I've said it before, Polo is Awesome

I love going to polo matches. I went on Saturday for the second time in my life. It is so much fun.

First off, I think the average person has the wrong impression of polo. I think most of us think it is only for rich snobs. I was on the phone with one of friends at work.I told her that I was trying to convince Laurie to go to polo with me on Saturday. When I told her that she had a weird judgmental voice. When I got off of the phone with her, I sent a text explaining how fun and how cheap the tickets were.

This was her response- "Lol, you guessed correct. I was definitely judging you. I was like, this rich uppity snob. It must be nice to afford polo."

So let me shatter some myths. The tickets to the end zone which is general admission are $15. I think that is quite reasonable, by all means compare that price to a Boston Red Sox or Patriots game. There are other levels. I think the price of a car load is $100 on one side of the field. You can drive your car right to the edge of the field and tailgate ten feet away.

The price of a ticket for the Aex and Ani Pavillion is $20 a person. You are at the "fifty yard line" and you can get food. We sit in general admission because you can bring your own food and drink. That's right, you can bring your own food and drink (alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages) right to the field. Laurie and I get some pulled pork sandwiches, cornbread, and soda from Becky's BBQ for the match.

Lastly, I suspect the average person is rich who goes to polo. But really who cares? I mean, how can you tell if anyone at a sporting event is a snob or not? How many people do you really interact with at a baseball game or Patriots game once you are in the stadium? Maybe the guy in front of you in the bathroom line or concessions line. The guy whose seat is next to yours. I do know this, a lot of people brought their dogs (yes you can bring your dog) and a lot of people were admiring them, meeting and playing with other people's pets. In short, everyone seemed really friendly.

Oh ya, parking is free also, and it is only a thirty second walk from your car to the field.

So we got our fifteen dollar ticket, parked the car, and carried our food and drink to an open spot. We set up our blanket and lawn chair and got comfortable for the match. There are three chukkers (periods) on each side of halftime. Each is seven minutes long. At the end of each seven minutes the riders switch out horses. Each horse gets ridden once per half. The riders hit the ball with a mallet. The object is to hit the ball through the goal posts.

On the other side of the field you can pitch tents and tailgate
right up to the boards

At halftime the fans are encouraged to go out on the field and stomp down the divots. Imagine being allowed on the field at Fenway during the seventh inning stretch.  So we went on the field doing our part to flatten it out. Of course we had to watch out for the "steaming divots". After the match the players ride by the fans high fiving them as they pass. The announcer words it this way" the riders come by for the sweaty hand thing". It is a thrill for the kids to get their hand slapped, but really the adults like it too. It is a tradition and almost every spectator was at the edge of the field waiting for the riders to slap their hand.  The Newport team won 11-10. We got back into our car and was off of the field and back on Route 138 in less than ten minutes. Ending a really fun afternoon at the Newport Polo Grounds.

The riders doing the "sweaty hand thing" High fiving the fans

You can order tickets online or just get them the day of the match. Matches start at 5 pm on Saturdays. On some weeks it is USA vs an International team. The other week it is the Newport team vs other cities (we say them play Palm Springs) Info can be found at the website. Bring some food a bottle of wine or soda and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of polo.

https://www.nptpolo.com/