It's About Damn Time People Started Chuckin' Some Knucks In Water Polo
It’s hard for me to really consider anything an actual sport unless you’re allowed to fight during play. It’s the reason why I really only watch hockey and box lacrosse. Occasionally I’ll tune into baseball when a batter charges the mound but those are few and far between. So for the longest time, I’ve wanted to be a water polo fan. It has a lot of aspects that intrigue me. For starters, I’m a huge fan of goalie sports. Always have been, always will be. Secondly, I’m a huge fan of water sports. A lot of people forget that ice hockey is actually a water sport, it’s just played on top of frozen water. But the one thing that’s always been missing for me is the fighting aspect of the game. Fortunately after this game between Croatia and Serbia yesterday, it looks like Water Polo finally has the enforcers we’ve been looking for.
If you’ve ever seen water polo before, you know there’s always plenty of tomfoolery that goes on below the water’s surface. We’re talking about grabbing, kicking, a lot of it is directed toward the crotchal region of an opposing player. What goes on below the surface is the game within the game. But there’s only so much that a man can take before it’s time to let the fists fly and use somebody’s face as your personal punching bag. And I’m just glad that this Croat realized that enough was enough and decided it was time to police the game himself.
Now it’s a little hard to tell if that was an intentional punch or if he was just trying to punch the water out of frustration. But I think the confusion there is pretty intentional. I think this dude knew exactly what he was doing and how he could get away with it. It’s the perfect crime. He saw an opportunity to mask a clean shot to the grill as frustration, and he took full advantage of it. That right there is the mark of a great goon. It’s an art. You need to appreciate the craft behind the punch. You can’t go around sockin’ dudes in the face all willy nilly and expect that to help your team. That just makes you a dumbass. But the ability to not only get your punch in but to also not get a penalty since you were able to disguise it so well? I’ll take that guy on my team every single time.