This weekend was my water polo team's international invitational. When I say that, I mean that the overarching organization of polo players that practice together every week put on a tournament. 28 teams from all over the west coast and Canada showed up and four of those (two co-ed a men's and a women's) 28 competing teams were from my overarching team. I played on one of our co-ed teams which entailed 4 games over the course of the three days Friday through Sunday. Although to be more accurate, my co-ed team played three games on Saturday and one on Sunday (at 7am). I'm going to KILL AB and DS for scheduling that! That gives you the background of the weekend.
To start, I got my act together and drove the hour and 20 minutes that it took to get to the pool Friday night. Why? Because I'm a saint. I didn't play on Friday, but because my team was hosting I went to help out. I got to the pool at 4pm and was there until roughly 10pm working the scoring tables and cheered on the other co-ed team and our men in their games. It was pretty easy.
Saturday I woke up at 5:15am and picked up donated coffee from my Starbucks (thanks Mgr. for your support!) and drove the 50 minutes (no traffic at that time of the morning) to the pool and arrived at 6:45am. I played my first game at 8:40am.
Now, those who've been paying attention know that I have only been playing polo for a bit over five months. I've never competitively done any sport. I've never swam. I can honestly say that after the first 5 minutes of the first game I was SO tired I'm surprised I didn't die. We lost the game, but I didn't screw up and I didn't score a goal for the other team. I considered it a success!
After that game it was back to score tables and I got to spend an hour or so with my parents, brother and my mom's best friend who came to the match to watch. I have to say it was pretty cool to have an audience!
Side note... do any of you have any idea how HOT some of the boys that run around water polo tournaments in nothing but speedos are? HOLY CRAP. I knew I liked this sport for a reason.
I played again shortly after 11am, but was actually warmed up a bit so we managed to pull off a win. Granted, we were up against a college team made up of a bunch of Canadian pipsqueaks, but it was still a decent game. What's scary is that these people were all college kids and HAND ON THE BIBLE (not that that means a damn thing because I don't believe in it) not a single one of them weighed more than 100 pounds. I actually got to push a girl around! I was guarding her and my teammates were yelling at me to push her to the wall. SHOCKINGLY I actually did it. (you would think I shouldn't be proud of pushing a girl who weighs less than most of the craps I drop in the toilet around, but it was #1 the first time I'd ever had the ability to push anyone around and #2 see number one and #3 so exciting I almost peed a little!
After that game it was back to score tables for a while and then!!! a friend of mine from high school turned up (she watched my game and I didn't even know!) and she, myself and her husband went to lunch at a local joint.
I played a third game at 6 something (where I actually got a shot on goal even though I didn't make it) and we lost, but again, I didn't screw up and I didn't score a goal for the other team. Success!
Tables, clean up, cheering, tables and I was headed home at 9:30pm. I got home, cooked a GIANT bowl of pasta. Ate and went to bed at a bit after 11.
Sunday morning I was up at 5:30, got gas (for the car!) and drove down to the pool to arrive at 6:45 for a game at 7am. I was so tired that I was literally having an aversion reaction to getting into the pool. Just putting myself into the water was one of the hardest things I've ever done. We then proceeded to get trounced. Horribly. we got so killed that after the first quarter and their lead was something like 6-1 we pretty much decided just to have fun. I did screw up (I made a terrible pass to a guy who was getting double teamed leading to a turnover) but I also blocked a shot on goal....I like to pretend that even though our goalie was right behind me that had I not been there it would have been a goal. It wouldn't, but I like to believe that. I then worked tables the rest of the day and cheered on our other teams. I left at about 4pm.
Somewhere in all of that I turned 31...older than dirt and now not only dead but buried in the gay world.
While it might not sound like it, I still don't have enough energy to do justice to the energy of the event, it was one of the greatest weekends I've had in a LONG time. I think that for a beginner I did pretty well, and that despite our losing record my team played well.
All in all, I think I probably played a total of 35-40 minutes of polo out of the 96 minutes my team was in the water. I don't honestly know, but whatever the actual amount of time it was the most exhausting thing I have ever done. EVER. And I only played on one team. Some of our men and most of our women played on two (and in the case of one girl three!!!) teams which means that they played 8 and 9 games over the same period of time. I am in awe.
And in case anyone is wondering, my team had one guy break a couple fingers, there were some pretty bruises on several of the girls, some nice scratches all over backs (you'd have thought some of us were having great sex!), and the coup de gras... 9 stiches in the eyebrow for one of our girls after her trip to the ER!
Good times!!!!
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