Maggie Steffens asked for more support for the U.S. women’s water polo team, and the captain received a particularly surprising response.
From a rap icon wearing a watch.
Moved through Steffens’ Instagram postFlavor Flav stepped forward to help US team because it’s about an unprecedented fourth gold medal in a row at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. He’s finalizing a deal that will make him a U.S. water polo sponsor and the official hype man for a program looking to get more attention.
Public Enemy’s founding member and hype man, Flav, 65, has thrown himself headfirst into his new duties, highlighting some of the team’s best players social media. He also plans to watch the women’s team play in Paris.
“When I come out and watch that water polo team… ‘USA!’ UNITED STATES!’ Yo, I’m going to be the biggest hype man they ever had in their life,” he told the AP on Friday. “I’ll be bigger than any cheerleader they’ve had in their lives. I will cheer for this team and I will cheer for this team to win a gold medal.”
Since 2012, a win has been the usual result for the U.S. women’s team Olympia. But it hasn’t garnered the same attention or support as similarly dominant American programs, largely because water polo remains a niche sport in most parts of the world.
That – along with a bit of nostalgia – prompted 30-year-old Steffens, the last remaining member of the 2012 team, to post Instagram. She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to play and her love for her sport, but also encouraged anyone reading the post to check out her team and highlighted the constant financial struggle of most Olympic athletes.
“We got a lot of comments, like, you know, ‘Oh, it’s so cool what you did.’ It’s a shame you’re not a soccer player or a 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 pretty much where we were 12 years ago, which for me is not my goal. I’ve always wanted to push the sport forward.”
There’s Flav, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 with the group Public Enemy. Flav’s manager alerted him to the post and he decided he wanted to help.
“One thing about me: I know what it feels like to see a dream come true,” said Flav, who is known for wearing a large watch on a chain around his neck. “I know what it feels like to want to achieve a goal, and I’m the type of person that when I see you trying, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
Steffens said it was “very surreal” when Flav – real name William Jonathan Drayton Jr. – made contact. When asked what she knew about Flav and Public Enemy before the connection, Steffens promptly mimicked Flav’s frequent “Flavor Flav!” Explanation.
Steffens is one of the oldest players on the U.S. team, but she said Ryann Neushul, 24, ranked Public Enemy in her top five on the music streaming service. Spotify. Some of the team’s coaches and Steffens’ family were also enthusiastic about the partnership.
“My whole family was like, ‘Is this real?’ Flav is now part of the water polo world?’” said Steffens. “I thought, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to wear a watch now and this is how I feel.'”
Steffens and the US team also have another high-profile supporter Taylor Swift. They attended the musician’s Eras Tour concert on Friday evening at La Défense Arena – the venue for the women’s water polo final on August 10.
Ally Beck, manager of the women’s national team, reached out to Swift’s camp and surprised the team with the tickets. Flav said he also contacted Swift’s team, but the tickets had already been approved.
Flav, who is working on another tour with Public Enemy that could begin later this year, then held up a T-shirt with his picture on it that read “KING SWIFTIE.”
“I am proud to support Taylor. … Flavor Flav is a Swiftie, the king of all Swifties,” he said.
This is another connection Flav has with his new favorite team.