US women’s water polo team hoping to follow in Taylor Swift’s footsteps at the Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Maggie Steffens and the U.S. women's water polo team are hoping to follow in Taylor Swift's footsteps at the Paris Olympics.

Steffens and her teammates attended one of Swift's Eras Tour concerts at Paris' La Défense Arena in May. The last three rounds of the men's and women's water polo tournaments are going to be held at the same venue.

The U.S. women's program is going for its fourth consecutive gold medal at the Summer Games.

“We talked about it after (the concert),” Steffens said Wednesday. “We had a team meeting of, like, if we get the chance to play in La Défense Arena, we want to be like her. We want to be able to love the pressure and be able to perform and have fun and enjoy that moment and make the most of it.”

The U.S. team was gifted the tickets by Swift after women’s national team manager Ally Beck contacted the musician's representatives. Flavor Flav, the clock-wearing rap icon who signed on this year as the official hype man for USA Water Polo, also reached out on behalf of the U.S. team, but he said the tickets had already been approved.

“As badass and powerful of a woman as she is, for us to be able to see that in person was pretty magical,” Steffens said.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games