Friendship, hardship, and why i love bike polo

I knew these guys would win from the moment GM Dillman picked his best mate Kremin. While other teams had disjointed picks all across the board, Brian picked midwestern steadies and familiar slayers. Congrats to everyone on Team Adonis! That MKE trophycase must be getting pretty damn crowded at this point..

Which brings me to these two fine gentlemen. Brian and Kremin are undoubtedly two of the best players in the world (with world's '10 and '11 MVP titles to prove it). And the fact that they're longtime teammates just further bundles the awesomeness known to most as "the Beaver Boys". This pic says it all. Two big smiles sharing one bike riding through the darkness on the other side of the world. What's better than a best friend that will literally carry you home? Of course i particularly like this photo cause Brian did the same thing for me riding home from the Atlas in Bloomington, but (pardon the sentimentality) it beautifully illustrates what i like to refer to as the best bromance in polo.

but why do i bring this up now?

..cause Brian has finally left the midwest, moving to San Francisco. I knew it was happening, but when Simpson posted this photo it struck a chord. I wish Brian all the best, and i'll miss seeing his smiling face at every tourney, but it's onward and upward for him. It's reminded me that while change is inevitable, but growth is optional.

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So goes everything in life. Polo has changed my life for the better in so many ways, but then that cruel mistress fortune always seems to balance everything out. In the past two week i've had my best friend move away due to financial issues, loaded another best friend into an ambulance thinking he might be dead, my polo team with two said friends is breaking up, split with my girlfriend when we both realized there was no future, and to top it all off yesterday i found out my grandmother died. Life is hard sometimes, i'm ok with that, but it's times like these where i try to look forward and take solace in all the good i've experienced in my life and all the good yet to come.

That's where polo comes in. I'm gonna go to Minneapolis this weekend and lay it all on the court. I'm gonna enjoy the good times, commiserate for the bad times, and look forward. For some polo is just a sport, for some it's a good way to pass the time- while both those are true for me, it's also exorcism and transcendence all in one. It's sweat, focus, timing, blood, teamwork, concentration, glory, agony, and so much more. That's why i love polo.

- - -

I apologize for the tangent, but this site is and should be more than just reposts of shit you guys have already seen. I like posting original content (like my crappy photos), but this is also a journal of sorts for me. It catalogs my journey with polo and it's ebb and flow that always seems to mimic life. Torrid love affair seems more and more appropriate every day. I'm gonna keep posting, but exactly what and how i post is a mystery even to me. The internet has fundamentally changed the way we all communicate, and while this site has a purpose, there's always plenty of ways to get your daily polo fix.

For example- are you following Kevin Walsh (kev_walsh) on instagram?? WHY NOT!?!

You get to see amazing photos like the top two above...

..plus amazing on the scene shots like this...

..and the occasional mountaintop, backpacking, or fine dining shot.

Then of course there's also the feed of the one and only Chris Simpson (1mallet), bringing you every facet of the high life that is world class polo!

Beers on a cathedral lawn whilst touring Europe? Check.

Personal forays into every aspect of polo? Check.

Debauchery with friends? Well, add a bitchin' camaro and the biggest bestest gay bar ever then we're getting somewhere!

But yeah, suffice to say- i really do love bike polo. Here's to the good, the bad, the ugly, and many more years of mallets and mayhem!

-W.