Public Enemy rapper and hype man-turned-television personality Flavor Flav is in Paris for the Olympics as a member of Team USA. Yes, you read that correctly! No, he is not competing.
The 65-year-old joined the United States as the official ambassador for men’s and women’s water polo.
It is a rather unique and unexpected partnership that came to exist after a plea from women’s team captain Maggie Steffens on Instagram. She explained that while USA Water Polo and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee help to fund the team and its travels, they need additional support from donors.
Flavor Flav stepped up in a big way. He promised to bankroll the team’s entire trip to Paris for the Games as the primary sponsor. Pretty cool.
Not long after his promise, Mr. Flav signed to a five-year partnership with Team USA. The agreement includes multiple annual appearances at USA Water Polo events and an extensive social media collaboration to “leverage Flav’s influential presence to amplify the sport’s reach and engage new audiences.” They even invited him out to training camp!
Flavor Flav hopped in the pool and quickly discovered that water polo is not for the faint of heart. His appreciation for the sport grew infinitely.
The women’s team got its Olympic competition underway with pool play on Saturday morning. Team USA has won each of the last four gold medals in the event and expects to win again in France.
Their newest biggest fan is there to support them!
He held a press conference on Friday, which is definitely a first for the Olympics. As could be expected, it was hilarious.
Not long thereafter, Flavor Flav swung by the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Paris. There sits a 94-year-old piano.
In perhaps the most unexpected crossover of the year, Flavor Flav proved that he is more than just someone who yells “YEAH BOY!” and performed a classical tune on the keys.
Everything about this collaboration is so delightfully unexpected. It rules.
Imagine explaining to someone in 1985 that Flavor Flav would play a historic, almost 100-year-old piano at the Olympics on behalf of United States water polo. That rules. YEAH BOY!