Here's hoping Phelps swims away from path blazed by Spitz

At the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps could become the next Mark Spitz.

Heaven forbid.

When Spitz emerged from the 1972 Olympic pool dripping with seven gold medals, he immediately entered a life of awkward celebrity and endless motivational speeches. Almost four decades later, he remains a pitchman whose primary product is Mark Spitz.

Root for Phelps to win eight gold medals but, for his sake and ours, may all comparisons with Spitz's career end poolside.

Shilling for brand names and corporations? Yakking well into middle age about himself and his accomplishments? Constantly updating the sell-by date on an image? Is this what awaits Phelps in the years to come after he hangs up his Speedo?

Let's hope not.

"I would say I was a pioneer," Spitz said Friday in Richmond, where he addressed a group of swimmers. Speaking to a Richmond Times-Dispatch writer, he said, "There wasn't anyone who'd gone to the Olympics before me who capitalized the same way on that opportunity."

Good for him. But what about those of us who still carry a few psychic scars from the Spitz blitz? As if disco, Vietnam, Watergate, Yoko Ono and bell-bottomed jeans weren't enough to endure in the '70s, it was impossible to avoid Spitz's Ron Burgundy-style mustache.

The iconic 'stache was his dubious contribution to the all-too-kitschy '70s. But celebrity embraced the former dental student before he was ready. Poolside, he had a reputation as a cock-sure competitor but, appearing on TV talk shows, he was more wooden than a Sequoia.

Spitz-mania spread like a rash - his poster flew off the shelves - but this pioneer in cashing in on gold medals was always something of a post-Olympic joke to me.

I've never met the man but, before you accuse me of being unfair, it was never the man Spitz was selling; it was an image. And that seemed inauthentic.

To me, the guy seemed to be as fascinating as a pet rock.

From what I've seen and read of Phelps, he projects a more relaxed, natural vibe. But, then, every athlete today is more comfortable with themselves in front of the media.

Money isn't a problem for America's most accomplished current Olympian; supported by sponsors such as Power-Bar, AT&T, Omega watches and Visa, he goes into Beijing as the first active swimmer with a seven-figure income.

Spitz, who lost the caterpillar on his upper lip 20 years ago, said capitalizing on Olympic glory "depends on timing, it depends on hype, it depends on the economy and, most importantly, it depends on looks. I mean, I've never seen a magazine of uglies."

So Spitz thinks that guy with the mustache was one handsome dude. And maybe Phelps' mug doesn't measure up to that but, in every other physical category, he's extraordinary. Sports Illustrated has his face on the cover of its latest edition; inside are pictures of his semi-naked physique in various poses.

The overexposure comes in anticipation of overachievement. But, if he surpasses Spitz, don't expect the country to go disco-'70s crazy over Phelps, short of him eloping with Miley Cyrus. It's a different time. As a nation, our approach to the Olympics is more blase.

Phelps intends to compete in the 2012 Games, so his post-racing life won't be an issue for some time.

Just as well.

While America cheerfully anticipates a new gold standard from Phelps, we wouldn't know what to do with another Mark Spitz - with or without the mustache.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com