Michael Phelps wanted to play football as a teenager

Max Bultman

Michael Phelps wanted to play football as a teenager image

The whole world knows Michael Phelps can close out a 200-meter butterfly. What it less known is that once upon a time, Phelps wanted to take a break from swimming to play football. 

According to a story from Yahoo! Sports, Phelps wanted to play football so he could have a more normal social life when he was growing up. 

MORE: Phelps explains return to 200 fly 

Phelps' mom, Debbie, ultimately helped her son make a decision that has more than paid for Phelps.

“I told him, ‘Only a small percentage of varsity football players get a scholarship to a D-I school and an even smaller percentage make the NFL,' " Phelps told Yahoo! "Then I told him, ‘Think about what you have already accomplished in your sport and where you could possibly go.’ "

And while that decision led to 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold, it's at least slightly regrettable the world never got to see how Phelps and his freaky athleticism might have fared playing for Ralph Friedgen at Maryland.

 

Max Bultman