By SwimSwam Contributors on SwimSwam
Courtesy: Elizabeth Spencer Rosenthal
Sports fans everywhere have finally begun to emerge from their holiday haze and a new college football champion has been crowned. Against a backdrop of winter weather, America’s football fandom will soon be swept up in Super Bowl Mania. But for swimming fans like us, we are now entering the real most wonderful season of all — the run up to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships!
Like the proverbial tree that falls in the forest, if no one sees it, did it really happen? Likewise, if an NCAA champion is crowned in a 1,500-seat natatorium, rather than a corporate-named arena packed with 100,000 crazed fans, does it really matter? I will argue a resounding YES!
Like their football counterparts, collegiate swimmers are elite athletes who work year-round to perfect their craft. Competitors in both sports possess discipline and drive, and practice daily until their bodies ache. They balance intense training with arduous academics. They represent their schools at the highest level in their quest to reach the pinnacle of NCAA success, whether it be in the pool or on the field.
Perhaps that is where the similarities end and the disparities begin.
But what if swimming followed suit? What if it became more like college football? Imagine a Natatorium filled with 95,000 screaming fans, in full body paint. Maybe they’d have number 4s painted on their chests, because Lane 4 is their favorite!
(And could you even imagine if a football announcer demanded quiet for the start?)
Ticket sales, along with prices, would skyrocket, as demand drastically outweighed supply. There would be luxury suites, VIP boxes, premium seating and travel and hospitality packages.
Fans everywhere would be donning swim parkas emblazoned with their favorite swimmer’s name. Sponsors would be lining up to pay big bucks to boost their brands. Perhaps a coffee company (Approved for 5 a.m. practice!) Laundry soaps, hair and skincare products, all promising to remove that chlorine smell.
There would be a live broadcast on ESPN, and millions more would watch on livestream. We’d see primetime profiles, endless pre-meet hype and post-meet commentary, rating and debating every start, turn, stroke and breath.
Leading up to the main event, picture a parade through the storied streets of Pasadena (or Bloomington, Charlottesville, Austin, or even Gainesville), where marching band members would wear mirrored goggles. A 25-yard float would carry swimmers perched along the parade route, with confetti flying. A placard on each float would name each swimmer and their best event, their hometown and their major, which will probably be something like molecular biology, mechanical engineering or applied mathematics.
There would be pep rallies and jersey sales, and press of every stripe would descend on every space and every place. And just imagine the merch! Apart from apparel, there would be commemorative coffee table books and collectible bobble heads. Trading cards, towels, caps and kickboards. The possibilities are endless.
On meet day, a seasoned sideline reporter, strategically stationed near the backstroke flags, would ask the coach why he went with a particular relay order. Did he lock it in weeks ago, or was it a game-time decision? Inquisitive journalists would inquire intently whether or not a swimmer appropriately hit their taper, or properly executed the race plan. The captivated TV audience would hang on every word.
Imagine swimmers and coaches, awake long past their bedtimes, sitting on the Network TV couch, discussing important topics with the late-night host. Like their favorite Chipotle order, their preferred Starbucks beverage, and maybe even a hard-hitting segment on “What’s in your swim bag?”
What if Mark Cuban had made a massive contribution to support swimming? (Maybe Cody Miller wouldn’t have to enter the Enhanced Games after all?)
Don’t get me wrong. I love college football! Although my hometown Hurricanes came up just short of a national championship, I delighted in every minute of the wild ride. But I also love swimming at every level.
As Shakespeare wrote, All the world’s a stage. But no matter how extraordinary they may be, not every player performs under the same lights. Perhaps that is due to money, infrastructure or mainstream appeal. But the disparity is certainly not rooted in a difference in effort, worthiness or desire to be great. Football just happens to be played on a bigger, brighter (and well-funded) stage. Excellence, however, can and does exist, even without the crowd and the glaring spectacle. Swimmers prove that every day.
Maybe one day, swimming will receive the hype, the visibility and the funding it deserves. Maybe successful swimming schools will see an increase in applications, bigger budgets and will entice more kids to dive into the sport.
Maybe a day will come when, instead of going out in the backyard with their cousins to toss a football, neighborhood kids will jump in the pool and race some 50 freestyles! And all the coolest kids will be wearing Speedo or arena collabs to school.
But back to reality. A couple of months from now, after the new swimming champions are triumphantly crowned, and the modest but wildly enthusiastic crowd returns home, the swimmers will get back to work and back to class. Back to early mornings at the natatorium that still smells like chlorine and concrete. Back to chasing their dreams.
Maybe they’ll be instantly recognized around campus and their names will be known around the town, and even beyond. Maybe they’ll get some media buzz, a guest hosting gig or some endorsement or apparel deals. Perhaps there will be massive celebrations in the streets, across campus and in local eating and drinking establishments. With banners, bands and DJs, and all kinds of boisterous revelry. I hope there will be! Because swimmers deserve all that, and more.
But, if we’re still keeping it real, the festivities might have to wrap up fairly early. Because, you know… morning practice.
ABOUT ELIZABETH SPENCER ROSENTHAL
Elizabeth Spencer Rosenthal is a wife and mother of 3 from Miami. She is a passionate swim mom, volunteer and meet official, with a professional background in marketing and public relations. She holds a degree in Public Communication from American University, and loves finding a story to tell.
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