Hockey Frogs and Polo

01/2004

I hate hockey. Okay, “hate” is too strong a word but I love alliteration so the word stays. I hate hockey. Why? Because I’m a sound-sensitive girl and hockey is rife with bad sound. Think about it…the scraping of the blades across the ice; the slapping of the sticks; the slamming of the bodies against the boards. I mean, the puck itself is practically a murder weapon and I believe Mrs. Gretsky can corroborate my opinion. I’m wincing just writing about it.

Then there’s the Lightening game. Yes, game six, round one, playoffs. You remember, triple overtime? Best showing to date for the Bolts? It wasn’t just any hockey game. Even a girl like me, a girl who hates hockey, had to watch. Of course, it didn’t take me long to recognize that the game was unique for another, quite memorable reason.

Game six, round one, triple overtime, best showing and…battle between the best-looking coaches in the league. I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. Did you see those men? It was unbelievable. It was bad-boy good looks vs. good-man good looks. I don’t even know their names but if the Lightening and the Capitols play again, you can be sure I’ll be watching. Think of it this way: Anna Kournikova for women – times two.

Anyway, as far as I can tell, in hockey, the coaches are the ony men to watch. I mean the players are bloody and bruised and the goalies look like frogs ready for dissection with the way the splay themselves across the ice.

So when someone told me that polo is hockey on horses, well naturally I wasn’t predisposed to like the sport. But I love polo for the very same reasons I hate hockey.

Polo sounds good. Simply saying “polo” sounds good, but the sport itself sounds better. Close your eyes. I’m sorry, but the sound of eight well-groomed horses cantering across and expansive field of grass is enough to stir the most hardened soul, but for a sound-sensitive girl like me, it’s the stuff of which dreams are made. Honestly, I have not been the same since my introduction to the sport of kings. My life was good, but it was improved inexplicably by the sound of polo. The sport moved me from my core into very fertile, rich, unexplored territory. Who could have known?

So here’s the thing: if the Lightening are playing the Capitols, I’m in. But if I have to choose between watching the Lightening play the Capitols, or watching eight multi-colored polo ponies…I’ll pass on the hockey and happily close my eyes beside a massive grassy field, you can count on that.

So I hope to see you at the Sarasota Polo Club sometime. It may move you. It may be hockey on horses for some. For me, it’s better than game six, triple overtime, even battle of the best-looking coaches in the NHL.