First Night of Bozeman Bike Polo!

This evening, we had our very first night of bike polo, held at the tennis courts at Bogert Park, here in Bozeman. Here's the stats:
14 participants
7 mallets
2 mallets(broken)
1 field hockey ball (thanks, Danielle!)
4 orange pylons, borrowed
1 bent wheel, sort of straightened
1 bent chainring, straigtened
1 thigh, run over
1 Mormon Revival
1 pair of shorts, ripped
countless cuts, nicks, and scratches
at least 36 beers, consumed
...and there's the Harper's style index for tonight.

Fourteen of us showed up at the tennis courts at Bogert Park tonight for Bozeman's first-ever night of hardcourt bike polo. The rules are simple; 3 on 3, keep the mallet in your right hand, no highsticking, mallet below the belly button, tap out if you dab, score only from the end of the mallet. The basics of urban hardcourt bike polo, pretty much. What we got was three hours of two-wheeled mayhem. We played until it got too dark to see the ball well, and had we not been blocked by the Mormon event taking place in the pavilion, we would have been able to keep playing until the lights shut off.
Here's the highlights:
The first few games were a bit tentative. Nobody had really done this before, and nobody knew what to expect. It did not take long for some strategy and style to emerge from the first fledgling swipes at the ball. Before long, teams started to communicate with each other, communicate passing and scoring strategies, and actually play a defensive game rather than just "get the ball". Later on during the night, intimidation became a crucial part of the game, one that involved blocked shots, goals scored, and lots and lots of spectacular wrecks. This could turn into a two-wheeled version of "Fight Club", where participants are showing up at work the next day with new cuts and scrapes covering their bodies. 'Tis okay, it only makes us stronger.
So that's about it. Here's a link to some pics. And a special thanks to Captain E and Stan for donating some ski poles, Danielle for donating the field hockey ball, and Sweetcheeks for helping me to procure orange pylons for goals (while a cop was watching, no less!).
I hope to see you all out next week.
6:30, Bogert Park tennis courts, off of South Church. North of the swimming pool.

OH- I have someone's lock and cable. It's thin and seems to be easy to break. If it's yours, let me know.