Olympics Fill Void, Features SEC-like Rivalry

Which countries equivalent to Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia?

Katie Ledecky competes in the 800-meter freestyle final, Saturday, June 22, 2024, during the eighth day of the U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After being rocked into a coma by what may have been the most boring and uninspiring opening ceremony in Olympic games history, the sun rose on Saturday morning with an early fall feel.

The air outside was cool, the fresh cup of coffee from the local shop was chilled to perfection, and the DVR was already filled with sports and analysis. It's as close to a late September Saturday and it's tradition of "Marty & McGee," "SEC Nation" and "College Game Day" followed by game after game as one can possibly get in late July.

It's certainly a welcome break from the void that typically fills the end of SEC media days and the start of the college football season in late August. And while the opening ceremony was about as meh as unseasoned boiled beef, its parade of boats did provide a glimpse into who the quad-annual heavy hitters are when it comes to summer sports.

Watercraft of varying size and luxury with anywhere from two or three athletes to the massive 594 American athletes stacked on deck made for an easy comparison between the SWAC equivalent of the Olympic games and those more in line with the SEC, along with plenty of FCS and lower end Power Four countries.

When it comes to the summer games, there is little doubt the United States and Australia are the Alabama and Auburn of the world. The U.S. dominates literally every year, so the rest of the world spends its energy rooting against it, and the Australians want to take down the stars and stripes more than perhaps any other country.

For the Aussies, swimming truly is their Iron Bowl and the trash talk is thick. Before the United States even set its team, chirping came from the other side of the world in the form of swimmer Cate Campbell while appearing on a national morning news show just before the Olympic qualifiers.

"It's just so much sweeter beating America," Campbell said. "There were a couple of nights, particularly the first night of competition, where we did not have to hear 'Star Spangled Banner' ringing out through the stadium, and I cannot tell you how happy that made me. When we're, like, right next to each other in the warm-up area, the U.S. has this, like, infernal cowbell that they ring, and as someone leaves to go to the competition pool, they ring out U-S-A, U-S-A, and I've never wanted to punch someone more."

This was shown to Michael Phelps, who has since retired and moved into commentary for Olympic swimming, but after he watched it for the first time during a TV segment, it took all he had not to jump back in the pool. His blood was clearly boiling because he had done so much to put the pesky Australians in their place over numerous Olympics to ensure the United States always won the overall medal count.

"Wow," Phelps said while staring directly into the camera with crazed eyes while his eyebrows raised and head shook, clearly indicting Campbell just messed up. "No, but I appreciate your comments Cate."

He then took a moment to cool himself down off camera before addressing the matter further.

"If somebody said that to me, I would lose it," Phelps said. "I would literally make them eat every word they just said about me. Because people have done it. Chad le Clos. [Ian] Thorpe. You guys have all talked s--- about me, and I had the last laugh. So, for the Americans, if you see what I just saw – that's the first time I saw it – I would watch that thing every single day to give me that little bit of extra, just mmph. Aw, that, lit-, I mean, yeah, that, umm hmm. That's awesome."

Of course, in true Auburn sports radio fashion, the hosts of the Australian version of the "Today" show began talking smack.

"Woah, woah," the female anchor exclaimed. "He's angry isn't he?"
"He's angry he doesn't have a proper haircut," her male co-host chimed in. "Also, I feel like he's just lost his personality. They say that excessive vagabonding does that to you."
"He used to be a lot looser didn't he," she replied. " Now, not so much. He just needs to kinda relax a little bit."

Then, a voice from off-camera began talking about the Americans playing the Campbell clip over and over in the dressing room as they get ready for the events, and that it might provide an edge. However, the male host was not having any talk of that.

"It's not gonna feed them," he said. "We're faster. We're just better."

However, if there was any doubt Australia is the Auburn to the U.S.'s Nick Saban era Alabama, Campbell didn't even qualify for the Olympics in the following days, and, just like Phelps, will be doing commentary, although not by choice.

As for other countries, Russia falls into the Big Ten category rather than the SEC. They're the Michigan/Ohio State of the Olympics. However, they won't be in Paris this year because, unlike the NCAA, the Olympic committee is stringent on its rules and didn't bend over backward to find a way for them to compete.

China is Georgia. Its 351 medals since 2008 makes it the only country to push the United States and its 450. It's worth noting the Chinese lead in total gold medals over that span by two, although it comes with a bit of controversy.

The U.S. has dominated China in total gold medals in three of the four Olympics that have taken place over that time. The only aberration is in 2008 when the Chinese brought home 48 golds, a full dozen more than the Americans, in what was a massive jump in gold medals when China hosted the Bejing Olympics.

If Razorbacks fans are looking for their equivalent, it's Canada. It's relatively liked when competing, not really seen as a threat, yet sinks a reasonable amount of money into the games for a finish around 11th place on an annual basis.

The Canadians have 84 medals since 2008, including 16 golds. It's a tidy Liberty Bowl level performance while performing in the shadow of the U.S. in its own hemisphere. As for the rest of the SEC equivalents, here's how it plays out:
1. United States
2. China
3. Great Britain
4. Australia
5. France
6. Germany
7. Korea
8. Cuba
9. Italy
10. Japan
11. Ukraine
12. Canada
13. Spain
14. Brazil
15. Netherlands
16. New Zealand

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