The Olympics are not what they used to be. With the advent of the Internet, no more Cold War (which is obviously a good thing), and athletes switching countries as if they're free agents, it's much more difficult to get excited about the Games. You don't feel that same passion, or even desire to beat/destroy the other countries. That is until last night, when French 100m freestyle record-holder, Alain Bernard, ran his mouth off about the U.S. men's freestyle team saying, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for."

As the saying goes, you can talk the talk as long as you can walk the walk. Well, Bernard had every chance to back up his words since his teammates got him the lead going into the final leg of the race. And since he was the world-record holder, many thought he would back up his words. But all of a sudden, Jason Lezak made things interesting, and brought that American spirit back to life.

With history on the line (Michael Phelps' quest for 8 gold medals), but more importantly, American pride on the line, you couldn't help but cheer and get caught up in the moment. When Lezak touched the wall .08 seconds ahead of Bernard, I, like a bunch of other Americans, cheered in excitement.

One of those other Americans was Phelps himself. While he has several world records to his name in individual events, I would venture to say that the emotions he showed while cheering on Lezak and celebrating with his teammates were greater than any he has felt while swimming an individual race.

In a sport that is known more for individual achievements than team achievements, this moment could be the lasting impression of Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Games. If he does in fact go on to achieve that once unthinkable goal of 8 golds, he will have his 4x100m freestyle relay teammates to thank, especially Lezak, and we will have Alain Bernard to thank, for helping us rekindle that Olympic spirit.