Today's Evil Beet Gossip

So I’ve Totally Played Volleyball with an Olympic Volleyball Player

I just have to tell you guys that I just realized how awesome I am.

One of my girlfriends sends me a Facebook message tonight like “holy shit kev is in the olympics you have to watch it!” The “kev” she was referring to is her college boyfriend, Kevin Hansen, who’s on the USA men’s volleyball team. I was like “OMG that’s so cool” and turned on NBC to watch. I’d hung out with him a few times while they were dating, and he was a very cool guy, and I was just all excited that I’d actually met an Olympian. Because my eighth-grade science teacher was once a cross-country Olympic skiier, but that was the closest I’d previously been to Olympic glory. This was way better.

So I’m watching Kevin play on TV when it hits me: I’ve played volleyball with him.

Like a billion years ago, when I was living in Manhattan Beach and really into the beach volleyball scene, he and my girlfriend came down to hang out and play volleyball one afternoon. At the time, he was the captain of the men’s volleyball team at Stanford. He was pretty good, I guess. Maybe even better than I was. Maybe. I felt his serve could use some work and tried to give him helpful pointers. It’s possible he wasn’t trying his hardest.

Still, I’ve actually played volleyball with an Olympic volleyball player. That may be my greatest accomplishment to date. In fact, if I ever have to get a real job again, I’m putting that on my resume. (Funny side note: a girlfriend sent me her resume to proofread a couple weeks ago, and I sent it back with the note that, since her “Activities” section contained only one activity, and that activity took place over the course of three months in 2004, she should probably not have an “Activities” section at all. Then I laughed forever. But my new resume will probably have a “Minor Brushes with Olympic Glory” section, and it will contain one activity that took place over the course of twenty minutes in 2003. So I shouldn’t laugh.)

Anyway. To join Kevin’s fan club and support USA men’s volleyball at the Olympics, click here for the Facebook fan page.

6 CommentsLeave a comment

  • lol Wwow. Well my uncle is an olympian too hehe! He is on the American bobsled team (well was, he just retired) and last winter olympics he and his team mate became the 1st african-american men to win medals in the winter olympics when they got silver. Sorry, I swear I’m not trying to out do your story, just wated to share. Volleyball is cool too! :0)

  • Your friend must be like:
    “OH MY GOD! I DATED an olympic athlete!”
    Now THAT’S something for a resumé.

  • yeah, its fun having things like that–i was on the same swim team with rebecca soni, one of the girls on our olympic swim team. so i feel totally cool being like “yeah, we were on the same swim team” until people ask me if we ever raced each other, at which point i have to admit that i was way way slower and would NEVER even be considered to race against her.
    but its still pretty cool.