The Best of London 2012

I believe that everyone has a talent for doing something. Is that vague enough for you?

Each person owns a gift or ability to demonstrate a skill to an extraordinary degree, though maybe not up to Olympic standards. The sad part about this theory is that most people never realize their talent, whether by choice or lack of exposure, so they will never be able to show it off. Still lost?

Could this have been me? We will never know.

For example, and to keep with the Olympic theme, I might be the greatest fencer the world would have ever seen, but I will never be able to show off my sword-fighting skills because where I come from, we stop playing with plastic swords from the dollar store after the age of five. We move on to tee-ball and pee-wee football. Thus my talents for wielding a sword in a fancy USA mask have gone untapped.

Not everyone is deprived of an opportunity to realize their talent. Instead many, by accident or grand design, find their destined activity, but do not possess the drive to continue on with it.

Another example, which also helps exhibit that these skills are not limited to the realm of sports. For the  better part of eight years, I played trumpet. During some parts of high school, I was playing more than five hours a day in several different groups. Not to "toot my own horn'' -- yeah, I just did that -- but I was a decent musician.

Based upon my theory, I had found a skill in which I was better than most at doing. However, I had different interests which I wanted to pursue as a professional, meaning my trumpet playing would have to take a back seat to them.

Had I stuck with playing the trumpet would I be in the Boston Pops? My grandparents might think so, but more than likely not. Those performers, like Olympians, are geniuses at their craft, a level only few attain. Had I stuck with playing trumpet could I have played "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" solo on a Saturday in the fall at UGA in the South corner? I like to think I could have.

All this is a roundabout way of getting to the people who found their niche and thrived to a level few only few will ever reach. In fact, the odds against a newborn child of becoming an Olympic athlete are 2,500 to 1, 5,000 to 1 to medal ,and 10,000 to 1 to become a gold medalist.

The undisputed greatest swimmer ever, Michael Phelps started off slow but finished his alleged final Olympic swim in gold medal fashion.

How many of you actually believe this? I give it two years.

The 27-year-old will become antsy, see all of his peers still fighting to get better, and join them after some time out of the pool. I am putting my money on seeing Phelps in Rio de Janeiro and not as a commentator.

Sure he is cocky, but Bolt has every reason to be. He is a legend.

Usain Bolt joined Michael Phelps in the legendary category at the 2012 Games. While Phelps finished as the Olympics' all-time winningest athlete 22 total medals, Bolt owned the track, winning every race he competed in with ease (100-meter, 200-meter and 4x400-meter).

Bolt left little doubt that he had earned legendary status with his winning margins alone, but he made sure in every post race interview and press conference to tell the world that he indeed is a "legend" because of his performances at the last two Olympic Games. Luckily for us all, Bolt admits he will be back for 2016.

The Americans also had tremendous results on the track, especially the women. However, one of the most compelling stories was in the Men's 4x400-meter relay preliminaries. Not only had Bryshon Nellum come back from not being able to walk after sustaining gunshot wounds two years ago, to running in the Olympics, but there was Manteo Mitchell.

Mitchell finishing his broken 'leg' of the 4x400M relay.

Mitchell broke a bone in his leg during his run and still finished the final 200 meters of his 'leg' -- of course the pun is intended. He told reporters that he knew he could not stop because it would not only be a disappointment to him, but to his entire team and country. USA's 4x400-meter relay team can fly home proudly with silver medals around their necks.

Then of course there are those American teams which proved dominance over the world, causing all of us as Americans to walk a with our chests out a little bit further: Gabby Douglas and the Fab Five, Missy Franklin, the Women's basketball and soccer teams, Serena Williams, Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, and David Boudia to name a few.

It is hard to believe that the London Olympic Games are over and we are four years away from another edition of the Summer Games. In the mean time, a 24-year-old male's greatest chance of becoming an Olympic athlete is in Equestrian at 1 in 62.

Anyone have a horse?