Everyone who knows The Bills Family knows that we really love the sport of swimming. All three boys have swum competitively, and even though Sean didn't find it as fun as Ryan and Troy, he still loves the water.
Swimming is a difficult sport. Ryan used to wear a shirt that read "If swimming were easy, they'd call it football." In no way are we disparaging other sports, I promise! But it is still true... Swimming is a difficult sport. You have to swim year round, many hours a day, without a lot of oxygen if you want to be any good at it.
With the 2012 Olympics approaching, the sport of swimming will get to catch the world's attention once again. We love watching so many swimmers that we have met over the years and that the boys have admired and watched for so long. Swimming is thrilling and it is even more so when we are watching as a family, cheering on Team USA. Who can forget Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals at the last Olympics? Who can forget screaming at the top of their lungs as Jason Lezak blew by that rude French guy who claimed the US would never beat them? Who can forget Dara Torres, at age 41, winning a silver medal in the 50 free? The sport of swimming during the Olympics is heart pounding, awe inspiring, and truly is beauty in motion.
While we will cheer on all the USA swimmers this year, a few in particular will receive our loudest cheers!
With the 2012 Olympics approaching, the sport of swimming will get to catch the world's attention once again. We love watching so many swimmers that we have met over the years and that the boys have admired and watched for so long. Swimming is thrilling and it is even more so when we are watching as a family, cheering on Team USA. Who can forget Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals at the last Olympics? Who can forget screaming at the top of their lungs as Jason Lezak blew by that rude French guy who claimed the US would never beat them? Who can forget Dara Torres, at age 41, winning a silver medal in the 50 free? The sport of swimming during the Olympics is heart pounding, awe inspiring, and truly is beauty in motion.
While we will cheer on all the USA swimmers this year, a few in particular will receive our loudest cheers!
Brendan Hansen - We sat by Brendan and his family during a swim meet at the University of Texas when Ryan was just 15. He is an outstanding guy and so generous and kind. Ryan had no idea we were sitting by him and when Ryan passed by the stands on his way to swim the 200 free, Brendan stood up, pumping his arms in the air and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Hey, Ryan, 200 free baby!!!" Ryan turned toward the voice, realized who it was and stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped and his goggles fell out of his mouth and hit the ground. He didn't say a word, but turned and went to the blocks. Brendan looked at us and said, "I think I scared him!" Brendan watched him race and complimented Ryan's awesome underwater dolphin kicks. Brendan had to leave the meet before Ryan could meet him, but get this... A year later at the Texas State Championships, we saw Brendan and he totally remembered us and asked how Ryan was doing. We told him he was swimming the 200 IM and Brendan came in and watched him. How can you not be impressed with a guy who has reached the pinnacle of his sport and still finds the time and sincerely enjoys watching a young swimmer? We are so excited Brendan made a comeback this year and will be representing the Red, White and Blue again! "Hey, Brendan, 100 breaststroke baby!!!"
Nathan Adrian - He's the guy every girl is going to have a crush on... once they stop looking at Ryan Lochte! He is a sprinter and will be swimming the 100 free and a couple of the relays. He swam for Troy's swim team, Tacoma Swim Club, here in Washington when he was growing up. He comes to practices when he is home for the holidays and talks to the kids. He is super nice and Troy once managed to absorb some of his sprinting ability! He was signing an autograph for Troy and posing for a picture with him when we realized Troy was supposed to be swimming the 100 back in about 3 minutes. Troy raced down to the blocks and jumped in. They were waiting for him... quite embarrassing actually, but at least he didn't stand around getting nervous before his race, right? He took 4 seconds off his best time and made the Champs cut he was trying for! Troy is a huge Nathan Adrian fan and will be cheering his heart out that Nathan makes it to the medal stand!
Jimmy Feigen - He did not qualify to represent the USA in an individual event, but will be swimming on the 400 free relay. Only the top 2 finishers in each event qualify to swim an individual event, but the top 6 finishers in the freestyle make the team on relays. Jimmy is from The Great State of Texas and Ryan met him at the Texas State Championships. Jimmy held the high school national record in the 50 and 100 freestyle events and was TX State Champ in the 50 free, and NCAA Champ in the 50 and 100 free. He is big. He is fast. And he is a Longhorn. We are so excited to see another Texan represent the US of A!!!
Last one to watch is Eric Shanteau - If you were alive during the 2008 Olympics, you have to remember him! Eric was diagnosed with cancer just 1 week before the Olympic Trials. He pressed forward and chose to compete at the Trials. He made the team! He didn't medal, but swam a personal best in the 200 breaststroke. He received treatment after the Games and at the National Champs the next year, won and broke the American record in the 200 breaststroke. During the TX State Championships Ryan's senior year, Eric was training with Longhorn Aquatics. Ryan was doing a warm up and was taking a break at the wall, when he realized the swimmer next to him was Eric Shanteau. Eric immediately said hi and chatted Ryan up for the remainder of is warm up. Eric told Ryan he was trying out some new suits for TYR. They talked about swimming, how to have a life and swim at the same time and he gave Ryan some great advice. Again... swimmers are so awesome! They are really invested in the sport and helping the younger generation achieve. Eric is an inspiration, not just for swimmers, but for everyone. He showed grace and composure during an extremely difficult time in his life. He showed all of us that you can be strong and achieve great things even during adversity. He will be swimming the 100 breaststroke along with Brendan, so we will be cheering that they go 1-2 and bring home the Gold and Silver for Team USA!!!
So, The Entire Bills Family hopes that you will watch Team USA swim fast and make the rest of the world EAT THEIR BUBBLES! May you be inspired by their dedication, determination, stamina, humility, competitiveness and love for the United States of America.
Here's one more thing for you to enjoy as you wait 9 more days to watch the incredibly talented swimmers of Team USA compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London!!! Remember: RIP IT, ROLL IT AND PUNCH IT!
Here's one more thing for you to enjoy as you wait 9 more days to watch the incredibly talented swimmers of Team USA compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London!!! Remember: RIP IT, ROLL IT AND PUNCH IT!
