Flavor Flavor realizes this is an unexpected crossover.
The rap icon once only had a vague knowledge of water polo because he watched Olympic games on television. But Flav has a newfound appreciation for the sport, and after recently signing a five-year sponsorship deal to become the official publicist for the U.S. women’s and men’s national water polo teams, he has a newfound appreciation for the huge demands the sport requires. Amazing endurance.
“What does rap have to do with water polo? No,” Flav said.
so far.
The partnership’s journey is well-documented: Maggie Steffens, the longtime captain of the U.S. women’s team, posted a photo of the players on her Instagram in May with a caption outlining the athletes. Frequent challenges include players often wearing multiple hats while pursuing their goals. She called on her followers to watch and support women’s sports.
Flav said his manager initially flagged the post, and he returned the call pledging support. From this, an unprecedented partnership was born. Last Monday, he and Stephens appeared on “CBS Mornings,” where Flav announced he would give each player $1,000 and provide the team with a Virgin Voyage cruise. ) cruise services.
The 65-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer tells us Competitor He plans to attend the Paris Olympics to cheer on the team as they aim for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, a feat that has not been accomplished by any men’s or women’s water polo team to date.
“I’m here to hype them up. I’m here to get them in the spirit of winning a fourth gold medal,” Flav said with a confidence that befits his role. “…I know we can do it. We’re going to get it.
Flav also said he plans to watch the women’s team’s final home game against Hungary before the Olympics. He wrote in a post on
I will be at the game on Tuesday,,,I will be taking photos and signing autographs before and after the game, but not during the game,,,we are all here to cheer for these women https://t.co/8AHYAtzE0R
— Flavor Flavor (@FlavorFlav) July 3, 2024
“I’m trying to get as many people involved as possible,” he said. “Hopefully what I’m doing will open the door for other celebrities like me to help sponsor these Olympic teams because these (athletes) are doing everything they can to make America look better.”
The U.S. women’s water polo team is getting more attention as it bids for an Olympic record. Adam Krikorian, the coach who has guided Team USA to more Olympic gold medals than any coach in women’s water polo, calls the sport “an attention-hungry and notoriety-seeking sport.”
“We’re a team that sometimes feels overlooked,” he said. “So it’s heartwarming when someone in the spotlight shares their love and passion for our team. We love it. We embrace it. We hope it inspires others to join in.
Krikorian said he wouldn’t mind if Flav’s interest encouraged a bandwagon group to follow in their footsteps this summer: “We’ll take them all away. You don’t need to be with us in the first place.”
Any new fan will rally around a team that symbolizes success. Since being hired in 2009, Krikorian and the U.S. women’s team have had an astonishing run, winning gold medals in six of the past three Olympics and the past nine world championships.
But Krikorian — a former UCLA water polo player who calls late basketball legend John Wooden his coaching idol — is less concerned with the outcome. When his staff re-evaluates a practice or game, the score doesn’t even show up. He preaches existence over perfection, a philosophy he emphasizes when discussing Emily Ausmus. “The ground played a more important defensive role.
Ausmus, 18, is the youngest player on the team and plays on a team with no Olympic experience and a roster that is almost split between first-time Olympians (seven) and returning players (six). This level of experience is different from the previous cycle leading up to Tokyo 2021, when most athletes were part of the gold medal-winning team at Rio 2016.
On the other end of the experience spectrum is Stephens, who has helped the U.S. win gold medals at the past three Olympics. At the Tokyo Olympics, she became the all-time leading scorer in women’s Olympic water polo. If the U.S. women’s team wins gold in Paris, Stephens will become the first water polo player to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Stephens, 31, can rattle off a list of young players on this year’s roster with whom she has been associated at an earlier stage in her life, highlighting her well-rounded experience at these Olympics:
— Ryann Neushul, 24, is the third partner of Neushul’s sister, Steffens, to compete in the Olympics. “I remember her as a child,” Stephens said.
— Jenna Flynn posed with Stephens at the Rio Olympics when Flynn was a young fan. “Now she’s at Stanford, on Team USA, one of my closest friends on the team, and we’re 11 years apart.”
— Jewel Roemer Like Stephens, a Northern California native, Stephens grew up competing in men’s scrimmage games at Diablo Valley College coached by Roemer’s father. “I remember (Jewel) getting some cute videos saying, ‘Good luck.'”
— Ausmus attends camps and clinics organized by Steffens’ company, 6-8 Sports. “(She) was someone we talked about five, six, eight years ago, like, ‘Oh my gosh, this girl is amazing and we’re excited to see her potential.'”
“We really developed this special bond,” Stephens said of the young group. “I think as much as they respect me as a leader and have looked up to me since they were kids and walked this path, I think what’s really amazing is that I look up to them as well.”
The U.S. women’s water polo team comes together in the gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics. Team USA is seeking a historic fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. (Marcel de Bars/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Stephens’ praise for her is genuine, as is her belief in her teammates. Ashleigh Johnson, competing in her third Olympics with Team USA, called Stephens “a dreamer in every sense of the word.”
“When you’re around Maggie, anything is possible,” said Johnson, 29, the team’s goalkeeper and widely considered the best at her position in the world. “She is our captain, but as her friend, she will create a path for any dream to come true. If you believe in something and she believes in it, you will accomplish it together.
For example, Johnson said Stephens would often encourage others during the most difficult parts of training or when completing the last set of swims. Outside of the pool, Stephens is the first to land in a new city after a 24-hour trip, either with a full itinerary prepared or exploring without a plan. Johnson said she has an “Energy Bunny attitude.”
That boundless energy has filtered into other aspects as Stephens and Johnson have become de facto ambassadors for the sport, a role that hasn’t always come naturally to them. In 2016, Johnson became the first black woman selected for the U.S. Olympic water polo team. Over time, she said, she feels better equipped to inspire others by talking about her experiences, sharing her stories and advocating for diversity.
Stephens, who joined the team when she was 15, said it took her 15 or 16 years to find her voice in advocating for female athletes and more openly discussing the financial challenges of playing the sport.
Olympic water polo training takes place in Southern California, an area with a notoriously high cost of living. In an Olympic year, training takes place six days a week and is essentially a full-time job for the athletes, Stephens said.
Olympic prize money depends on the sport, country and finish, but the International Olympic Committee and each sport’s governing body traditionally do not pay bonuses to winners. World Athletics, which oversees track and field, announced in April that it would award $50,000 to Paris Olympic gold medalists, a first for an international federation.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee offers bonuses of $37,500 to athletes who win gold medals at the Tokyo Games, $22,500 to athletes who win silver medals, and $15,000 to athletes who win bronze medals.
Stephens said if she had no money and had to couch surf, she would play water polo — which has no professional women’s league in the United States — but she hopes future water polo players won’t have to work another job to support themselves. Perform at the highest level.
“I would like to see people retiring later in their careers in the future because they can afford to continue playing water polo and not feel like they have to retire at 22 to get a ‘real job,'” she said.
Stephens said any support helps, and Flav’s sponsorship is an example of the rewards she’s seen after posting about the topic.
“What I love about water polo and our team is that it has a very heads-down, humble, work-hard mentality,” Stephens said. “One of my dreams is to leave the sport and the women in the sport better than when I came in and hopefully provide more opportunities, provide more exposure, have their stories be told and their names be heard. arrive.
Stephens knows there’s more work to be done and more fans to rally around. But each one counts, and so far, she’s achieving her goals.
deeper
From Stanford to Team USA, water polo dynasty aims for four consecutive Olympic titles
(Top illustration by Maggie Steffens and Flavor Flav: Dan Goldfarb / Competitor; Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images, Jerod Harris/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
