21 Ways to Prepare for the Olympics From Your Couch

Jul 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; United States team members cheer during the women's 200m butterfly swimming preliminaries during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Pan Am Aquatics UTS Centre and Field House. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports Images

By Chandler Brandes, Swimming World College Intern

Trials start in 15 days. Rio begins in 55 days.

To all the swimming fans out there, it’s crunch time; we have to start preparing ourselves now.

Do not worry about the athletes; they’ve been preparing for this for years and are beyond mentally and physically capable and ready.

Although it may not be nearly as strenuous as swimming, cheering – even from thousands of miles away – takes preparation.

Here are 21 ways to prepare yourself for the Olympics– all from the comfort of your own couch:

1. Set your DVR so you never miss when NBC airs swimming on primetime.

2. Get a megaphone so when you yell at the TV they’ll be able to hear you.

3. Be prepared to shut your friends down on their Phelps vs. Lochte commentary.

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

4. Memorize this.

5. Get ready to block friends on social media who think they know everything about swimming.

6. Prepare for bombarding questions of “Do you know this?” and “Can you explain this to me?”

7. Get a box of tissues for when they show athletes hugging their moms.

Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski

8. Rewatch all of your favorite memories from London.

9. And of course, relive your favorite memory from Beijing.

10. If that doesn’t get you excited enough, watch this.

Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers

11. Set SwimmingWorld.com as your homepage for all of the latest meet coverage.

12. Wear Team USA gear to show your support.

13. You can even wear your cap and goggles to feel like you’re one with the swimmers.

14. Take a few moments throughout the summer to truly appreciate this photo:

Photo Courtesy: Speedo

15. Don’t speak for a few days so you can save your voice to scream at the TV.

16. Keep a tally of how often you have to correct people that it’s 50 meters and not 25 yards.

17. Set up bets with your teammates of who will make the team, win, total medal count, etc.

Photo Courtesy: Maria Dobysheva

18. Put NBC’s number on speed dial to call and complain when they cut to commercial breaks during the 1500.

19. Force your non-swimmer friends to watch with you.

20. Get a lot of snacks ready to bribe those non-swimmer friends.

21. Have DeckPass open constantly to compare the Olympian’s times to your own (and laugh).

Grab the remote and take a seat. We’ll be cheering for you, Team USA.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use