Bike Polo

Last year, I was trying to get more in touch with New York City while working on an assignment for a radio class I was taking, when I heard about this Bike Polo game every Sunday in Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side. I decided to check it out. It turned out to be a small group of friends playing bike polo on a large cement section of the park. I watched for a while and interviewed one of the players while he was on the sidelines. He explains the game in the audio. (Just click on the title of this post!) He said that every once in a while they have tournaments but most of the time its just a small group of people playing.

I went back a couple weeks ago and it just happened to be a tournament day. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but what a sight it was to see. There were two teams "East Coast" vs. "West Coast." One team was wearing black, the other was in red. Someone was standing up on the railing above the cement court and blew a horn every time a goal was scored. Someone in a silly superhero mask had a PA system and acted as commentator and scorekeeper. The bikes were decorated and some of the players were wearing costumes. One girl was wearing a pink costume dress and leggings while she played. Another guy was wearing pink striped socks, a pink polka dotted skirt and black rabbit ears on his head. The players weren't the only ones dressed up. A spectator sitting on the railing wore a blue Cinderella dress and sat under an umbrella. 

Not only were there 25 players for each team but at least 75 spectators avidly watching the tournament. Loud music blared over the noise of the game and the sound of the street on either side. It was quite a sight. One I will remember for a while. Seeing stuff like this makes me so happy to live in this city.