Brad Rateike: You need to visit Lucas Oil this month. Here’s why.

For most of us, swimming is another one of life’s bell curves, and for me, it was a pretty flat one. I started “swimming” at a young age, wearing a T-shirt with my name on it in a YMCA pool. “Swimming” at that point was managing to not drown and is better described as floating with some kicking, waving and splashing. A few years later in elementary school, I added some polish to the routine and learned a few strokes and even how to dive into the deep end headfirst.

All formal instruction ceased after fourth grade, and that is where I peaked. Now I am back to the kicking/waving/splashing combo, occasionally mixing in a Ron Burgundy cannonball, followed by “walking” across the pool to the nearby cooler hoping it contains something stronger than a juice box.

While I do not pretend to have a special bond with swimming, I like to think I have a basic bond with most Americans who would probably identify with the life cycle of the average swimmer.

This month, Indianapolis is not going to host average swimmers. We are going to host the elite, the best in the country. Nearly 1,000 swimmers will compete across nine days for 52 spots on the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic teams, set to compete this summer in Paris. For an “average” swimmer who can still remember screaming at the small black-and-white TV in 1988, watching Brian Biondo, Kristin Otto and Janet Evans in the Seoul Summer Olympics, the idea of seeing swimmers of that caliber live is a big deal.

For two years now, the team and the Indiana Sports Corp. and about 200 volunteers on the local organizing committee have worked behind the scenes to prepare for what will undoubtedly be the largest showcase of swimming talent ever put on. No hyperbole there, we have a pool in a football stadium for the first time ever (actually, three pools). If you have somehow missed a photo of it, immediately find one online. And if you have only seen a photo of it online, immediately seek out an opportunity to see it in person.

When I worked in D.C., I learned quickly how hard it is to make complex and important events look easy. And even on our best days, we struggled to make events look “easy.” I have been privileged to be part of the Local Organizing Committee for this event for almost two years, so my bias is pronounced and noted. But that bias comes from watching all the time, care and attention put in to pull this off on national TV and for hundreds of thousands of fans.

The reality of the Olympic Trials is that, by sheer math, more hearts will be broken than dreams achieved. The owners of those hearts and dreams will all remember Indianapolis. They will remember that, every afternoon and every evening, some of the most competitive swimming ever seen happened in our football stadium. And they were part of that event, and that event did not happen by accident.

Indianapolis has a well-earned reputation for recruiting big events to come here and for sweeping the podium with the result. I am thankful for the chance to be part of these Olympic Trials, despite my aquatic shortcomings. I will always feel like I did not do enough, but after two years on this team, I know that many others have done more than enough, and that is why we will crush this opportunity.•

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Rateike is founder and owner of BAR Communications and served as director of cabinet communications for President Donald Trump. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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