COMOPOLO

its happening. get stoked.

from zach in bloomington:

"We've been planning a state vs state bench minor tourney for here in bloomington. So far IN, MI, OH, KY, and WI (and tentatively MN) are all on board... you guys interested in repping Missouri?

Between STL and COMO you guys could have a very, very solid team. The date is early april, so i'd be a decent amount of time before ladies army and way ahead of MW10 (wherever that ends up being).

Thoughts?

-zachary"

we'll work with stl on team selection, but everyone should plan on going to party and support the missouri team.

also:
we're going to win.

Very cool.

How will Missouri decide who's on their team?

Boat races

I want to be team manager, I will spend the whole time yelling "MISSOURI!!!" from the sidelines and spitting beer on all opponents.

y'all got party? i party

i can't wait! i want to play and destroy!

Teams of nine, right? So for Missouri, I'm guessing the roster will be comprised of veterans.

i would like an equal opportunity to play in this.

Oh god, who do we have to have sex with to get on the team?

if there is a B team i mean...

When are tryouts?

When do we inject each other with steroids?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saKRZEMqdis

I'll not play if I can be the coach. We could host a tryouts of sorts. Get some cones together and run drills or something!

having a non-bias coach o pick is a good idea i think

It's pretty obvious who we're sending.

Colleen - CoMo
Aimee - CoMo
Van Horn - STL/Korea
Rose - STL
Katherine - CoMo
Liz - CoMo
Patrick - STL

Uncle Jesse, how dare you put Patrick on this team!

It's the only way he'll toughen up.

This is why bench tournaments only work with a draft and mixed teams. Otherwise, everyone is going to fight for spots and people will always be left feeling shitty.

I'm thinkin' I'll just drop out.

Cancel that attitude, Nick. I won't let you drop out.

If every bike polo player in Missouri were honest with himself/herself, they'd know whether or not they had a legit chance of being on the team. Anyone being truly honest with themselves wouldn't be butthurt if they didn't make the team.

Let's say there are 50 people total that are somewhat involved with the CoMo and STL clubs. Bloomington wants us to send a team of nine. I think we should send the best nine players we possibly can.

If everyone took an honest look at himself, how many people would genuinely believe they should be considered one of chosen nine? I could probably list ~12 people that I think should be considered (and I'll share my list with anyone that cares what I think).

Not being selected shouldn't leave people feeling shitty...It just means they have room to grow. I should be a motivator.

At the end of the day, I don't want to try to send the team that makes everyone happy. I want to send the team that gives us the best chance to win.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I want to send the team that gives us the best chance to win.

+1. If that doesn't include me, so be it. I'll be there screaming my lungs out. And my support for the best team--whether it included me or not--doesn't mean I want to play any less and it doesn't somehow curb my competitive streak.

My support for the best team affirms that I want the sport to be played at a high level. It motivates me to get better so for the next Bench tourney, I'm considered one of the starters. It's good for the sport.

Would like to hear your 9.

Let me get my coach's playbook out (I seriously have a notebook ((not the movie)) that I started using for Bench Minor notes).

Some of those are locks, in my opinion. I think the others should fight it out for the remaining spots (assuming it's nine).

Knife fights (not those lame 1v1 polo games)!!!

Last edited: Sat, 03 Mar 2012, 04:56pm by BoozeKruse

apparently you havent seen me play ;-)

i think that looks pretty damn solid!

I'll knife fight for a spot

Oh man we're fuckin' stacked. All I'm saying is it gets hard to pick after 7.

Agreed. I think the key would be to all play together and see who clicks the best with the core players. The players that gel best would round out the team.

i agree with this. we'll have to set up another como and stl polo party.

I'm going to bribe everyone with Star Crunches to get a spot.

STAR CRUNCH FOR EVERYONE

So Zach from Bloomington just emailed me and asked if I wanted to be the captain for the Missouri team.

Honestly, I'd be proud to captain our stellar team. But I don't want to assert myself without discussing it with others. I certainly don't think I am the only option, and if someone else wants to be considered or thinks someone else should be considered, I'm all ears.

I think Zach wants an idea of who is going to be our captain as soon as possible, so any opinions would be appreciated.

Who better for the job than our Midwest rep ;-)

But only if you call the team Jesse and the Rippers. Oh and if you consider me for last pick :-*

I don't know about that name, but I think a potential team slogan would be:

"Missouri: We'll leave you in a state of misery."

I'm OK with you being Cap'n.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iPFK5T_G3U

Ps. F*ck Filly.

http://leagueofbikepolo.com/the-battle-for-middle-west-inilkymimnmoohwi

After glancing at that thread and reading Zach's email, I guess we were picked last. So we get last pick of jersey colors.

Any opinions on must-have jersey colors? White with (real?) blood splatters?

I guess I'm a little late to the party, but I think you are a great choice for captain. Also, I think it is a good thing that we have four people to fill the last two spots because the chances of all of the top seven picks being able to play are very slim. Having alternates is very necessary. Also I think that Anchovy deserves a spot on that list. At his worst he is a little confusing to play with, but at his best he is a one man team. No one at this thing is going to have any idea how to play against him, and at the very least you can put him in when our strongest players need a rest, and watch him control the ball alone for 5+ minutes.
I'm pretty stoked about this thing. I think as long as we get a good number of people from the above list to play we should see a Missouri v. Wisconsin final.

I completely agree. I forgot to list Anchovy because he doesn't like traveling to tournaments. If he wants to play, I think he would get a spot. I think the 10 people listed above should all plan on going. We will need reserves in case of injuries or tournament ejections.

As should plan for tournament ejections

white with red stripes. i still have my ball slappin and booty clappin jersey

I know things are coming together for this event and REALLY I would LOVE to be of help in anyway! I will be going for support at the least. Put me to work bitches!

Convince as many people as possible to make the trip. We should bring the biggest crew possible.

you guys are actually fourth in the color queue.

illinois picked navy blue. michigan red. waiting to hear back from sven/minnesota.

Is denim vest a color?

Can we get those, for REAL?

They exist:

http://www.google.com/search?q=fox+thrasher+shirt&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=fox+thrasher+shirt&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Ack&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=xpIAT-6iKK71sQL_1vyOBQ&ved=0CHMQrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=fa5408e047c95cfc&biw=1430&bih=706

They're on QBP.com too.

Charlie if there is a good discount can you buy us 9 of those, plus 1 more for the stats man/woman?

Our team color is White. We can add any stripes or blood splatters or printed denim vests depending on how we feel in the lead up to the bench minor.

If you have an idea, share it (privately or publicly)! No idea is a bad idea.

Goodwill. Cheap denim jackets. Make sleeveless. Bleach them.

Probably cheaper to do this than buy $40 Fox tees.

I have little desire to play in a denim vest.

Everyone should invest in a denim vest. Instead of track suits, we'll warm up while wearing our vests.

I have little desire to spend $40 on a Fox tee.

I'm content with red stripes as long as Ball Slappin' and Booty Clappin' allows it.

Cowbells. We need to wear cowbells. People on the sidelines need to ring cowbells.

Red stripes and cowbells. Sounds like a deal.

Red blood splatters.

better be real blood!

i have a red striped shirt with real blood on it!

I think we came up with a good idea today. You guys may need to travel to STL one Saturday for the making t-shirts party.

The weekend is rumored to change.

Aprilween takes precedence.

The proposed date change is April 17-15.

If the date is changed, all of CoMo should come to STL on the 6th for Aprilween.

Seriously.

Halloween in April full moon bike ride.

What? 17-15? Do you mean April 13-15?

Uncle Jesse wrote:

The proposed date change is April 17-15.

If the date is changed, all of CoMo should come to STL on the 6th for Aprilween.

Seriously.

Halloween in April full moon bike ride.

Do you guys dress up too!? Oh shit!

notsochristian wrote:

What? 17-15? Do you mean April 13-15?

Yes. Sorry. I copied and pasted the info from the email that Zach sent me. I didn't realize her was suggesting a year-long tournament.

April 14 and 15 would be the new dates.

Weener wrote:

Uncle Jesse wrote:

The proposed date change is April 17-15.

If the date is changed, all of CoMo should come to STL on the 6th for Aprilween.

Seriously.

Halloween in April full moon bike ride.

Do you guys dress up too!? Oh shit!

Yes. Costumes are mandatory.

Photos from last year:

http://fuckingbikeclub.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_...

Last edited: Mon, 23 Jan 2012, 04:02pm by Uncle Jesse

The date is back to April 7-8.

ATTENTION:

So the dates for the State vs. State Bench Minor have not changed.

This creates an interesting situation:

In St. Louis, our Full Moon Fiasco (read: monthly bike ride on full moons) is on the Friday night before the State vs. State Bench Minor. The Full Moon Fisaco in April is always a special ride. It is one of the best rides of the year. APRILWEEN!

In St. Louis, Halloween is such an awesome holiday, we celebrate it twice a year...once in October and again in April.

I'll be damned if I have to miss Aprilween, so here is what I am suggesting...er...wait...I am not suggesting...I am insisting:

Everyone in CoMo that is planning to make the trip to Bloomington for the State vs. State Bench Minor should come experience Aprilween in St. Louis on Friday night (April 6). As an awesome Missouri Bike Polo crew, we will wear costumes, bike around the lovely city of St. Louis, and party hard well into the night.

In the morning, we will drag ourselves to Bloomington. Missouri plays in the afternoon group, so it will not have to be a mad dash to get to Indiana.

"We're all gonna have so much fucking fun we'll need plastic surgeory to remove our godamn smiles. You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of you're assholes!" - National Lampoon's Vacation

This will be more fun than driving to Bloomington on Friday night to sit around and drink beers. Plus, I think it would be awesome if we all caravanned to Bloomington on Saturday as a giant crew instead of small pockets of Missouri polo players/partiers.

How does this weekend plan sound?

Let's make this happen!

You had me "whistling out of your assholes".

Sounds perfect, dude!

Playing or not, I'm down to rage it in STL Friday and caravan to Bloomington the next morning.

Ben, have you decided on the 9 players?

I have a starting nine, and three to five reserves that will most likely play in a game...maybe two.

Gotcha.

Is it the same starting nine from post #22? If not, why not reveal the team?

I'm at work and don't have it with me...And don't want to forget anybody.

I also need to email all of the players first. I suppose I'll do that tonight. I also have assigned reading for everyone. Homework.

I'll also refrain from posting the roster in a public forum.

I want to keep our plans as close to the chest as possible.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I also have assigned reading for everyone. Homework.

ben, can you email me at chaaarleshill at gmail dot com? i lost access to my former mizzou email i guess...

or facebook message me....

Email sent.

Let me know if you don't receive it in the next few minutes.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I'll also refrain from posting the roster in a public forum.

I want to keep our plans as close to the chest as possible.

Well played. No need for internet trolls to find out the plans.

Scouting report:

http://polo-velo-bloomington.blogspot.com/2012/...

Speaking of this, we need to all get together very soon!

Agreed. This weekend (Saturday), we're busy with a FBC ride. But next weekend, we should meet...Here or there.

Come to us that weekend (Feb. 25-27).

notsochristian wrote:

Come to us that weekend (Feb. 25-27).

What's your logic, just curious?

I say we go there, simply because it will be easier to get everyone together that way.

My logic is that I'm selfish and I'm going to STL this weekend to watch the Blues play the Wild on Saturday afternoon.

So if COMO came down this Sunday (Feb. 19) that would fit my selfish schedule. As would STL coming to COMO Feb. 25, 26 and/or 27.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

Let me get my coach's playbook out (I seriously have a notebook ((not the movie)) that I started using for Bench Minor notes).

Is everyone on this list still able to go? I know that there are a few other people Aaron Hand and myself that would like to see our names on this list even if towards the bottom and get less playing time.

Last edited: Sat, 03 Mar 2012, 04:55pm by BoozeKruse

I've contacted the 9 starters several alternates that, I think, give us the best chance to win. There could be more room for extra alternates, but honestly, barring some catastrophe, things are set in stone and probably won't change much.

Is it those 9?

That isn't the final list. I made some changes between originally posting that list and making my final picks.

i wouldn't mind playing as well and love passing to people! i feel like i am good at conforming to playing with different teammates accordingly and i never get tired, i played on 3 teams in Lawrence!

Firstly, I'm not trying to be mean, just factual. With that said, if you were to be put on the list, there's a 99.9% chance you wouldn't play. As of now, there are already several alternates which most likely won't play in the tournament. And this forum isn't the place to discuss the team list because I'm assuming Ben wants to keep it under wraps for now. I suggest contacting him directly if you want to dicuss.

yeah, we don't want any intel flying around! i know i won't play in it, to be honest, i just wanted to make my case for my ability to keep up in a tournament like this if another ever comes around, hell, i'm still a n00b!

There will be many more Bench Minor style tournaments in the future (later this year even). You guys will certainly get more opportunities, so keep working towards that goal...it's hardly out of reach.

Also, don't take not being selected for this team personally...The CoMo and STL clubs are so deep with talent and multiple years worth of polo experience that narrowing it down to nine players (and breaking into that top nine) is tough.

I encourage everyone to make the trip to Bloomington in April because you never know what will happen. At the very least, you'll get to play some pick-up and attempt to drown out the smattering of boos we'll receive when we start dumping people over the boards and show everyone that we've been practicing the art of fighting while on bicycles. I also want nothing more than to have the loudest, most obnoxious spectator section possible (led by Colleen, of course) because stuff like that makes a difference (be the 10th man!).

This is bigger than the nine-man roster and the three reserves that I've assembled. We're talking about our amazing state, and I want to prove to everyone else that Missouri rules when it comes to polo...on the court and off. Let's show everyone that the 1.5 hours separating our clubs doesn't keep our state from being the most tight-knit grop in polo. Let's be a force...A force on the rink hammering out victories, and a force on the sidelines giving their full support.

I think that's the best way everyone can have a hand in this unique event.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

There will be many more Bench Minor style tournaments in the future (later this year even). You guys will certainly get more opportunities, so keep working towards that goal...it's hardly out of reach.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

Also, don't take not being selected for this team personally...The CoMo and STL clubs are so deep with talent and multiple years worth of polo experience that narrowing it down to nine players (and breaking into that top nine) is tough.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I think that's the best way everyone can have a hand in this unique event.

pete wrote:

That's why each city should field their own team!

pete wrote:

I hope it's only unique in that the teams are state based...

Thank God you moved pete, so you don't have to care about this at all.

We're pretty excited about this event; we really don't want to hear this kind of stuff. Of course it is a one-off tournament. No one is championing a state-based long term competitive season. We're just having fun and showing some pride for Missouri, so chill out with the negative interjections and in October we will gladly participate in a city-based tournament run in the same manner as you are planning in Portlandia, except maybe we'll have less fair trade shit at ours.

I'm interested in what you guys have planned for this city vs. city format, but I'm also curious about how strict the stance will be on teams consisting of people from the same city. I'm really excited about the state vs. state idea because it allows us to team up with people we don't normally play with. I play with my club multiple times a week...come tournament time, I'm excited to try some different team options, but the city vs. city format seems to restrict my desire for new, unique teammate options.

Not every city club is eager to travel Moderate to long distances to polo tournaments. I think slightly mixed in-state teams could be an interesting tweak on the city based team idea. (example: city teams consist of seven men...two of those players could be from a different club within that state).

I'm just thinking out loud.

I like the of idea of both state-based and city-based formats, but the city-base format will allow for more player participation which is what I'm after.

BoozeKruse wrote:

We're pretty excited about this event; we really don't want to hear this kind of stuff. Of course it is a one-off tournament. No one is championing a state-based long term competitive season. We're just having fun and showing some pride for Missouri, so chill out with the negative interjections and in October we will gladly participate in a city-based tournament run in the same manner as you are planning in Portlandia, except maybe we'll have less fair trade shit at ours.

I'm not being negative at all, you're projecting, dog. It's awesome that the tournament is happening and I don't think that it should've been city vs. city. Go do your thing at the tournament, I'm not against it at all. I just hope that city vs. city gains more traction because I think it would work better than state vs. state. I'm not somehow saying that all state vs. state tournaments are stupid or something and I hope you don't think I am.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

I'm interested in what you guys have planned for this city vs. city format, but I'm also curious about how strict the stance will be on teams consisting of people from the same city. I'm really excited about the state vs. state idea because it allows us to team up with people we don't normally play with. I play with my club multiple times a week...come tournament time, I'm excited to try some different team options, but the city vs. city format seems to restrict my desire for new, unique teammate options.

Not every city club is eager to travel Moderate to long distances to polo tournaments. I think slightly mixed in-state teams could be an interesting tweak on the city based team idea. (example: city teams consist of seven men...two of those players could be from a different club within that state).

I'm just thinking out loud.

The fact that you play often with the people in your city is EXACTLY why they should be your team. You know how they play better, you can develop strategy together over time, you should have better teamwork with someone you play with a lot.

Yeah, you don't get to play with new/unique people unless they move to your city, that's right. But would their novelty be a good thing? I'd say no because they wouldn't play as well with all of the members of your team.

Uncle Jesse wrote:

(example: city teams consist of seven men...two of those players could be from a different club within that state).

YIMYOM wrote:

Firstly, I'm not trying to be mean, just factual. With that said, if you were to be put on the list, there's a 99.9% chance you wouldn't play.

Hope you're including yourself in this statement, but I'm not trying to be mean Timmy, just factual.

But anyway I'll be there cheering whoever does play, on to a fucking hell of a MISSOURI victory!

Of course he's including himself that's why he said he's not going...