Marco…Polo
We rubbed elbows with the elite and attended a polo match! Okay, we bought seats in the cheap, sun beaten bleachers, so I don’t know how much elbow rubbing we did…but we had fun!
The girls enjoyed it, but in truth, it was so hot, they spent most of their time playing under the bleachers in the shade.
As you can see from the photos, the juxtaposition of a polo field smack dab in the middle of the city is pretty striking.
A few fun facts:
- Polo is one of the oldest team sports; it was used for training cavalry.
- Alexander III, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 912-913, died of exhaustion after a polo match.
- The players are allowed to check (a la ice hockey) as long as they come in at less than a 45 degree angle. It’s something else to see this happen at top speed between two horses.
- They can really smack that ball, often sending it quite high into the air and nearly 3/4 the length of the field…I had no idea.
- The sport may not be gentle, but the crowd is. It is considered polite to applaud for a goal no matter which side scores. Apparently there are no polo hooligans.
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