Michael Phelps has three months. For three months, he will stew about how stupid he was to get caught with his face stuck to a bong. He might even regret doing drugs, but he most defiantly regrets getting photographed doing drugs. There are different kinds of regret.
Since his Half-Baked photo-shoot, he has been suspended for three months by USA Swimming.
Wow! That takes some chrome-plated nads. How does USA Swimming stay afloat dragging them around pool?
Maybe they are taking the gamble that Phelps will re-focus his energy, train harder, and flourish again in 2012.
Maybe the empty suits that run USA Swimming really are trying to make a stance with all of that Michael-Phelps-is-a-role-model-for-kids-and-should-know-better crap and thus earn the respect and support from the community.
Maybe they will get that support.
Maybe Phelps will give USA Swimming a view of his freakishly long middle finger and immigrate to Great Britain. Think about it, he can be a naturalized citizen by 2012 and the Brits will love him as the hero of the London Games.
Why not? The pound’s value is beating the dollar’s like Phelps beat everyone last summer… and he already has the “British teeth” thing going for him to help ease his cultural transition. (My apologies to the under-bite graced audience.)
Regardless, the pool is in BIG trouble. First of all, while Phelps is gone, no one is going to care about any sort of international swim competition. The rabid fans will, but rabid fans of any sport do not count. They are a given. The money is made by the casual fan.
Hockey fans, the most loyal of any sports fans, will always find ways to watch their teams, regardless of TV blackouts. But they always have. Real hockey fans will watch pick-up games played on frozen ponds. Notice the changes the NHL made; most notably the addition of the shoot-out to settle ties. That rule appeals to casual fans with the hope that they become new fans.
Rabid golf fans will watch a Tiger-less PGA.
I know… I’m thinking of swimming as a smaller, less-popular version of what the PGA was before Tiger Woods crashed the party in 1997 and single-handedly made a casual golf fan base. There are a lot of people who do not like to watch golf. (I’m one of them.) But, there are A LOT of people who like to watch Tiger Woods play golf. (Again, I’m one of them.)
That has turned into a lot of cash for a lot of people. The PGA would club baby seals on cable-access to ensure Tiger’s knee heals. Anything to avoid its pre-Tiger TV ratings. Any lawsuit incurred would be paid ten-fold after Woods wins his first post-injury major.
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