Limping To The Backwater, A Deep-seated Disappointment Sinks In

They rowed slowly and silently, their heads down, their oars barely touching the water. They rowed past the jetty where the medallists were already telling their battle stories to the waiting media. They rowed into a little backwater at the end of the course and toward a bridge, where a fan dressed in green and gold leaned down and yelled: "Come on, Aussie!"