A Word (or 2,750) from the Phelps Phans

Eve: I really owe the fact I started vlogging to Mel Stewart. I watched his videos on YouTube, became his Facebook friend and one day just thought I have some thoughts I'd like to share; which occurred around the time I discovered Facebook and YouTube have a quick capture feature. Even with all the accomplishments of the US Olympic Swim Team in 2008 swimming still has an uphill climb in terms of media attention. I believe there are fans out there like me who take swimming and being a fan seriously but can't provide the type of commentary that someone like Rowdy Gaines offers. Mel did inspire me with his accessibility and humor. Candace and I met at Mel's Birthday party Golden Goggles weekend; to meet someone who is just as passionate as you are it makes you feel a bit less sheepish about your fandom. Mel made a point at the party to make a video with me; as well as encourage me to keep going on my own videos. I thought that was so generous and speaks to the caliber of guy Mel is; he wants as many people on board this swimming lovefest as possible. My joke I keep making is I'm going to quick capture my way to London. We are in kind of a "lull" now until some meets happen so it is kind of self serving. I want to hear someone talk about swimming. Candace and I did some joint videos since we both live in New York. I hope people enjoy them and see that we are trying to bring some humor, be entertaining and show some love to the swimmers who have inspired us. We have been getting some great feedback so far.

[Swim blogger Eve Stahlberger has a "special moment" with Michael. (Photo courtesy of Eve Stahlberger)]

Candace: To be honest, I suppose I might be considered something of a bandwagon fan given the timeframe in which I "discovered" The Great Michael Phelps.  I became interested in him during the 2004 Olympics – or rather the "pre-Olympic media blitz" - because he was practically unavoidable. In general, I love watching the Olympics; there's nothing like witnessing human triumph on the world stage. For him to be so young , so talented and to accomplish what he did, to not like Michael Phelps or at least respect him after Athens, you basically didn't have a soul in my opinion.  Of course, somewhere deep into 2005 my interest faded as coverage of swimming and of Phelps seemed to disappear off of my radar. Once the 2008 Olympics loomed closer I was on high alert and ready to reunite with my 2004 summer love.  I (like most of America) was glued to the TV screen during the Olympics and pretty much cut off all social relationships for 8 days to ensure as little distraction as possible (excluding Phelps' first race which I watched at a bar after demanding the bartender change the channel to NBC so I could do so.) Once the Olympics ended, I wanted more. I began talking about Phelps and some other popular Olympians on the radio show I co-host at Emerson College called "Oh, Yes They Did!" (on WECB.) The Olympics were, of course, the biggest event of the summer so it only seemed appropriate.  I probably wouldn't have stayed as interested in the topic, to be quite honest if it hadn't been for the listeners of the show or the readers of my blog (www.ohyestheydidwecb.blogspot.com.) You see, usually when I become interested in something I'm passionate for a few months but then I find something new to take up the time but due to the fact that swimming fans were listening to the show and reading my blog posts I really made more of an effort to keep up on information about Phelps and other swimmers to feed the interest of those tuning in.  I started writing more blogs about the Olympians who were popular with listeners and in attempting to find information to make the posts more interesting, my own interest grew.

Eve: I would hesitate to call myself a Michael Phelps expert because I myself am not a swimmer, so I can't comment on Michael's accomplishments from that perspective. I have read most of the books and articles available; the majority of the factual and biographical information is in my head. I don't memorize splits or anything but I pride myself on knowing a lot about Michael.   Most fans know the following: Michael eats A LOT, Michael has won the most Olympic gold medals of all time (so far), Michael has very long arms. I think many average fans fit into two groups; the first were glued to the television during the Olympics and have since forgotten about it or remember when they see something like the GQ cover. The second group which tends be comprised of women ranging in age who  view Michael as a hearthrob, sex symbol and don't have as much interest in the sport of swimming itself. I definitely moonlight in the second group but I have a genuine interest in the swimming. When commentators use swimming terminology I am not familiar with I do some research to gain an understanding of what they are talking about. Tapering is still a mystery to me;  although I was told by a swimmer that they didn't really get it either. Two phrases that are thrown around a lot about Michael are his "feel for the water" and the "tempo" of his butterfly stroke. I feel that I honestly have an understanding of what that means when I see footage of him swimming; which makes me more awed about all he has accomplished. I think average fans will be in a lull until London but I am on the swimming fan wagon and I am in it for the long haul. Some people are fanatic about football, baseball, basketball. I have never been all that interested in those sports. I have now found a sport I am fascinated by and get excited about watching. Like many people I had not heard of Michael until 2004 and I read about him in the lead up to the Athens games. I am an Olympic fanatic. I have been since 1984. I was excited about Michael's performance but after the 2004 games ended I didn't really think too much about it. In 2007, I heard about Michael winning seven medals in Melbourne but I never saw it. In June of 2008 my cable provider had replays of the Athens games. I watched the 4 x 200 freestyle relay when Klete Keller held off Ian Thorpe for the gold and Michael's reaction was all it took. I replayed it several times and I was amazed at the swims that Team USA had. Then I watched the 400 IM and more or less went on a “YouTube bender” until I had seen all of the relevant/watchable videos about Michael. From then I was counting down the days until Beijing; I was telling everyone about Michael and that he was going to win eight gold medals. I talked about it to my students at the yoga center everyone more or less thought I had lost my mind. Day by day more people would tell me Michael is amazing – you were so right! People came into class yawning and smiling because they were up watching the 4 x 100 free relay. Everyone was so pumped about that race in particular.

Candace: I'm not exactly sure who started MP Daily but I believe that it was created either during the 2004 Olympics or very soon after the closing ceremony. Live Journal is sort of infamous for these kinds of communities where fans band together to feed each others' insatiable need for constant pictorial and journalist stimulation related to their celebrity obsessions. I have to admit, however, that I am more of a Reezy Daily reader (a similar site dedicated to Ryan Lochte). The Daily Reezy has a different sort of format that I find easier to navigate. Also, the users of these communities get to know each other pretty well and I was not an active user during MP Daily's inception, so I'm somewhat of an outsider whereas I feel right at home on The Daily Reezy.

Eve: Michael is so endearing because when it comes down to it he is a normal guy who has done something extraordinary. I was teased in school; my parents divorced those are not easy things to contend with. So to move through those things and excel is very admirable. When all is said and done Michael does not take himself too seriously. He takes swimming seriously but he strikes me as very low key. I love his laugh, how much he loves his dog Herman. I'm rooting for the Ravens to get in the Super Bowl -- that is all Michael's doing; mainly because I know what a kick he would get out of them winning.   Some of the needling I give Michael in the vlogs comes from a sincere place; I feel very protective of him. I'm a little older than Hilary Phelps and in my mind I almost think of him like a younger brother. I want the best for him and I cannot stand it when people criticize him in a hostile way.  Waiting online for his book signing in December, I got into it with a professional autograph seeker. He had been talking garbage about Michael all morning; repeating rumors and outright untruths.  Finally I lost it I got in the guys face and told him he didn't know what he was talking about. People might find that strange but I think Michael has such an appeal to people because he is down to earth and guy next door. I have been teaching yoga for almost four years and I often use examples from popular culture to make some of the more esoteric aspects of the philosophy accessible to the students. It is also just part of who I am. It was gratifying to have students come to me and say they saw what I was talking about, or were using Michael's performance as an inspiration to recommit themselves to goals they had in their lives -- virtually none of which involved sports. I would love to see him try yoga; I think it would be a great compliment to his training.

Candace: I would like to say that I'm a swimming [fan] aside from just being a Phelps fan, though I don't know that I would have as much fun watching people swim at the local YMCA as I do watching Olympians. Maybe it's the fact that you have to wait four years to watch it, or the fact that it's innately triumphant but watching the Olympics will turn even the most cold-hearted and disinterested person into a fan. I suppose in some way I am a swimming fan because it was the only Olympic event I actually watched (and ran home to do so.) I think it has the perfect blend of power and grace. When I watch swimming there are two general thoughts running through my mind: the amount of respect I have for them as atheletes and the beauty of the sport.  I know, respect and am baffled by how long these athletes have trained, how far they've pushed their bodies, how determined they are. I know how hard their bodies are working at the very moment I am watching a race but at the same time I am also somewhat mesmerized by how beautiful and graceful they look (even though I'm sure they're in a fair amount of pain.) It really makes you rethink what the human body is capable of.  I also love that it's a competitive sport that isn't a contact sport. It's parallel competitiveness. You can only control how you perform; which I think is more nerve racking than playing a game where you can sabatoge another player with a tackle or a foul.  While I've never watched a meet of non-Olympic caliber athletes, I will say that my interest spreads beyond just The Great Michael Phelps – I am also a fan of Ryan Lochte, the incomparable Jason Lezak, Matt Grevers and several others. I would like to try and learn more about the sport and perhaps go to a local meet to see what it's all about - so I don't seem that shallow (no pun intended).

Candace: I think the thing about Michael Phelps that really captured people is the fact that he's an ordinary person who has done an extraordinary thing. What I mean is, he doesn't come off as this holier-than-thou type character. The water is his domain but when he's out of the pool (like in an interview) he seems like a normal 23-year-old guy and I think that that, aside from his amazing athletic abilities, is what people like about him; that's what people connect with. As an avid fan of Bruce Springsteen I like to say that Michael possesses a certain Boss-like quality; they're better than you but they don't act like he's better than you. Aside from all the tidbits we've learned along the way about training regimens, eating habits and unique body measurements, it's his human qualities that keep us interested. There is a reason why he captivated a nation. In order to successfully do that you have to deliver in terms of your talent but you also have to connect on a human level - he did both.

Eve: There are so many images of Michael that I love but if I have to select one I will say the one of him and his family after he won his eighth gold in Beijing. As a fan I was crying when I saw him make the move to climb over all the media and get to his mom and his sisters.  I know how important those three women are to Michael. How instrumental they have all been in the swimmer he is but more importantly the person he is. To see that moment captured is just incredible. I get a little teary even thinking about it. There are some good interviews like the ones with Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw before the games. My favorites are the four from Ann Arbor that Baltimore Sun reporter shot. They are short but Michael is candid, upbeat and unguarded. I knew he would win the eight golds when I saw those, especially when he said "If people want to talk I encourage it-nothing motivates me more." During the games when Alain Bernard and Milorad Cavic did some talking, I thought to myself, "Big mistake guys, you have no idea what you just did." I have a feeling Michael will be more guarded in just his interviews.  Even the interviews about swimming there is such intense interest about all aspects of his life.  There is also one where Mo Rocca is interviewing Team Speedo about the LZR Racer; everyone is trying to answer his left of center questions seriously. Michael just cracks up at the end which made me laugh.