I feel the need to chime in here ... I heard the interview with Aaron and thought it was funny ... it refrenced the movie Zoolander (which is a personal favorite of mine) so I laughed ... last night I was with a bunch of friends at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding this weekend and we were all quoting that movie in a similar fashion ... I'm pretty sure none of us think we are "professionally good looking" (my friends and I quote movies and tv shows all the time) ... Aaron's young and since none of us were actually there, cut the kid a break ... who knows what actually happened ...
I'm with Heather. Peirsolfan, I don't think any of us ever intended to make this a sensitive issue at all, and I apologize if what I posted was taken as such. You have to understand that I type like I talk, but the silly tones just don't carry over the computer. *sigh* They really need to create an updated computer voice that sounds like me. Then it would be fun, and I would stop making people think I'm serious if/when I'm not.
That said, I do think the swim-fan sites are nearly the same as football/actor/musician fan sites, with the single exception that swimming is a less-recognized category universally. There is a boy in the company I work for whose name is (no kidding) Michael Phelps. I didn't know it until his paperwork for vacation requests turned up at my desk today. It was very nearly a wiggins, let me tell you, when my supervisor saw me laughing my a** off and asked me what the hell was wrong. Naturally, she didn't know what in the world I was talking about when I showed her his name, until I explained that, and the faintest of recognition registered with her.
I do think there are borders and lines you can cross when you're following a public figure around, but like i said, swimming being less universal, I think that the plus side is these swimmers can get involved with their fans, and enlighten the non-swimmers to the sport, while at the same time encouraging the swimming fans to reach for their dreams.
But really, could you just see on of the Texas Trio's face if they saw their used chewing gum up for auction on Ebay? It's almost tempting to e-mail their connections and beg for "something, anything, oh please god i'll do anything just to be near something he touched!!!" squeaky girl routine. Hehe. Could be fun.*
**Disclaimer - I won't ACTUALLY do that. I swear it, my wooden-spoon wielding Irish grandmother wouldn't stand for it.
I wasn't talking to either of you, no offense. ;)
I'm responding to the person who created an account specifically for this thread. When someone else mentioned being stalked in college - wow. I guess it is a sensitive issue.
We haven't been talking about an "interview" in this thread for awhile and you're forgetting where I wrote about having a laugh. Relax.
- Confused, because I still haven't even heard the "interview" in question and was referencing posts made in a fan forum...
Peirsolfan -
Okay. As long as you're not mad at me. Don't be angry at Leonard; he's a very nice guy, and I can't imagine it's much fun having a stalker. Although for a little while I might be a little flattered.......Any of you want the position?
If you want to hear the interview, try going to www.duelinthepool.com They should still have the interview with Aaron Peirsol listed on their main page. And my apologies - I thought you said you saw a video of a girl giving Aaron the what-for. But forum chats can be just as vivid.
2. Following him around the world makes me think a restraining order might be in order. Aaron said it's weird but he doesn't mind.
Right, that is weird, but... most of the people on these fansites aren't like that. That's the big difference. Sure, you have the nut that follows him around the world, and it is bizarre and I'd definitely look into a restraining order, but that's not what the typical fan is like.
6. Call me when someone creates a tech-only site.
I find it ironic that you're acting as though the people who are fans of the swimmers are somewhat immature, yet your own screen name is "PeirsolFan".
Again, I ask, how is being a fan of a specific swimmer and creating a fansite for them different than someone being a fan of an actor/actress and creating a fansite for them? Or a football fan creating a site for a specific player? None of these sites have anything to do with the technical side of acting/football/whichever, but does that make them "lesser" fans? Doubtful. Fans come from all walks of life, some of the fans are swimmers (such as myself), other fans simply admire the sport and the swimmers and still others are just fans of the pretty faces. All of these people are allowed to be fans equally. I don't think one ranks above the other.
It is a fairly sensitive issue because what's being called to question is whether or not people are "allowed" to be fans of the swimmers if they're not swimmers themselves.
To make a point I will share a few things with y'all. I didn't even know how to swim till late last year. It wasn't until I watched the olympics that I even became interested in it. They didn't have swimming where I went to school. You know what caught my attention and what made me sit down to watch swimming? It was how attractive the swimmers were. That may sound shallow but that's the way it is. I'm am now so happy I sat down to watch and got so interested in the sport. I've lost weight and found an activity that I truly love. No,I've never raced and probally never will. I get in the pool and just enjoy myself.
Now to get to the point....I've met the woman who runs BHO and you know what....I'm proud to be a BHO girl. It's my right to admire anyone I want for any reason. I can jump on a plane and travel to see someone compete if I want to. I went to Montreal and watched some incredible races. I can say I was there to see Crocker beat Phelps. Brendan's win over Kitajima was one of the most exciting races I've seen. I saw Katie Hoff finally dominate in the IM's in an international meet just like I knew she could. I got to see many WR's broken in person and I wouldn't change a thing.
Good things do come from these sites. Swimmers deserve recognition just like any other athlete. The more popular a swimmer and the more attention they get means more endorsements. It would be nice to see more swimmers get paid a living for what they do,wouldn't it? There is good and bad with all things. That's all I really wanted to say....sorry so long.
Can I just add....Brendan Hansen is so hotttt! *Squees* ;)
You're a skimmer aren't you!? (j/k)
I admit to skimming threads and posting and then down the road it's like, "what exactly did you say?" I'm a lousy fan. Know about the link just to lazy to listen.
Blair,
Additional *squee*! I'm so glad to find you here as well as on BHO!
By all means, I don't think we were dissing the non-swimmers abouts to follow the swimmers around. I actually think it's great for the sport (and the poor swimmers' egos, haha).
Peirsolfan,
I try so very hard to not be a skimmer, I swear it. My life to you for keeping me hopping around here, haha. Working 55 hours a week keeps me almost too busy to read all these interesting posts all the way through.
Oh, and by the way, I discovered that actually IS a guy in our computer department with the name Michael Phelps. It's almost too fun for words, the fun we've been having with him lately. His ears even slightly resemble the other MP's, haha.
