The 23-time gold medalist and Baltimore native on Sunday jokingly dissed a reporter wearing Steelers gear and shuddered at the sight of the black and gold colors.
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“Is that a Steelers?” Phelps asked. “Oh man. Golly. There we go, there’s some Ravens … man, Steelers … Football season is back.”
When asked about the heated rivalry between the Steelers and Ravens, Phelps replied, “I always think we’re going to beat Pittsburgh. That’s the obvious answer. But I think one of the cool things about that, we always play each other really hard, and as much as I’m not a Steelers fan, the games are really exciting and we get a lot of intense hits.”
A video posted by espn (@espn) on Aug 14, 2016 at 3:18pm PDT
The Ravens showed their support for their hometown hero when they paused Friday’s preseason game against the Panthers to play Phelps’ 200-meter individual medley on the big screen. The stadium erupted as the most decorated Olympian won his fourth straight gold in the event.
The Ravens are slated to host the Steelers in Week 9 on Nov. 9, though the teams will meet again in Pittsburgh in a highly anticipated Christmas Day showdown in their “Color Rush” uniforms.
