8/12    How does an liberal athlete like Michael Phelps, who doens't have a
        job because he swims/trains all day long, make an income?
        (I'm assuming national/international swimming competitions
        don't pay monetary rewards for first place). thanks.
        \_ He's a gigalo at night. Haven't you heard all the ladies
           going gah gah at him?
           \_ After having seen what he looks like, I don't get this.
              I'm not much of a connoseur (sp?) of male beauty, but
              in my opinion, he's not a great example.  Perhaps
              I'm not qualified to judge, as I'm not female or gay,
              but I do not aspire to look like him.  I'd rather look
              like Jean Claude Van Dam, or that guy from Bourne Identity.
              \_ He has kind of a dopey face, but a very nice body like
                 most swimmers do. You could do a lot worse.
                 \_ But his body ratios are werid, with long arms and short
                    legs.  Reminds me of a pinguin (which is a great swimmer,
                    of course.)  Do women like that?
                 \_ I wasn't even referring to his face, just his body.
                    His body is pretty scrawny, I think, with barely any
                    large muscle.  He looks more like an endurance athlete
                    than someone who is strong but not an obsessive
                    weightlifter.  Not what I aspire to look like, which
                    is powerful, proportionally muscled, lean-ish, and
                    balanced.  Is Phelps really the female's ideal man
                    look?  Have I been barking up the wrong tree with my
                    training?
                    \_ Every woman is different, but in my experience, most
                       women prefer lean and cut to really huge. He shaves,
                       which lots of women like, too.
                       \_ Does shaving help or hurt getting laid?  -virgin
                          \_ I dunno, do your prospective paramours see you
                             with your shirt off?
        \_ Going pro/full time usually means sponsorship.
           \_ Maybe Speedo pays him millions.
              \_ Speedo does pay him. He'll also get a $1M bonus if
                 he wins 8 gold medals.
           \_ And with the fame that goes with medals comes much
              wealth.  You can do product endorsements.  From what
              I have heard about women raving about Phelp's body,
              he could probably make millions as a model as well.
              \_ Supposedly his body is actually kind of weirdly deformed,
                 but in a way that's good for swimming. E.g., very long
                 arms and torso, short legs. I think I may have read this in
                 the latest issue of the Cal Alumni magazine. I recall the
                 writer saying that his arms hang down to his knees, but I
                 didn't see this when I caught him on TV for a couple minutes
                 last night. *shrugs*
                 \_ Last night a Korean lady refered to him as "The American
                    Fish Monster."
                 \_ Yeah I think he has a 6 foot "wingspan" and giant hands
                    and feet. And long torso/short legs.
                    \_ It's true!  Here's a full-body non-wide-angle shot (so
                       that ratios are not distorted):
                       link:www.csua.org/u/m4e (http://www.mgoswim.com
                       And Phelps says it himself:
                       link:www.csua.org/u/m4f (http://www.mgoswim.com
                       (BTW, his fingers look long too.  I wonder if he plays
                       the piano.)
                       \_ Who is the blonde girl? Yummy!
        \_ Sponsorships.  I read some article somewhere recently about how
           pro runners make money.  The running eq. people fund them because
           it gets mediocre runners to participate in marathons and buy running
           eq. and pay entry fees into marathons.  There might be something
           similar for swimming.
           \_ Yeah, you used to not be able to do this and maintain amature
              status, but now even the pro basketball players are in the
              Olympics, so I guess they gave up on the whole amature thing
              a long time ago.
        \_ Phelps is voting for Obama, he is probably funded by Al Qaeda or
           something.
        \_ Anyone beloved and worshipped in Germany won't get my vote for
           sure.   We've already been down that road 63 years ago.
           \_ Phelps == Hitler?