US Women's Water Polo Gaining Famous Fans

The U.S. women’s water polo team came to Rio as the clear gold medal favorites, having won gold at the 2012 games and winning every major international tournament since.

The team hasn’t slowed down any either, running through group play a perfect 3-0 while outscoring opponents 34-14. That sort of dominance will definitely garner some attention, and some pretty high profile people are taking notice of the American team.

During Saturday’s group play finale against Brazil, actor Samuel L. Jackson tuned in to watch the women play, and tweeted his excitement.

Today Show cohost Al Roker has also become a fan of the team, taking in Saturday’s game and tweeting some selfies from the stands. 

Roker even spent time with the team earlier this week for a story for the Today Show.

And Roker isn’t the only celebrity to visit the U.S. women during their training. They also got a visit from a legend in the swimming community, Olympic gold medalists Janet Evans, who won four gold medals in three different Olympics. Evans posted a picture of herself at practice with the U.S. team with the caption “Fun to run into the amazing women of @USAWP. Their positive energy is contagious & I know they'll dominate in Rio!”

Even Olympic superfan Leslie Jones is getting into the water polo hype. She’s an especially big fan of the robes the players wear during the National Anthems.

Maybe now that Jones is in Rio she can take in a game for the women’s quarterfinals.

And it’s not just celebrity fans. The U.S. has some fuzzy ones too, including this pup, named Samson, who is a great water polo cap model.

The U.S. women beat host Brazil in the quarterfinals Monday to advance to the semifinals. 

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