I Do Sports

(That's me in action. Photo Credit to my brother, Mason Dent, the photo genius)

As long as there has been sports journalism (but especially with the proliferation of blogs), there have been people questioning how much writers actually know about sports. The assumption that is usually made is that sports journalists were the kids who weren't athletic enough to play sports, but quite willing to observe and love the game. So when a writer questions a player's toughness, or game strategy, or what have you, there is always the backlash of "they just don't understand, they're not out on the field, they never have been". I hate this attempt to belittle the journalists. For one, many actually have been athletes at some level, and, even so, it's not even necessary to make most insights about sports. Being an outsider looking in doesn't automatically make you ignorant. But anyway, more getting to the point of this blog post, I actually do play sports, though not one that's covered by any major outlets. Water Polo.

Right, after a long swim season (to get into shape for Water Polo), my season has now officially begun. If you have only a vague idea of what Water Polo is (don't worry, you are not alone), it's basically handball in the water. Ok, that was using another obscure sport in comparison, but it's really the only one that fits. You've got six field players and a goalie on each side. Similar to basketball and soccer, players play both offense and defense. The offense sets up with players on the perimeter surrounding one player in the middle, the hole set (the primary option on every possession). The goal floats in the water (or hangs on the edge) and is like a medium sized soccer goal. Oh yeah, you can't step on the bottom (regulation pools are all deep, so even the goalie can't), you can only touch the ball with one hand at a time, and there aren't any horses, dummy.

But that base description of the rules of the game don't really describe what's happening. Imagine swimming back in forth in a pool, sprinting each way. Pretty tiring, right? Now add treading water every time you stop swimming. In addition, on offense and defense you are grappling and semi wrestling with your opponent (if the ref can't see it, or its underwater, anything goes). In hole set, the battles for position amount to a battle in the trenches during an NFL game, or a center posting up on the low post, if that center and his defender were 100x more intense about it. Seeing someone dominate in the hole set, defensively or offensively, is truly one of the coolest things in sports.

Ok, so barely anyone knows of or watches Water Polo. But they should. Besides probably boxing or football, it's physically one of the hardest sports to play. That difficulty doesn't stop people from doing awesome things in the pool, though. I mean, just look at these 2008 Olympic highlights (ignore the awful music) (http://www.youtube.com/embed/nYRYDGoTelI).

So that's a summation of Water Polo. The point (finally) is that I, and probably plenty of other writers, know exactly what athletes are going through. I know the pain of two a day practices, the sheer joy after a big win, the complex relationships between a team and its coach. I know the effect a bad teammate can have on morale, the empty feeling after a loss, or after the whole season ends earlier than you want it to. The sting of losing to a rival, the relief when you beat them, and the build up to the game that you just can't wait for. Playing through injury. And I know what it's like to see a team come together, believe in each other, and do great things. (Sorry if that was too cliche). Sure, the sport is wildly different than many other sports, and the scale is much smaller (I'm not getting paid, I'm not on TV), but I know that the emotion behind it is universal, is real, and I can recognize it.

I'll try and keep anyone interested updated on how my season goes...