Flavor Flav agrees to be U.S. women's water polo team hype man - ESPN

Maggie Steffens asked for more support for the U.S. women's water polo team, and the captain received one particularly surprising response.

From a clock-wearing rap icon.

Moved by Steffens' Instagram post, Flavor Flav has stepped forward to help the U.S. team as it goes for an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer. He is finalizing a deal that will make him a USA Water Polo sponsor and the official hype man for a program seeking a bigger spotlight.

Flav, 65, a founding member and hype man of Public Enemy, has jumped headfirst into his new duties, highlighting some of the team's best players on social media. He also is making plans to watch the women's team play in Paris.

«When I come out and I watch this water polo team… 'USA! USA!' Yo, I'm going to be the biggest hype man that they ever had in their life,» he told the AP on Friday. «I'm going to be bigger than any cheerleader that they had in their life. I'm going to cheer this team on, and I'm going to cheer this team into winning a gold medal.»

Winning has been the usual result for the U.S. women's team since the 2012 Olympics. But it hasn't attracted the same attention or support as similarly dominant American programs, largely because water polo remains a niche sport throughout most of the world.

That — along with a little nostalgia — prompted Steffens, 30, the last remaining member of the 2012 team, to post on Instagram. While expressing gratitude for the opportunity to play and her love for her sport, she also encouraged anyone reading the post to check out her team and highlighted the constant financial struggle for most Olympic athletes.

«We've gotten a lot of comments you know of 'Oh, it's so cool what you've done. Bummer