When the hell are you in Yu-Gi-Oh?Where were y’all when I was the last one trying to do Synchro Summons during lunch in middle school because I thought it was the coolest thing in the world? I ask this because not only has there been a noticeable uptick in the popularity of trading card and video games recently, but now there’s a guy pulling out cards and winning Olympic qualifiers like a madman.
Noah Lyles, who is apparently on his way to representing the USA at the Paris Olympics later this year, is also apparently the standout Olympic player Yu-Gi-Oh Scholar. Before his last heats (or races), Lyle’s popular Yu-Gi-Oh Cards to the cameras, including Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Exodia’s head, before they are put back in his running suit. To top it all off, or perhaps make things worse, he was win these races too. Guys, I think we’ve discovered the fastest geek alive.
Having recently shown Exodia’s head, Lyles followed up in a wonderfully predictable manner: two more Pieces by Exodia. For the uninitiated, ignorant and carefree: Exodia is a legendary monster in the fiction of Yu-Gi-Oh. It is so powerful that when it was sealed as a card, it was split into several pieces in the hope that these would never be used for fear of its literally destructive power. Thus, there are five parts to Exodia: a head, two arms, and two legs.
In practice, Exodia is one of the most powerful monsters you can have in your deck, because drawing all five pieces is an instant game win. The modern version of Yu-Gi-Oh has mechanisms that allow Exodia to be taken out of the game or at least weakened so that it does not all powerful as ever. Nevertheless, one player surprised the crowd with win a tournament with Exodia just last year, so they’re still going strong, and that seems to be what Lyles is suggesting about himself.
In the same interview where he showed both Exodia’s right and left arms, Lyles claimed: “Now it’s time to build the whole thing. I have the left and right arms and the legs are coming tomorrow.” When the interviewer zero Having no idea what Lyles was telling him, he clarified: “All Yu-Gi-Oh Fans know. Something big is coming.”
Lyles pulls out the cards not only because he is a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and anime. In an incredibly sweet twist, he is actually flash them as part of a bet with another athlete, world shot put champion Chase Ealey. According to Lyles, they have an ongoing bet that if he blinks Yu-Gi-Oh Cards before his heats during the ongoing Olympic qualification, Ealey will face Rock Lees (from Naruto) Leg weights—which ironically makes him super fast––and takes them off during their own finals. This might be the best sports anime I’ve ever seen.
It now seems incredibly likely that we’ll see Lyles unpack the entire Exodia class over the course of his Olympic qualification, and as he keeps coming up with wins, only time will tell what else he has in store. I’m just praying he makes it to the Olympics and just pulls it off. Do you think he’ll take suggestions in the meantime? If so, bring out Black Luster Soldier next, king.
