OK just read that Katie Hoff has gone professional. Not that this has any bearing on anything but I am bit bummed.
I really was hoping that she would break Pablo’s NCAA records for most wins in college. There is a part of me that
really wants to have swimmers be amateurs, but that is quickly blasted out of the water with all the DUAH! Why
wouldn’t an oober athlete get millions of dollars for their athletic talents --that is years overdue. Does any one think
swimmers will get to be “divas” or “divos” like some professional athletes?
Former Member
Is swimming a dying sport? I don't think so. It's not getting the exposure I'd like to see - like say, tennis - but it's not dying.
Maybe it seems to be dying because a handful of elite swimmers are the ones who get all the attention. Hoff wasn't praised for her swimming initially, it was her crying and throwing up. She was just a kid, though.
If you don't turn pro in swimming what do you do when college is over? Peirsol is majoring in Government. I don't know where he expects to go with that, but good for him for taking the Nike offer.
The downside to turning pro is they aren't getting paid NBA and NFL contract amounts and sponsorship can be a pain in the butt. I was mortified at seeing Peirsol bring out a bottle of Penta water on Cold Pizza and not so inconspicously flash the label at the camera. But without sponsorship, the sport will die.
Someone mentioned Michelle Kwan in this thread. Kwan wins most events she enters but is unable to get over not having an Olympic gold medal and so she refuses to turn pro. I think it's wrong, because it takes a spot away from a younger and possibly more deserving skater.
Athletes need to think of their future, and in our sport, after collegiate swimming there is no pro sports team. At 22 or 23 can you afford the resources of an NCAA coach and a nice big training pool for hours on end?
Former Member
I do. She appears to be motivated by self-esteem issues. She's had a very successful and lucrative career. There are a lot of 15 or 16 year old kids out there who would like to be able to move up, but there are only a handful of spots available.
After 2 Olympic games and 5 world championship titles, I say she's had time to prove herself as an excellent skater gold medal or not. Don't get me started. I've been into skating since Toller Cranston did his bizarre routines in spacey costumes. :o
Originally posted by ande
NCAA sports are big business
where athletes are paid a pitance
the UT football coach makes $2,000,000
the men's basketball coach makes $1,300,000
the athletes get school, room, board, and training
And I've always thought that seemed like plenty. I'd hate to see the day when college athletes are paid to compete.
Ironic that many on this forum claim swimming is dead or is dying and yet call attention to the fact that swimmers are now going pro before their college years are done. This has been a fact of life in the big sports for decades. Maybe swimming has arrived, contrary to what some say, when its best athletes are leaving early to pursue the American dream of big $$.
Former Member
Amanda is really good with public speaking and ad-libbing so hopefully she'll get a position as an announcer or something.
I also would have liked to see Katie go pro and I'd like her to stay at the top of the sport for a long time. With that being said I do think that she needs to take advantage of her opportunities NOW. Who knows what life could bring her??? In a year she could have a career ending injury and in 2008 we would be saying "Katie who?"
Former Member
Paul- it is the same thing as with USMS; if an American joins our Masters Swimming Canada, then they can hold 'our' records. Yes, the beer drinking is an 'open' division, often characterised by American competitors being overwhelmed by our brew, and vigorously 'giving back' to the sport.
Geek, we have a tiny army, true- but its not how big it is, its how you use it-
by the way, our Vancouver Fire Dept Emergency Rescue Dept made it to New Orleans well before your regular army.
Former Member
It's got to be frustrating now for coaches of the best swimmers to know that they will be scooped up, go Pro and leave the program in less than 4 years now.
Texas could've used Peirsol's points last season.
John Smith
Former Member
I had oodles or respect for Natalie Coughlin not going pro before her senior year when opportunities were looming ... it does seem to be the norm to go pro now, which I totally have mixed feelings over ... I would have loved to see Katie Hoff go NCAA ... I'm sure she'll be getting a Speedo deal before long (or maybe Nike or TYR)
