Sunday, February 01, 2009

Phelps confirms "bong shot" is indeed real and admits bad judgement!

From Yahoo News: "...TAMPA, Fla. – Olympic great Michael Phelps has acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper showed him smoking marijuana..."

[Link]

10 comments:

Rob D said...

wow, well I guess something from the AP is slightly more legit than a British tabloid... I wonder if the mainstream media cares enough about this to blow it way out of proportion for the next week like they're so good at doing?

Tony Austin said...

It is everywhere now.

Anonymous said...

how what a week for swimming in the tabloids , one is called fat and gay , another one is caugth smoking pot. does it means that swimming is getting mainsteem.

Tony Austin said...

My prediction is that Ryan Lochte will be the new Michael Phelps.

Rob D said...

I think you're on to something there Tony... if they could figure out a way to merge Lochte's look with Phelps' achievements you'd have an unstoppable swimming marketing machine.

Tony Austin said...

Thank you. I think Lochte is better looking than Phelps and has a life outside of swimming that includes surfing, skateboarding, and video games.

Those three subjects alone could make him an attractive prospect those trying to capture that 18-34-year-old bracket. It's n Visa or Mastercard but it is T-Mobile, Electronic Arts, Facebook, or modeling for Armani

Phelps apparently likes poker, clubbing and Vegas.

Anonymous said...

Back in the mid 1970s, when I was trying to no longer be a kid, it was said that the FBI would consider it a cause for suspicion if someone of my generation told an agent he had never smoked dope. Of course, those of us who actually have met today's kids are just shocked at this news ...

Tony Austin said...

I was working for an ad agency in the late 1980's and when two copy writers found out I was in my late 20's, they said when I turn 30 I will have passed the Rubicon.

I had no idea what a Rubicon was and they explained that the Rubicon was a river Cesar crossed on his way to take the throne of the Roman empire. Consequently it was all downhill from there. He wa at the pinnacle of life when he was 30.

I still didn't get it and they simplified it further saying that when you are in your 20's you can get arrested for a DUI, public urination, or even hit and run and people would say, "oh he is just a stupid kid" but when you cross the 'Rubicon' or turn 30-years, then everybody will officially be a loser if you do the aforementioned things.

My take on Phelps with his favorite pastime activities being clubbing, poker and perhaps bonging is that he could be viewed as swimming's 'Lindsay Lohan'if he doesn't realize he is living in a fishbowl.

I suspect some sponsors will use this as an excuse to drop him.

Anonymous said...

I know this is a swimming blog but I have a name for you: Diego Maradona. The greatest talent to ever strike a soccer ball. Gifts from God. Sublime skill and an unbelievable will to win.

And, he was a complete ass-hat. His personal life was one wretched disaster after another. Bad marriages, the Mafia, drugs, you name it.

My point is this: Athletic ability is no indicator of social grace or even intelligence. It is just athletic ability.

Michael Phelps is the greatest competitive swimmer I have ever seen. His touch in the water is poetry and he is an absolute beast when he races. Just have a feeling, though, about his personal life... I hate to say it but he might be one of those terrible stories on "Where Are They Now?" twenty, thirty years from this date.

Tony Austin said...

Anonymous, I think it is all about culture. Swimmers are very generous when it comes to lifestyles and vices.

But how generous is Kellogs, McDonalds and Visa? Does a marketing director want a potential media disaster on a 30-million print-run cereal box?