welp, i like things.

Paul is asleep in the other room. We leave for Toronto in the morning for the Great Lakes Winter Classic tourneyyyy. Playing with Jon who runs Magic out of London. Rainforest Cafe!!!! Bike Poloooooooooooo.

Painted my nails gold for winning luck?? We wont win but who cares I’m so happy to play again. Have played polo like four times since December BLAH.

!!!

DAB Bike Polo magazine issue 2 will be out soon

I wrote a little filler piece for it. I did last time, just stupid little something or others I just like writing down anyway. This is the first edit only, Krist is editing stuff now and sending to print soon.

GO TO www.dabmagazine.com FOR INFO!!!!
Shipping November 12 or pick up at Turducken!
Email me via the magazine if you want to talk about it, or polo, or stickers and candy.
footy@dabmagazine.com



Many of us know this is true, but for anyone who it doesn’t apply to, listen up : POLO IN A SMALL CITY SUCKS. We have been playing regularly in Rochester since about 2006. Lots of our players moved away and never played again. For a while, we had a steady roster of between 4-6 people every night, and we were playing 2 on 2 most nights. Krist set up nights that were “newcomer” friendly - a night for anyone new to come try it out, with our equipment and conveniently timed after a popular weekly ride. Some people tried it, we had a few guys return for a few months, we scared most away and we gained one great player from these days of recruiting. One of our other current regulars was a friend who helped out and filmed the first Flour City Invitational, was hooked instantly and has played since 2010. Chuck from Philly moved up here with his wife and new baby and forced two of his friends here to start playing too.
It’s been hard to get enough people to come back and play, but with a steady number currently of about eight, we’re doing okay. We have better equipment than ever, three different places we can play, and our team-fights have been less and less apparent. We have met so many other people in the past few years via polo, from huge cities and tiny towns, and it seems like a similar story everywhere.
Everyone has a friend that asks about polo, but hasn’t come to play yet. There are people in every town that would come to play, but don’t know how to start or what to bring or if they should be scared of the other super tough and scary bearded bike bears that play.
Lots of people know what bike polo is, but might not even know if their city has a team going! If you are trying to get new players, make a definite set day for polo and draw up some fliers for it. Write that it’s a newcomers welcome, that materials will be provided (by the way, provide materials) and for anyone that wants to give it a go to just show up on a bike! You might have to deal with some Bianchi Pistas with drop bars and some big scary mountain bikes, but who cares? They don’t know the norm, they need you to teach them and if they want to stick with it, chances are, they will learn what they need to learn.
As far as being inviting to new players, that is an easy one. Be a nice guy! To me, bike polo is the nicest community of people I have ever encountered and there are reasons for that. There are always weirdos and dweebs that want to play, and while at first they might be unnerving to hang out with, may end up as potential players, and probable friends. You know when you first meet a guy like Chombo, who introduces himself by barging into your house at 5am with a truckload of other, possibly drunk already? dudes, yelling “Chombo’s here”, but then tapes a t-shirt from his city to your front door with a “thank you” note, and ends up being the nicest dude ever? Or when you have to make up awards for your new friend Johnny Crash just so he will leave you alone and stop asking you for popsicles. BIKE POLO PLAYERS ARE WEIRDOS. You’ve got sketchballs, lurkers, drunks and burnouts in bike polo. If you’re worried a bunch of chumps will show up, and rain on your parade, look around you. You’re probably already playing with some crazy nerds anyway, what’s wrong with one more?
As far as Rochester goes, we always are on the lookout for people who act like they might be interested in polo. If you know anyone in the area that wants to play, send them our way. We’d love to take them, and feed them and love them and give them our bad habits of dabbing and doing endos. Days of 2 versus 2 matches come and go, and some days Krist and I just want to move to NYC, RVA or Pittsburgh and play with a lot of people, people that we know already and can get along with just lovely. For now, however, we will be in Rochester. Me, collecting stickers and slinging weiners, and Krist, working on DAB and NOT on getting a real job.