Bill May chuckles at the mere mention of the words “Saturday Night Live,” knowing that the conversation is about to turn to the TV show's 1984 skit starring Martin Short as one of two brothers attempting to make it to the Olympics in what then was called synchronized swimming.
If you want to laugh, too, go ahead and Google the mockumentary-style 4 1/2 minutes, which include Short's character earnestly looking into the camera and admitting, “I can't swim," and show him wearing an orange life vest in the pool. It's satire, of course, and a sign of the long-ago times: They were poking fun at the mere idea of male participants in that then-women-only sport, which now is known as artistic swimming and changed the rules so men can compete at the Summer Games.
