Maggie Steffens called for more support for the U.S. women’s water polo team, and the captain received a particularly surprising response.
From a rap icon who wears a watch.
Moved by Steffens’ Instagram post, Flavor Flav stepped up to help Team USA’s quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal at this summer’s Paris Olympics. He is finalizing a deal that will make him a sponsor of U.S. water polo and the official person responsible for promoting a program seeking greater prominence.
Flav, 65, founding member and hype man of Public Enemy, jumped headlong into his new roles, highlighting some of the team’s best players on social media. He is also planning to watch the women’s team play in Paris.
“When I go out and watch this water polo team… ‘USA! USA!’ Hey, I’m going to be the biggest hype they’ve ever had in their lives,” he told the AP on Friday. “I’ll be bigger than any cheerleader they’ve had in their lives. I’m going to root for this team and I’m going to root for this team to win a gold medal.”
Winning has been the usual outcome for the U.S. women’s national team since the 2012 Olympics. But it hasn’t attracted the same attention or support as similarly dominant American programs, largely because water polo remains a niche sport in most of the world. .
That — along with a bit of nostalgia — prompted Steffens, 30, the last remaining member of the 2012 team, to post on Instagram. While expressing gratitude for the opportunity to play and her love for the sport, she also encouraged anyone who read the post to check out her team and highlighted the constant financial struggle of most Olympic athletes.
“We get a lot of comments you know about ‘Oh, that’s so cool what you did. Too bad, you’re not a football or basketball player, because your team would get a lot more publicity or a lot more support,’” Steffens said Friday from Paris, where the team is on a training trip ahead of the Olympics.
“And instead we’re still where we were 12 years ago, which to me is not my goal. I always wanted to boost the sport.”
Enter Flav, who was inducted with the group Public Enemy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Flav’s manager brought the post to his attention and he decided he wanted to help.
“One thing about me is that I know what it’s like to want to see a dream come true,” said Flav, who is known for wearing a large watch dangling from a chain around his neck. “I know what it’s like to want to achieve a goal and I’m the kind of person who, if I see you trying, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
Steffens said it was “very surreal” when Flav — whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr. Asked what she knew about Flav and Public Enemy before the connection, Steffens promptly imitated the frequent “Flavor Flav!” declaration.
Steffens is one of the oldest players on the U.S. team, but she said Ryann Neushul, 24, had Public Enemy in her top five on the music streaming service Spotify. Some of the team’s coaches and Steffens’ family were also excited about the partnership.
“My whole family was like, ‘Is this real? Is Flav part of the water polo world now?’” Steffens said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to wear a watch right now and that’s how I’m feeling.’”
Steffens and Team USA also have another high-profile supporter in Taylor Swift. They had plans to attend musician Eras Tour’s concert on Friday night at La Défense Arena – the venue for the women’s water polo final on August 10.
Women’s national team manager Ally Beck reached out to Swift’s team and surprised the team with tickets. Flav said she also contacted Swift’s team, but the tickets had already been approved.
Flav, who is working on another tour with Public Enemy that may begin later this year, then held up a t-shirt with his photo on it that said “KING SWIFTIE.”
“I am proud to support Taylor. … Flavor Flav is a Swiftie, the king of all Swifties,” he said.
That’s another connection Flav has with his new favorite team.
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