Michael Phelps is Coming for Your Money!

Filed in archive General on August 22, 2008

I was watching the Olympics last night when a commercial came on for a video I could buy that would celebrate Michael phelps' 8 gold medals and also give me some home movies or "behind the scenes" footage of Michael swimming and whatever else he does in the 15 minutes per day that he's not in a pool. I said to my wife, "We really should get that."

She looked at me and smirked.

Nothing against Michael Phelps, but, come on, who really wants to buy and own and watch more than once (if that) a video about his Olympic victories with a little extra footage thrown in? The only people who might want such a thing are those caught up in the moment who think they're getting some awesome piece of history. How many times do you think that video comes off the shelf after, say, September? (To be fair, if you were a young competitive swimmer, I could see you buying this video as a motivational tool to "keep your eyes on the prize" as they say.)

I'm no better than you; I've bought a lot of things on the spur of the moment or in the spirit of the experience that I never looked at again. (That beaded necklace from Spring Break 19xx looked pretty cool in Daytona Beach, but that was about it.)

But I will not be seduced by Michael Phelps toothy smile that is soon to be on every packaged good in America. And neither should you.

(Don't worry, Michael will still get rich without you.)