Note: Since “The Man” conspired against our main YouTube account and deleted years worth of great video, I decided to start up a “Throwback Thursday” post ritual right here on the blog! Should be some good stuff; maybe even some stuff you’ve never seen or haven’t seen in a while! Remember, I have the entire video archives from MrPhelps.com and SwimStars.org!

The Swim Aids have always had an extreme love for all things Club Wolverine and we still haven’t truly come to terms with the fact that PVK no longer trains with Team CW. We figure that if we don’t go to meets and actually see him rocking a Florida cap, it isn’t real. Yup. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Anyway, enjoy this throwback to Summer 2010!

O/T: I really enjoy how a lot of swim clubs are using social media these days. What a difference a few years make!

These days… as evidenced by the following swatch of suits from Summer Nationals in Irvine 2006.

Good times. Good times…

You know, back when the swimmers could show their personality in the suits color and it was cool. There was more than black, baby shit brown, and offensive (and see-through) red, blue, and gold apparel.

So, if someone can fix the situation and bring back this era, I’d be greatly appreciative. kthanxbai.

Back when we first started getting into the sport (post-Athens bitches; we’ve been around a minute, huh?) we were all over the place. We were attending national meets nearly every other month and it was awesome! We were the fan fixtures in the stands learning more about the sport and meeting awesome swim parents at the same time. They simply could not believe we traveled to all of these meets without having a background in swimming ourselves!

Flash back to Summer Nationals in 2006. We spent our final night in Irvine, partying with the Florida Gator swimmers; the Lochtenator included. When some of them found out that we weren’t swimmers ourselves, they thought it was the coolest thing ever! It’s too bad hotel security shut that party down. It was jumpin’!

And I still get that when I meet other media members while covering meets. I know the inevitable “what drew you to the sport?” question is coming and when I give my answer, the look on their faces is priceless!

It often goes like this:

“You mean, you don’t swim?”

“Nope.”

“Like, ever?”

“Only if a boat I’m on is sinking…”

“Wow!”

All the hoopla surrounding this weekend’s Charlotte Ultraswim grand prix stop got me thinking about how exciting it used to be going to frequent meets. A lot of our faves are competing at Ultraswim: The Hoff, The Lochtenator, Fleeeee, T-Dub!!, the Vanderkaays, Peirsol, Cullen… The perfect group of swimmers to be strolling deckside with. Imagine the “Tales From The Deck” I could share! Had this meet taken place back in our “glory years”, where it seemed money grew on trees, we would soooo be there this weekend! My mom spent the first part of her life living just outside of Charlotte, and my family still owns that house. I wouldn’t even need a hotel for this swim trip!

As we went though the past quadrennium, I got more and more comfortable with the sport and transitioned from just a fan to also a media member. It’s been a great ride! I still remember watching the Athens games and trying to learn all the strokes and terminology down. And now, I report on the goings-on of the sport. I’m still a fan, and I consider a number of the swimmers I cover to be friends, but the growth I’ve experienced in the past 5 years has been enormous! How’s that for a turnaround?

So naturally we’re a little nostalgic these days because we can’t just hop on a plane and go to a meet anymore. Damn economy! We’ve missed some great ones too! It looks like Santa Clara and World Trials will be it for some of us this year. Depressing? Yes.

So, this post serves as a notice that there may be a number of throwback posts headed your way. Our material has been a little dry lately since we aren’t attending meets like yesteryear anymore. So, we’ll take a stroll down memory lane, and hope you’ll join us!

We call this picture of Davis Tarwater from Michigan’s 2005 home dual meet vs. Georgia “Gangsta T-Dub!!”

Yes, we were there. We were hardcore that season.

That is all.