The Great Sports Drought
A Desperate Sports Fan
Its an epic sports drought. Its not football season yet. And, March Madness is long over. And, no one really cares about the NBA. Furthermore, my hockey and baseball teams totally suck. So, in my desperation, I actually started watching the USA soccer in the World Cup. But, you know how that ended…Trump cheated for us, all karma left the team…and we were crushed and ousted. So, with that background, who can blame me if I went outside of the box to solve the great sports drought. For the first time ever, I turned to the Sport of Kings.
The Greenwich Polo Club
Yeah…believe it or not…I went to Greenwich, Connecticut, for the premiere venue for Polo. Normally, PugsleyTonks would avoid this uppity, elitist activity. But, its the great sports drought and I had nothing better to do. So, I did my research and went undercover as a semi, well-to-do socialite at the polo match. The first thing you need to focus on is fashion.
Before you mock me, I recognize that I was not in the upper quartile for best dressed. But, I did not stand out as a total slop. With this undercover assignment, the key is just to not draw attention to yourself. The second most important thing is…know your place. I had the green wrist band which is the lowest class possible. That meant that I must stay out of the cabanas, avoid the good bars, and sit in the general admission bleachers.
Sport of Kings
Basically, a polo match is four-on-four chaos where horsemen try to knock the ball through the goals with their mallets. Apparently, I was watching a significant match as the Flyhouse Club defeated the Roundhill Club 15-14 in overtime to win the 2026 East Coast Silver Cup…whatever that is.
Rather than discuss the game, I will just point out a few of my big points of learning…
- The field is HUGE. Its equivalent to 9 football fields in square feet
- Not periods…not quarters…they played 6 chukkers, each lasting 7:30 minutes
- Like hockey changes their lines, polo players switch horses during a chukker. Players never sub out, but you can switch to a fresh horse.
- A four man polo team is made up of one billionaire financier and 3 little jockey guys from somewhere in Central or South America. Look at the scoreboard in the picture above. The #1 name is the financier that pays for the team. Names #2-4 are the actual good polo players.
- I kind of knew this one. But, its bears mentioning. I enjoyed the time honored tradition of stomping the divots at halftime. All spectators grab a drink, head to the field, socialize and stomp divots. For full transparency, I had a drink…I entered the field…I stomped divots…but, I did not socialize with anyone.
Serendipitous Moments
I got two very pleasant surprises during my polo match experience. First, I certainly did not expect to find PBR at the polo match…and, I did not. However, some guy near me snuck a 30 pack of Busch Light into the Grandstands. AND, he was nice enough to share.
Secondly, it came as no surprise that cabana caterers do not supply food to the grandstanders. However, to my surprise, the nice folks of Greenwich Polo Club allowed food trucks on site for the green arm band peasants. I had a very tasty Philly cheesesteak.
Wrap It Up
So, admittedly, this blog mission was NOT a little slice of Americana. But, it is the great sports drought. I needed to watch something resembling a competitive sport. It was very interesting. I do not know how they can manage those horses in that melee without killing each other. All in all, it was a very pleasant day being undercover at the Greenwich Polo matches. Have a wonderful day. PT
I hope you have enjoyed “The Great Sports Drought” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks
Here’s a post on another competitive activity… https://travelingwithpt.com/the-brickyard/
If you want to catch a match at the Greenwich Polo Club… https://www.greenwichpoloclub.com/
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