Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Australian Ian Thorpe and Serbian Milorad Cavic… What do these two male swimmers have in common? Just ask Michael Phelps….

Ian Thorpe said Phelps had no shot at the 8 gold medals in Beijing. Cavic claimed he beat Phelps in the 100 fly at the Beijing Olympics and would beat him again at the World Championships in Rome. Notice the words in the previous sentence? They both said these things, but were they right or backed up… no way.

Phelps took these words and channeled them into fuel and fire that turned into gold medals across the board. He used the loose talk; posted the quotes on anything he could, and used them as inspiration for some of the greatest swimming performances of all time at the Olympic and World Championship level. In fact, he should probably send Thorpe and Cavic a thank you note for the little extra boost of motivation.

Tom Brady once said “Well done is always better than well said.” Oops- someone should have told that to University of Tennessee Head Coach, Lane Kiffin. In a press conference Kiffin ignited the Volunteer masses by boasting that he “couldn’t wait to sing [theme song] ‘Rocky Top’ all night long after beating the Florida Gators.” Well, Lane… better luck next time. Word to the wise… if you’re going up against the #1 team in the country in THEIR stadium, I wouldn’t be so bold.

However, there is one case where talking is warranted- when you can back it up. You know who did just that this weekend… the New York Jets. Behind rookie QB, Matt Sanchez, the vastly improved Jets took down the Super Bowl hopeful and legendary New England Patriots. This is a Jets team who had lost eight straight games at home to Tom Brady and company.

The Jets did take part in a lot of pre-game talking... A very risky thing to do. Coach Rex Ryan left pre-recorded voicemails to Jets faithful encouraging the fans to bring the noise on Sunday. Safety Kerry Rhodes stated he wanted to embarrass the Patriots and make them feel bad. A little harsh I do believe, but hey- they proved they were ready for this football game against the Patriots. Their proclamation of not being afraid certainly appeared through their performance, and a very impressive performance it was.