A different type of air time for Stokke

If there’s anyone who has reason to believe 43-year-old men don’t belong on Facebook, it’s Allison Stokke.

The former Newport Harbor High pole vaulter who became an Internet sensation after her vaulting photos started circulating on the Web made an appearance on ESPN 710’s “The Big Show” Wednesday afternoon.

Steve Mason, one of the show’s hosts, admitted to having a Facebook page toward the end of Stokke’s segment.

“OK, Allison, be honest with him,” said Mason’s co-host, John Ireland. “Is it a little pathetic that a 43-year old guy has a Facebook page?”

In an effort to be diplomatic, Stokke replied, “I don’t know many people who do, but it’s pretty big.”

Ireland was belly-laughing in the background.

Stokke herself had a page on the popular social networking website and MySpace rival, until the brouhaha over her photos forced her to shut it down. When the site originally began, it was only for college students. Now it’s available to anyone.

Stokke was the subject of national conversation after bloggers began posting lewd comments about her competition photos and a YouTube video of Stokke registered hundreds of thousands of hits.

Much of the controversy stemmed from the fact that Stokke, now 18, wasn’t legally an adult when the photos were taken and posted on various message boards.

Stokke, untrained and unaccustomed to being the focus of so much media attention, tried her best to retreat from the spotlight.

Now that the attention has calmed down, Stokke has been willing to talk about her experience and — and to some extent, her looks — as a way of drawing attention to the sport of pole vaulting.

Stokke won the CIF state title as a high school freshman with a clearance of 12 feet, 8 inches, and has cleared heights of 13-7.

Still, if she has Olympic aspirations, Stokke said on the show that she would need to be able to clear 14-6, at the very least. She’ll try to do that while competing for UC Berkeley.

Stokke, who was on “The Big Show” for a 30-minute segment, discussed her feelings about becoming known for her looks and the opportunities it’s afforded her.

The MTV reality show “Laguna Beach” is moving to a new high school this season with a show called “Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County,” which will follow the lives of seven Newport Harbor students and their friends.

“Had you been a year younger, they would have asked you to do this, you know that, with all this Internet stuff,” said Ireland, a Corona del Mar High alumnus. “Had you been going into your senior year this year, they would have come to you and said, ‘Hey Allison, we’re bringing the cameras. We’re going to do Laguna Beach at Newport Harbor.’ When they would have come to you, what would you have told them?”

“I don’t think I would have done it,” Stokke said. “Because of what I’m going through right now, I guess. You can’t control your own image. A lot of it is not real. I mean, it’s a reality TV show, but they script a lot of it, too.”

She also said that she’s been offered one acting role as a result of her Internet popularity, but declined to say anything about the project.

“I don’t know what’s going to come of it,” Stokke said. “I highly doubt I can act.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or [email protected].