole vault in 2004. I can't either. I wonder what she's doing now? Sports teach discipline and teamwork and are worth the effort, but in perspective please. Jacoby makes a good point.

So much of what we see on television and hear on the radio is heavily edited, so it's hard to know if we get the whole context. Humility does seem in short supply but perhaps we aren't interested in seeing it? Me, my favorite Olympic moment was the U.S. swimmer who was absolutely incredulous at winning his race. That I can't recall his name may speak volumes. But, with that type of exuberance after years of dedication, well, that's the type of guy I want my daughter to marry!

Sometimes, "Shucks, 'twarnt nothing." isn't enough. The Olympians deserve some pride in their victories. That pride shouldn't extend to spectators sitting on their rumps who feel that Olympic medals make their nation a better place.

Bolt reminds me of Donald Trump!

Sounds like sour grapes to me. Olympic athletes work SOO hard to get where they are and have very few chances. Mr. Jacoby sounds like a kid who was not athletic who resents kids who are. Professional athletes like LeBron James should NOT be in the Olympics, the event meant much more when it was all amateur athletes!

There's a difference in pride for a job well done and "showboating". I don't have a problem with these athletes being proud of what they did - they should be - but the whole "I'm the greatest" and "I can't learn anything from others" sticks in my craw. I want my children to be proud of their accomplishments, but there is ALWAYS room for improvement. The biggest issue for these folks is that some day in the not too distant future, someone will overshadow their record, or the focus will change and they will be forgotten except for retrospectives and occasional sports references. The best point made by Mr. Jacoby was the reference to the soldier who saved two other lives - not just his humility, but the fact that he saved two LIVES - he didn't just win a medal or two. Well-written editorial, as per usual.

It is not reasonable to compare a Medal of Honor recipient with athletes. What does Mr. Jacoby think about our national character--the one we trumpet to the world: greatest nation on earth? If that's our collected position, how on earth can we expect individual citizens to be less prideful and more humble?

Golly gee, Jeffy- what happened to the Libertard ideal of meritocracy? Applied social Darwinism. The individual more important than the group? Me, me, me and to hell with we? Are you abandoning your principles of the glorification of the self? No more "John Galt Rules" teeshirts? Aynal Rant must be spinning in her grave. What about all the intellectually disadvantaged who come to you for guidance? Are you making the move Libertardsim to (gasp) Liberalness? Golly gee....

Gee, I think if I'd just won an Olympic medal, I'd be feeling pretty special myself. Perhaps some of what was said was hubris, some was excitement at attaining your goals. Winning an Olympic medal takes years of training and luck, along with natural ability. Talk to these people a few months out, and I'm betting they're much more down to earth for the most part. And what of the athletes who did show grace? Aly Raisman hugged every one of her competitors in her events after they performed. She made that effort. Showed a lot of maturity and class. But I'm pretty sure that right after winning the gold medal, she'd have thought she was pretty great.

"It's not all about you" You couldn't have said it better. This is exactly what President Obama was talking about when he said "you didn't build that"!

"I'm just happy to be here!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeVca9MwDX8

A man who comes from a people who thinks that they are God's chosen is trying to bring down another for saying that he is the greatest sprinter of all time. If you know anything about track and field you would know that what Usain Bolt did and is doing in track and field that he is indeed the greatest sprinter ever. And the Michael Phelps analogy is way over blown because of the amount of events they can compete in at the Olympics. The author should just come out and say that he hates it when a Black man says that he is the greatest. I bet he must have said the same thing about Ali when he preached to the world that he is indeed the greatest boxer.

I agree with Jeff and submit this example of lack of humility. I presume Jeff sees this as an example of arrogance: "My father did not want me serving, and he convinced me that yes, I was too important to go to Vietnam. I had a greater purpose in life." -Mitt Romney

Really? You're a columnist. By definition, you are not humble. Please, find something more important to whine about, like, hmm, Obama. There's a good target for you.

Jeff, there is a difference between sports and war. Athletes compete to be the best through athletic events designed to entertain. Soldiers in war try to kill while avoiding being killed. That one is more humbling than the other is strange to you? And your biblical reference is a stretch. Didn't God say something to the effect of "thou shall have no other god besides me"? Kind of like the original "I am the greatest."

I usually don't agree with your politics, Mr. Jacoby, but we see eye-to-eye on this. Some pridefulness is to be expected and from what I saw, I think Michael Phelps struck a balance between pride and humility, giving credit to other swimmers. Carli Lloyd did not. Just because someone wins gold today doesn't mean that tomorrow they might lose to the same competitors that they beat. In sports there's always and element of luck. And, of course, by today 95 percent of Americans don't remember who Carli Lloyd is. Such fame can be very ephemeral. Unlike those who earn Medals of Honor, athletes save no one's life, nor bring more than fleeting glory to themselves and their country.

When you or an Olympic athlete becomes God, then it might be appropriate. Otherwise you're just one of 7 billion or so who might be slightly more talented in one tiny aspect of the human experience. It's no time to be smug.

In this instance I think Mr. Jacoby has a point. Just because someone wins a race at the Olympics doesn't make them the best in the world. It makes the best in that race at that particular moment. The very next day they could be beaten by the athlete that came in second, or even the one who came in seventh. If the Olympics indicated any universal truth about athletics, it was that even the best athletes have better days and worse days. Any athlete who doesn't acknowledge that luck was a factor in their victory is lying to his/herself.

You had me nodding along too, Jacoby. Hey, finally a column I could agree upon 100%. But then you just had to throw in that unjustified slam at Obama (somewhat disguised as simply a link to a previous column). Obama has let me down in a number of ways (none of which apply to you, I'd wager) but the rightwing meme that Obama is arrogant, a narcissist, or even more ridiculous, a Chicago thug, is so far from what I have observed of his temperment as to be utterly laughable. Indeed, this totally distorted view of Obama, dare I say it, suggests a certain latent racism -- especially the Chicago thug meme.