[sammyg2]

Here's a quote from Spitz. no one said he got his 9 gold medals and 10 world records for being humble:

According to a report released by Agence France Presse (AFP) wire service, Spitz felt snubbed about not being asked to attend the 2008 Olympics to watch current swimming great, Michael Phelps, attempt to break his record of 7 gold medals. In the article, he is quoted as saying, "I never got invited. You don't go to the Olympics just to say, I am going to go. Especially because of who I am....I am going to sit there and watch Michael Phelps break my record anonymously? That's almost demeaning to me. It is not almost—it is.". Spitz also says he could have won 8 gold medals if given the chance. "I won seven events. If they had the 50m freestyle back then, which they do now, I probably would have won that too," he said. And Spitz thinks Phelps will succeed, "he's almost identical to me. He's a world-record holder in all these events, so he is dominating the events just like I did," Spitz said. "He reminds me of myself."