You can never really "know" a world famous athlete, but anyone who would drunkenly sneak a group of friends into the Olympic Village to continue partying and then show up tipsy to "The Today Show" a few hours later seems pretty awesome. That's the story Hope Solo tells to ESPN The Magazine this week, so, yeah. Pretty great. Video of her 2008 appearance is below.
As she tells ESPN The Magazine:
Solo recounts the story: "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but we met a bunch of celebrities. Vince Vaughn partied with us. Steve Byrne, the comedian. And at some point we decided to take the party back to the village, so we started talking to the security guards, showed off our gold medals, got their attention and snuck our group through without credentials -- which is absolutely unheard of." And, she adds, "I may have snuck a celebrity back to my room without anybody knowing, and snuck him back out. But that's my Olympic secret." The best part, according to Solo? "When we were done partying, we got out of our nice dresses, got back into our stadium coats and, at 7 a.m. with no sleep, went on the Today show drunk. Needless to say, we looked like hell."
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
For more stories from Solo and other Olympians, check out the full piece at ESPN.
Oh and ALSO:
"Athletes are extremists," Solo says. "When they're training, it's laser focus. When they go out for a drink, it's 20 drinks. With a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you want to build memories, whether it's sexual, partying or on the field. I've seen people having sex right out in the open. On the grass, between buildings, people are getting down and dirty."
So, this confirms something we've all probably assumed for years now. The best part of winning a gold medal -- aside from winning a gold medal -- would definitely be partying with everyone else in the Olympic Village for the rest of your time at the games.
It's not just fun, either. From a practical standpoint: Can you think of a better breeding ground than the Olympic Village? The by-product of a few crazy nights in the village could be America's next great Olympian, for all we know. When you think about it that way, it's not even partying and sex in public, really. It's partying and sex in public FOR AMERICA.