Is This What Mediocracy Looks Like?

A contact forwarded me an Instagram post that KAP7, the American water polo equipment company, put up this weekend. The text says: “Amazing job in Tokyo for the US Men’s Team. They tied for second-best finish in the past 25 years! Looking forward to what the future holds.”

Now, I want to be clear: I thought a sixth-place finish in Tokyo was acceptable. Given the age and experience of the U.S. team, beating Spain, or Hungary—or even Italy, who they knocked off to get into the 5/6 match—was a tall order. Beating the Italians both in Tokyo and in Tbilisi is a great highlight for Team USA, and something BOTH teams will reflect on.

[What the Hell Happened to Italy?!]

But, I don’t feel like celebrating this with “Amazing job, guys.” As Dejan Udovicic, their (still?) head coach said in 2016, it was gold or bust (not exactly, of course… but perhaps he should he have said: “I guarantee sixth!”).

[Sixth is Better Than Tenth… But No Gold in Tokyo for US Men]

I think not.

It seems to me there’s a certain amount of spin going on here; I’ve even seen it on Water Polo Planet (notorious for its hyper-critical appraisal of all-things U.S. men’s team related). One commenter cited how the U.S. was the “most improved” team in Tokyo.

Really!

Instagram—social media territory where I rarely tread.

Ask yourself if the Spanish team is putting out Instagram posts saying (in Spanish, of course, which would make it much more elegant): “We got fourth; it could have been 10th!”

Do you think Udovicic, or Gavin Arroyo, or Alex Rodriguez—the U.S. men’s brain trust—look at it that way? In a year where COVID changed the dynamics of the sport, and they (plus many others at USA Water Polo) worked to get American men opportunities to play professionally in Europe…were they targeting fifth? I doubt it.

Makes me think this a bit of fluff cooked up to say: “Gee, were not so bad!”

If you look at the results from the past six Olympic games, finishing 6th (“tied for second best finish in the last 25 years!”) looks pretty good. But how many U.S. polo fans feel good about jumping from 10th in Rio—the worst American finish since the 1948 team was 11th—to losing to an old and not so interested Croatia team in their final match at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center?

And, I’ve got to mention the venom Udovicic received after his “gold guarantee” interview with ESPN in 2016. I remember one acute observer ridiculing the Serbian-born Udovicic, saying how little he understood American polo.

Apparently so; he should have gone cautious rather than bold so that he could argue (after the fact, of course) that his team was the“most improved” at the Tokyo Games. That might have earned him another cycle—especially if he promised to make bronze in Paris.

Perhaps this IS the best America can hope for in men’s polo, though we have approximately 40,000 kids and adults who consistently play—and it could be argued—are mad for the sport.

You’d think we could aim higher, much as Udovicic did.

What IS being glossed over is the Americans’ narrow two-goal win in the opening day of group play against Japan—a side that hasn’t won a match against a top six team if three years. Think about what sort of Instagram post KAP7 might put up if the U.S. had lost that match:

Does: “Looking forward to what the future holds!” sound about right?