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t_ashley
11/28/08, 06:32 PM
You Might be a Swimmer if:

>If whenever you hear an electronic beep, and you instinctively jump, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have rings around your eyes unrelated to the amount of sleep you got, you might be a swimmer.

>If waking up before dawn to exercise seems normal, you might be a swimmer. (You might also be crazy)

>If jamming a piece of Styrofoam between your legs is not a kinky sexual activity, you might be a swimmer.

>If bugs die of chlorine poisoning when they land on your skin, you might be a swimmer.

>If you sport long, curling hair with split ends on your legs, you might be a swimmer.

>If the phrase "This set with fins" is better than hearing "You just won $1000," you might be a swimmer.

>If you answer, "I don't need to" when someone asks when you showered last, you might be a swimmer.

>If you love a good lightning storm when you have outdoor practice, you might be a swimmer.

>When you learn how to squirt water 15 different ways, you might be a swimmer.

>When your long term goal is to slap your bicep on your lat, you might be a swimmer.

> When you wake up before six for the free doughnuts, you might be a swimmer.

>When you go through so much latex in one season you could wallpaper your room, you might be a swimmer.

>If a friend asks how a certain guy dresses and you reply, "I only see him without his clothes on" you might be a swimmer. [SPEEDOS!!!]

>If your friends have stopped asking you about your plans for the evenings, you might be a swimmer.

>If you go from store to store desperately trying to find your favorite sports drink, you might be a swimmer.

>If the first place you go when you're stressed out is a swimming pool, you might be a swimmer.

>If among your heroes are Janet, Jenny, or Amanda, or you know who I'm talking about, you might be a swimmer.

>If your daily apparel is held together by knots or is torn and see through, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have an inhaler in every color of the rainbow, you might be a swimmer.

>If the phrase, "50 double armed backstroke with a breast stroke kick makes you happier than anything, you might be a swimmer.

>If being fish-like is a compliment, you might be a swimmer.

>If your friends don't even call you anymore because they know that you have no time to do anything, you might be a swimmer.

>If your nightmares consist of a series of numbers ending in 0 or 5, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have hickeys on your neck, you might be a swimmer or you might be lucky.

>If you sweat chlorine even after showering, you might be a swimmer.

>If you just don't understand the charm of the swim suit edition, you might be a swimmer.

>If getting smacked on the butt doesn't bother you at all, you might be a swimmer.

>If someone asks if you have any siblings and you start listing teammates, you might be a swimmer.

>If you cut yourself every time you shave, because you only do it 3 or 4 times a year and are out of practice, you might be a female swimmer.

> If you are determined, strong, smart and tough, you might be a swimmer.

*If you shamelessly walk around the hallways at school in your bathing suit, you might be a swimmer.

*If you think bald heads are hot, you might be a female swimmer.

*If the person who sits behind you in you're math class always tells you that you reak of chlorine, you might be a swimmer.

* If land is your second home, you might be a swimmer.

* If you sometimes have trouble walking because you aren't use to it, you might be a swimmer.

* If you suck at running, you might be a swimmer.

* If your stronger than many of the guys and all the girls in your grade, you might be a female swimmer.

* If you have to try on 30 shirts just to find one that fits your shoulders, you might be a female swimmer.

* If your hair remains in a wet ponytail throughout the day, you might be a swimmer.

* If when the life guard tryouts say you have to swim a 500 in less than 9 minutes you laugh, you might be a swimmer.

* If you have a permanent suit, goggle, and cap tan, you might be a swimmer.

* If all you ever do is eat and sleep during school, you might be a swimmer.

* If all your saturday and friday nights are spent around water, you might be a swimmer.

* If The Toadies "I Come From The Water" is your theme song, you might be a swimmer.

* If the first thing you look at in a guy is abs, you might be a female (maybe even a male) swimmer.

* If you are at the school so early in the morning for practice that you beat the janitors there and the lights in the parking lot are off, you might be a swimmer.

*If a practice of only 5000 yards sounds like heaven to you, you might be a swimmer.

*If you practice 3 or more times a day during the summer, you might be a swimmer.

*If your used to takin a 2 miinute shower and rushing to get dressed just to make it to class a minute after the tardy bell rings, you might be a female swimmer.

* And finally, If every time someone complains about how early they got up to get ready for school, you turn around and bite their head off and almost beat the living **** out of them, you might be a swimmer.

*If your shoes always squeak when you walk down the hall, you might be a swimmer.

*If you walk around with minimal amounts of clothing on, you might be a swimmer.

*If the only thing you can talk about is swimming, you might be a swimmer.

*If you pee on the pooldeck then walk around barefoot, you might be a male swimmer.

*If there are wet towels over every door in your house, you might be a swimmer.

rcrook
11/28/08, 06:37 PM
http://s4.tinypic.com/2safii8_th.jpg

imirish06
11/28/08, 06:42 PM
http://s4.tinypic.com/2safii8_th.jpg

Absolutely perfect.

Broken Parachute
11/28/08, 09:11 PM
I am not a swimmer.

Spicoli hey bud
11/28/08, 09:32 PM
http://s4.tinypic.com/2safii8_th.jpg
or

http://acslater.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/vomit.gif

imirish06
11/29/08, 12:09 AM
I'd put it in Dee

S/T
11/29/08, 12:23 AM
* If you suck at running, you might be a swimmer.


If you suck at running, you might not be much of an athlete.

t_ashley
11/29/08, 08:50 AM
I suck ass at running but i could probably (scratch that) i could kick your ass in the pool.

kshtoinks12
11/29/08, 08:56 AM
http://s3.amazonaws.com/0SAJ7JN5VFAWT249NNR2.anigifdel/bdda4b8584bed95952d4a103c44a70c8

Flags of Dawn
11/29/08, 09:44 AM
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/6871/11381333780734wf.gif

jusscali
11/29/08, 09:51 AM
I swam/am a swimmer, but this is mad annoying yo

CubbyNick42
11/29/08, 10:09 AM
>When you learn how to squirt water 15 different ways, you might be a swimmer.
Or my future wife.

captainhampton
11/29/08, 12:53 PM
I suck ass at running but i could probably (scratch that) i could kick your ass in the pool.

no you couldn't

AbbeyCarbs
11/29/08, 01:24 PM
I might be a swimmer.

LSULax2010
12/11/08, 06:36 PM
i'm a swimmer:excited:

preppyak
12/11/08, 06:41 PM
Or my future wife.
hahaha
I suck ass at running but i could probably (scratch that) i could kick your ass in the pool.
Swimming is for the gravity impaired.

And, fun story, there is an ESPN columnist who is gonna take on Michael Phelps in everyday sports stuff (dodgeball, etc). The guy is basically your casual sports fan, out of shape, a bit overweight, stopped playing sorts in JV...and most swimmers he's talked to think that he'll beat or hang with Michael Phelps in athletic competitions

The moral of the story...if a hack writer for ESPN can hang with the star of your sport...the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding.

QuikTrig
12/11/08, 07:10 PM
hahaha

Swimming is for the gravity impaired.

And, fun story, there is an ESPN columnist who is gonna take on Michael Phelps in everyday sports stuff (dodgeball, etc). The guy is basically your casual sports fan, out of shape, a bit overweight, stopped playing sorts in JV...and most swimmers he's talked to think that he'll beat or hang with Michael Phelps in athletic competitions

The moral of the story...if a hack writer for ESPN can hang with the star of your sport...the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding.

as much as i think swimming is a very specialized sport, if you are insinuating that michael phelps is not athletic...i think thats madness.

i guarantee i would school lebron james in soccer/kickball/tennis/golf. so "if a [random forum kid from ap.net] can hang with the star of your sport...the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding" would obviously not be true.

S/T
12/11/08, 07:17 PM
as much as i think swimming is a very specialized sport, if you are insinuating that michael phelps is not athletic...i think thats madness.

http://content.ytmnd.com/content/4/6/9/4698119d4cce9c9e52c148a3730624da.jp g

kshtoinks12
12/11/08, 07:20 PM
http://s3.amazonaws.com/0SAJ7JN5VFAWT249NNR2.anigifdel/f478d272c4d16fd7cf48a9003570e1f5

bigmike
12/11/08, 07:25 PM
as much as i think swimming is a very specialized sport, if you are insinuating that michael phelps is not athletic...i think thats madness.

i guarantee i would school lebron james in soccer/kickball/tennis/golf. so "if a [random forum kid from ap.net] can hang with the star of your sport...the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding" would obviously not be true.
No way could you ever hang with Lebron on a soccer field. The sheer difference between your stamina and his stamina, coupled with his ability to run, would leave you in the dust. Unless you're just talking you two in a penalty kicks match, and at that I still take lebron due to his size advantage in covering the net.

preppyak
12/11/08, 07:54 PM
as much as i think swimming is a very specialized sport, if you are insinuating that michael phelps is not athletic...i think thats madness.

i guarantee i would school lebron james in soccer/kickball/tennis/golf. so "if a [random forum kid from ap.net] can hang with the star of your sport...the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding" would obviously not be true.
That is exactly what I, and this article (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=3739665), am implying. Define "athleticism" and your definition is not "dominating a sport", and if that is how you define it, then there are maybe 3 athletes in the NFL and NBA...which makes you horribly wrong.

"Athlete" describes many aspects, and doesn't neccesarily translate to being a trememdous person in your sport. I would argue that LeBron James is 10x the athlete that Shaq is, in terms of coordination, agility, speed, etc...but, how many times out of 50 would Shaq dunk on LeBron in the paint? Let's go further in the "athlete" v "dominant in a sport" aspect

Mark Rubin...a high school phenom in both baseball and football, Rubin was once a hopeful for the U.S. Olympic swim team, and he reportedly even beat Phelps (http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/510417.html?nav=5017) multiple times in races, between the ages of 12 and 14. But Rubin gave up swimming to play football at Penn State, where he's now the starting strong safety.This is a common story, because there is 100x the money in football that there is in swimming...so the best athletes don't even consider swimming, they move straight to basketball, football, etc

And lets use major sports comparisons...is Albert Pujols as athletic as Barry Sanders? No...but they can still be atop their sports somehow
Everyone talks about how freakish Phelps' physical characteristics are, but a 6-foot-4 guy with a 6-7 wingspan and size-14 feet isn't that unique. "I have a size 13½ foot myself," Rubin said. "It's not like he's the only person in the world who's built like that. … If [Denver Broncos wide receiver] Brandon Marshall, let's say, really wanted to dedicate himself to swimming, he'd be very good. There's nothing to prevent a great athlete from becoming a great swimmer
But there are things that keep great swimmers from being a great athlete...like, for example...from Natalie Coughlin
"In general, swimmers are very much like mermaids where we're very, very good on water, not so good on land. So I have no idea. … Some people happen to be very good swimmers and still can do some land sports, but usually there's a lot of twisted ankles when you play basketball. It's not the prettiest.Or, lets go straight from the horses mouth:
Phelps has said about his own coordination level: "I'm a fish out of water. I'm a clumsy person."
So yes I am, in a 1000 words more than I needed to, saying that Michael Phelps is not a great athlete. He's a GREAT swimmer...but being the best swimmer (or, for example, the best golfer) doesn't neccessarily make you the best athlete of all time like people are foolishly claiming, and from that I've heard of Phelps, I'd doubt he's much more than a 6th man in the local gym's b-ball game out of the water. But you add in the intangibles that allow a guy like Peyton manning to be horribly immobile, yet a great QB, things like intelligence, pain threshold, and sheer desire...and you get a star competitor

AbbeyCarbs
12/11/08, 08:12 PM
the athletic requirements of the sport are clearly not that demanding.

You are ridiculous for thinking that swimming is not a demanding sport. Everything i just read in this thread was ridiculous actually. I could beat Brandon Marshall or Lebron James in a swimming race, so don't say there is nothing that keeps a good athlete from becoming a great swimmer. They would need just as much practice in swimming as Phelps would if he wanted to become a runner or a basketball player.

more heart
12/11/08, 08:14 PM
definatley not a swimmer

preppyak
12/11/08, 08:43 PM
You are ridiculous for thinking that swimming is not a demanding sport. Everything i just read in this thread was ridiculous actually. I could beat Brandon Marshall or Lebron James in a swimming race, so don't say there is nothing that keeps a good athlete from becoming a great swimmer. They would need just as much practice in swimming as Phelps would if he wanted to become a runner or a basketball player.
I disagree with that point entirely...when you lack the on land athleticism, you have to train 10x harder to be great.

I agree with the swimming being demanding, it is very mentally demanding, requires a great deal of precision...but its ultimately a very repeatable skill. Grabbing an alley oop thrown a few feet behind where it should have been and still dunking it, is a show of the athleticism over practice....out-swimming someone is a sign of detail in practice, and pushing harder tahn the other person through the pain...those are intangible elements that can be learned outside of athleticism.

I would not rank Michael Phelps in the top 100 athletes....but I would name him in the top 100 sports stars/competitors. Its not knocking swimming, the people are very well conditioned, much like marathon runners, etc....but those are skills learned through practice...athleticism is not something you can really learn...you can refine it, you can translate it to talent...but it can also be completely waster

Scott Weber
12/11/08, 09:32 PM
Or my future wife.
needs to be quoted again.

preppyak
12/11/08, 10:25 PM
needs to be quoted again.
haha, I wish the thread had just stopped with that quote