I'll bite Dan:

When do you think he is going to come out of the closet?

Can you just imagine the one source of recognition you crave not acknowledging you when the whole world is?

Daddy issues suckkkkk.

*projecting*

sorry fags; Michael Phelps gives off ZERO gay vibe. Go look for pictures of him in his "civvies". Worst taste in clothes, EVUH!

I'll be his daddy...

Meanwhile, in real news that has nothing to do with swimfags (at least non-Iraqi swimfags):

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-US-Iraq.html

One gets the impression that he bears more than a few grudges. Did you hear the interview where he went on for a while about encountering the kids who tormented him in middle school on Facebook?

Fred Phelps. Hmmmm...

Fred Phelps!

...and why shouldn't he (bear a few grudges}? April may be the cruelest month, but high school can be the cruelest adolescent experience for kids both straight and gay, nerd and band jock, middle class and poor. So Michael has gold medals and the taunters may be abusive alcoholics.

At first I thought it was a Dan Thing - referencing Fred Phelps (the Topeka nutjob) with his intolerance not only of gays but of US troop funerals (WTF does that have to do with the gay?) and guys wearing Speedos. Phred Felps would have no truck with Speedos because they draw attention to your thing. And Phred Felps probably does not have a thing. Just a bigot spigot.

Oh jeebus. It's a familiar story for me. My grandparents divorced when my dad was three, and my dad's father was almost completely absent.

Dad was a state champion swimmer and diver, and the whole family has to ad infinitum about how he always hoped that if he won enough medals and got his name in the paper often enough, his father would just show up at one of his meets to watch him compete and express his pride. The man is 60 now, and he still whines about it at every family gathering.

So Michael Phelps can go on to be a fairly shitty father, then demand sympathy from his own kids for the injustices he suffered growing up.

..."I won a record number of medals in the Olympics, and your granddad never even called..."

On another note, I did find it hilarious to read the Post article and have the image of Fred Phelps, Kansas City preacher/family man/cult leader pop into my head every time they quoted Michael's father.

Why are you linking to the New York Post? This is the same rag that says this about rumors of a relationships between Michael Phelps and Amanda Beard:

Sexpot swimmer Amanda Beard says Michael Phelps has absolutely no shot at doing the breaststroke with her.

I agree, since I don't care if he's gay, I can say he's probably not gay.

Or so deep in the closet that you're wasting your time, other than volunteering on a GOP campaign with him ...

My friends from Michigan were telling me that they had been to parties that Michael Phelps showed up to. Their exact description was "douchebag."

...

As I was being told why Michael Phelps is a d-bag by my friends, one of their Michigan friends who was visiting came over...

My friends said to him, "Hey, we're talking about Michael Phelps."

His reply: "That douchebag?"

!!!

wow, 12, that must make it TRUE!!

A douchebag with millions in the bank, credibility in sports beyond belief, who will be included in all processions for the rest of his life, a body 600 times better then yours, etc etc etc

Man, I wish I was a dooooosh

It seems like many American Olympian's parents are overweight. Is there a named phenomenon that drives larger parents to push their children to attain physical success? Or does that fall into the general parenting category?

@14 I'm pretty sure most Americans' parents are overweight, whether their children are Olympians or not. The good overweight ones drive their children to succeed in all sorts of ways. The bad ones -- not so much.

@14 Its a pretty simple explanation: The amount of money needed for training an athlete at this level is truly astronomical... More than likely she's probably sitting on her ass all day working to pay the bills.

@13 Being a world-record setting millionaire athlete with a body 600 times better than most Slogers does not negate acts of douchery. In fact, I dare say it encourages it.

WHAT acts of douchery, 17???

Anecdotes from friends of friends who saw him across a room at a party?

just shut the fuck up about it because until you have proof, the fat one hacking away at a keyboard in your his studio apartment is the douche.

@17 there us no proof he's a douche, so just shut the fuck up about it.

I sure can understand. HAD Dad issues myself and they are complex. It’s never one thing and usually a series of things happening again and again over a long period of time.
The story said “he hadn't been in touch with his father since graduating from high school” and how he “reconciled with his dad right before the 04 Games. . .but the relationship quickly soured.”
Which is about identical to the time line with my good ol’ Dad.
Something about after high school – if you got a strength in you - you get over feeling bad or worried about their love and start to stand up for yourself. You quit taking crap from people – even your Dad.

I have no idea about our star athlete but for me. . .
My folks had divorced & every visit I had to put up with his verbal abuse – I was never hit but verbal abuse was enuf believe me!
I had to hear his bitterness towards my Mom. What a bitch, a whore, a dumb slut, a liar, etc. (she left due to him beating her when she had the nerve to get a PT job)
When she re-married he started the insults on my step-Dad, who is Italian - so racist remarks were normal. When I’d mess up or as it is some times with abusers - it’s nothing you did but their lack of feeling power and control, I would have to listen to how stupid, fat and ignorant I was. Any typical teen problems I’d get myself into were just proof of what a loser I was and how I would end up in prison.
Finally after graduation from high school I started standing up for myself, my Mom & Step-Dad. How my Mom was not a bitch and I was sick of hearing it, how my Step-Dad was not a dumb Wop, how I wasn’t fat, stupid or going to prison. If he wanted to see me and maintain a relationship he had to stop it. Oh boy! Mr. Control didn’t like that. . .so we ended up not speaking for years. He'd call after time had passed - or he was lonely and we'd reconcile a month or two but it soured quick.
Same repetitive cycle again and again until I was 28 - I was done for good. Haven't talked to him since.
And that's the short version. . .gawd the stories I could tell. . .people who hear my entire story can't beleive it. I get comments on how did I end up so "normal" and I have about the same remarks Michael does. . .all thanks to the love of a wonderful, supportive Mom!

@19 & 18

Michael?

@21 no

I thought 19 was too intense so I canceled sending. Waited a minute to repost to make sure the first didn't go through...it didn't after 3 refreshes. Did the next. but it shows up anyway

this comment system suxors

Awwww, someone has a crush on Mikey.

Absolutely ;)

dad gave him those genes that made his freakishly long torso & stumpy legs, so he should be grateful for something.

Daddy issues are complex (hell sometimes MOMMY issues are complex), furthermore ... love and hate are NOT opposites. In situations of forced family and intense emotions, love, resentment, and hate are often one and the same ... and it often flows into guilt, and guys generally don't like to feel guilty, so they get ANGRY.

Quite honestly, if things move smoother when Fred Phelps is out of the picture, then so be it. I think @20 will back me up on this, there is no need to rub your nose in emotional dogshit every once in a while to justify the status quo.

Daddy issues or not, if he is gay it'd be nice if he came out. I doubt he's a douche, I'm sure your buddies were just jealous of his success.

@27, my advice though, let the girls have him. He's too busy training and maintaining his body to satisfy a gay guy. It would become old and infuriating VERY quickly.

I once dated someone famous and very public and it was fun. There's nothing like sitting in the seats and cheering on a loved one. I think his mom is beautiful in many ways and even if dad wasn't around much his genes were damn good anyway. And as for Michael, remember Greg Louganis? He came out at the games after he hit his head and bled in the pool. He won a gold medal and my heart.

Fred Phelps lives across the street from my friend's parents in Linthicum, MD. And he's a giant ASSHOLE who harasses visitors to the neighborhood and spits on cars parked in front of his house. There's a reason Michael doesn't talk to him. I wouldn't want to talk to that douchebag either!

Can everyone just allow this young man to enjoy what an epic feat he has accomplished and leave his family alone. He and his fathers history is none of our business. I say he had a wonderful mother (single) who did a great job with him and the girls and we should all be giving them 3 cheers for the whole family. I hope he doesn't read all the horrbile stuff some of you people have written. Could it be jealousy. He's human, just like the rest of us, exceptional but human and from all appearances he seems to be a fine youg man. Let him enjoy his 8 Gold Medals! Let him live his life he's done a pretty good job so far.