Brian Clay, as the winner of the Olympic decathlon, is considered the greatest athlete in the world. Yet fame and fortune have not come his way. The NY Times has an article about Clay and his relative anonymity today. Clay is half African American and half Japanese American, and as the article says, people sometimes mistake him for Tiger Woods.
Such is the way capitalism works. Even being the best in the world doesn’t guarantee fame and fortune. The Times says it well:
How is it that backup quarterbacks, utility infielders and winless golf professionals live more extravagantly than someone deemed the world’s greatest athlete?
It must be hard to put in all that time and effort with so little in the way of rewards. (Kind of like Asian American writing and Asian American activism…hahahaha.) But I’m sure he does it because he loves it.
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I also wanted more rice than what could fit inside the wrap....
I think this is one place where I disagree with the argument. Can you name multi-million dollar track and field athletes? With the exception of the world’s greatest sprinters, including Usain Bolt, contracts for athletes in track and field are quite small. In fact, they’re not much to live on. Primarily they’re designed to offset travel costs and training needs.
Yes, Brian Clay is the world’s greatest athlete. In fact, remember, the sport he participates in is still called “Athletics” under the Olympic flag (not “track and field”). Brian Clay also tested out on the Nike Sparq system (used for professional footballers and baseballers and wanna-be athletes) and had the best score overall amongst professional athletes. Reggie Bush, the highly touted RB from USC scored a 93.38 total. Brian Clay scored 130.40 total points. Um…what a bad ass.
But, is Brian Clay making as much money and as famous as Reggie Bush? No.
He chose a sport where money builds stadiums, not athletes. But, he also chose the greatest arena for showcasing his talents. And, what’s wrong with that? He earned a gold medal in the decathlon to prove that for the next four years, no one will be able to say they are the best in the world. He also broke the Olympic Trials record, and won by the largest point margin in the Beijing Olympics since 1972.
How many Super Bowl champions are there each year? 53 players. That’s right. So, in four years, that’s 212 players who will have a Super Bowl ring. How many decathlons will be called the greatest every four years? ONE.
So how much money is there in track and field? Usain Bolt, the most famous man in track today, earned just under $2 million from his sponsorship for breaking the world record. He holds three world records, three Olympic records, and is the most recognized face in track.
But, do the math. Last year, Alex Rodriguez earned $28 million in 138 games. That means he only had to show up to 10 games to make the same that Usain Bolt did in one year (and think about the training he put in for that single event).
Thanks, P2H.
One thing I was going to say is that reporters often characterize their subjects to make the points that they would like to write. It’s human nature, and I think it happens with all reporter-subject relationships. I wonder to what extent it happened with this article. I think you’re right–he knew what would happen afterward, and maybe he really doesn’t care since he obviously loves the sport.