Not long ago, super sprinter Usain Bolt was suggesting that he might be a decent wide receiver in the NFL.

Now, he’s thinking he has a shot at playing for a storied soccer franchise.

The brother must think speed is the solitary prerequisite for every sport.

The 2008 Olympic gold medalist is campaigning for a spot on Manchester United.  Now, of course, speed helps in any sport.  But the skills required for soccer players are intricate, and running fast will be to no avail if Bolt can’t control the ball, or even kick it.

But hey, maybe Bolt is trying to stay ahead of the game.  It’s quite possible that he’s foreshadowing the end of his dominance on the track – particularly following this crushing loss to Tyson Gay:

While neither runner put on his best display, it was obvious that Bolt was not at his best.  A 9.97 for Bolt is comparable to Rex Ryan saying one curse word in a speech.  They both can do it in their sleep.  Gay’s 9.84 isn’t the best he’s run, but it’s within a range that can be expected on him.  Bolt can, and has, easily outrun that mark multiple time before.  Nevertheless, it was a big win for Gay – who has been repeatedly mentioned as one of the top sprinters in the world, but hasn’t really come up with a big win to back up those claims.

What’s interesting is to hear Bolt shifting his focus instead of vowing to whip up on Gay the next time around.  And claiming that Gay “hates his guts” is not going to cut it.  Saying that his priority is major events?  That’s cheap.  Bolt beat everyone else handily, cruising to a second-place victory.  He simply didn’t have enough to upend Gay on August 6.

We know that Usain is a runner.  But with Gay finally appearing to assemble himself into peak form, what we don’t need is for Bolt to come up with excuses for a poor performance. 

What we do need is for him to man up and stop running from this challenge.

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