Wheaton native's Olympic dream fulfilled in Beijing

Sean Rooney couldn't help himself.

As the Wheaton native stood on the riser waiting to have the Olympic gold medal the U.S. men's volleyball team had just won placed around his neck, he told himself to stand up straight, don't fiddle with it and pay attention.

"But it's pretty much impossible not to play with it right away," he confessed.

A moment later during a photo session he even gave in to the greatest of Olympic temptations and took a bite.

"It tastes like victory, I guess," he said.

Minutes earlier, it was looking as if the U.S. team might have to settle for the taste of silver when they dropped the opening set to archrival Brazil. But the Americans stormed back and won the next three sets to take home the gold.

"We made some good changes after the first set that they didn't make," Rooney said. "They were all over our game plan in the first set, but after that we exploited everything they were doing later on."

This was the 25-year-old Rooney's first trip to the Olympics - a rare rookie on a squad where more than half of the 12-man roster has played in two or more Olympics. Because of that statistic and a lingering knee injury, the 6-foot, 10-inch tall outside hitter saw limited action in Beijing on the court. Off the court, though, he saw plenty of work.

"He doesn't talk about it, but I did see him lugging a bag or two into the stadium at times," his father, Mike, said of his son's hazing by older teammates.

But the younger Rooney expects to see more playing time in future Olympics. He'd love to end his career with a gold medal at the 2016 games in Chicago, assuming the city is chosen by the International Olympic Committee.

"There's an extra incentive to be able to finish my career in Chicago," he said. "Not many people can do that, so I think now that all seems possible."

In order to make those Olympic dreams come true, the 2001 Wheaton-Warrenville South High School graduate refocused his athletic endeavors on hard-court volleyball after two years of playing beach volleyball following his graduation from Pepperdine University. It's also helped his wallet a bit. After a two-year stint with a professional South Korean team, Rooney spent last year with a Russian team and heads back to Moscow Sept. 20 to begin his second pro season there.

"Beach volleyball is such an amazing lifestyle," Rooney said. "But playing internationally has become very lucrative."

Something his father was surprised to discover.

"When he said he was going to make a living at playing volleyball, I just looked at him and said, 'OK,'" Rooney's father said. "But it sounded like I may be supporting him a little."

A trip to watch his youngest child play in South Korea assured him his son would be fine. Some 9,000 fans packed into the arena to watch Rooney's Hyundai-sponsored squad play. Something that would likely never be seen in the U.S.

"In the U.S., you're waiting for your moment once every four years to be in the spotlight, but internationally it's completely different," the younger Rooney said. "Sometimes we'll play 40 matches in three months in Russia, but when you're in America we don't even play; it's mainly just training blocks."

Rooney's Olympic odyssey was marked by the jubilation of a gold medal, but also marred by the murder of coach Hugh McCutcheon's father.

"I didn't expect anything from him after that," Rooney said. "I wanted him to take care of his family, but when he came back we were really excited and relieved because he is really the leader for the whole squad."

Many team members were headed to Jamaica together for a post-Olympic vacation, but Hurricane Gustav put the kibosh on those plans.

"Actually, it's nice because I'm enjoying hanging around my place here in Anaheim and I've had a few of the guys over," he said. "We're treated pretty good here. There's a five-star restaurant that lets us come in and eat after practice, even if we're all sweaty."