We asked 10 Paris Olympic water polo players which celebrity they would want as their national team’s “hype man.” USA Water Polo already has Flavor Flav, so the “Public Enemy” rapper was off the table.
Most of the players said this was the hardest question they had to answer at the Paris Aquatics Centre: which celebrity would you choose as the official hype person for your national team? After some hard thinking, here’s what they said:
Australia team captain Nathan Power
“I know the Hemsworth brothers [Luke, Chris, and Liam] have some history in water polo. I think they used to play. So if we had Team Hemsworth, that would be a fun one.”
Australia centre forward Angus Lambie
“I love music but I listen to a lot of American music so it’s hard to think of an Australian artist. I love Metallica so if they wanted to sponsor us, that would be fantastic. I’m sure we’d love to have them onboard, but they’d have to come over to Australia.”
Spain defender Unai Biel Lara
“In a fantasy world, someone like [Lionel] Messi, but I don’t think he is really a water polo guy. Bad Bunny would be amazing. He could be the goalie, and it would be good if he would make us a song to enter the pool.”
Spain defender Marc Larumbe Gonfaus
“Javier Bardem. For me, he’s the best actor in Spain. It would be interesting if he could invest some money in water polo. He will be a very good second coach because he can adapt himself in any role. He can be angry. He can be happy. So he can motivate us.”
Serbia centre forward Nemanja Vico
Maybe [Leonardo] DiCaprio. Yes! I like him very much as an actor. I think he’s an unbelievable talent, unbelievable – one of the greatest in the movies. I would not put him in the squad. I would put him as motivational speaker.”
Two-time Olympic champion from Serbia Dusan Mandic
“Novak Djokovic, [the five-time Olympic tennis player and winner of 24 major singles titles] because he’s been inspiration for so many years and he never gave up. He’s like mental machine. You can find inspiration from him and you can learn a lot from him. Maybe he could play wing. He’s fast. Quick wing. His forehand would be good from the wing!”
Australia defender Milos Maksimovic agreed:
“Maybe Nole Djokovic because he’s one of the greatest athletes in the world, ever.”
Japan right-wing Kiyomu Date
“Famous rock singer Koji Kikkawa, one of the most famous rock singers in Japan. He used to play water polo at a high level. He was on Team Japan for juniors about 40 years ago. He could be the spiritual symbol of our team.”
Japan team captain Toi Suzuki
“Twice. It’s a K-pop girl group. They are quite popular. Three of the nine members are Japanese. Our walk-out song would be ‘TT.’”
Japan defender Taiyo Watanabe
“The famous boys’ Japanese singing group, the Johnny’s. It’s J-Pop. There are a few different groups in Johnny’s, each one consisting of five to seven singers and dancers. They couldn’t play [this sport] because water polo is tough. What they could do is show up at the competition venue and sing and dance before the game – not in the water.”