Someone called and asked if I had looked at the message board on PoloZONE.com lately. I said no, not recently. So I did tonight and I was amused at the FIP World Cup topics. Many of the postings were whining about Canada using a player from Argentina, but who has a Canadian passport or green card. Well its just like every other sport. If you have a passport you are in. Anyway Marcelo Abbiarti has been playing here since I moved to California in 1989. He has been married to a Canadian lady since the early 90’s. So you can easily say he was here before most of the U.S. team was out of diapers. We always blame someone, but we did it to ourselves.
I have been involved with the U.S. Team during the last two FIP World Cup Championships in Australia and France. We had the same challenges both times with no substitute players or not enough and we had to travel far away during the Zone Playoffs or for the Final or both. At both FIP World Cup Finals in April ‘00 and Sept. ‘03 we had players drop off the team as the players had jobs or an opportunity to earn money which is the main problem in putting together a good U.S. Team. In ‘00 in the semis Carlucho Arellano, born in Costa Rica probably but playing for the U.S. Team, broke or tore his kneecap and we lost to the Champs in the semis of the World Cup Finals (Australia) to Brazil. Carlucho was dang sure not up to form to play, but he did it. We had no sub for him and we lost in the last 30 seconds of the game. In France in ’03, Joe Wayne Barry was hurt in the 6th Chukker of the first game and broke a bone in his hand. He was our leader on the field and tough enough to play very bad horses. If Brad Blake could have come and joined the team or substituted for him, what do you think would have happened? We would have been in the Semis for sure, but hey, we had no money except the $30,000 Michele Everett , Lynn Bremner and I raised on a raffle. The money was given to the players to pay expenses at home for their own horses and staff. Someone says we got $90 grand each time we had a U.S. Team go to a final. I want to know who got it? The players stayed in motel 6 or less in Australia and 3 to a room in France and they were very small rooms and supposedly the home or hosting country paid for them. The hosting country is supposed to pay for food and accommodations for all players participating if they opt for the full rights to all sponsorship business at the event itself.
All this aside, this year was a good time of the year for a Zone Playoff in May. The location in Costa Careyes, MX is a 3 flight from Miami, Houston or LA and what do we do? We had no tryouts for the U.S. Team, no competition and no team. There are 3 (count them) 5 goal players in the U.S. better than Brandon Phillips or Marcelo Abbiatti (the Canadian Players) and these U.S. 5-Goalers were not even asked to try out for the U.S. Team. I do not blame Pat Nesbitt as he had nothing to do with it. This was handled on the East Coast by other individuals. Pat even offered to match the team against one we would put together from the West Coast with a sponsor and the people back East would not do it.
I do blame the USPA as they are trying to be the strongest Polo Association financially, but I am not sure what for? They will soon not even have an American high-goal team to put on the field. They took out the rule for young Americans to get a chance when they said it was unfair to the foreigners to let 4-goal players and under out of high goal polo. So what did that do for motivation for our young players? Nobody wants to believe it worked in England where they play polo year around and have no rain or no teams. Our polo leaders say no! It does not work here.
England has more 5-Goal and up rated players than the U.S. They play from May until Sept . England had 22 teams in the Queen’s Cup and it cost more for one team than all the Polo in California. And we are surprised? Canada beat us. You must be one of our Association big wigs and I know why you need a wig .
Now the FIP World Cup Final won’t be played until April ‘08 thank goodness we did not win as most teams will go up in their ratings at least 4 goals. The U.S. or Canada will not . As for practice, how many games did Marcelo Abbiatti practice with Canada ? He was working in Calgary the whole winter.
To me Take it To the Boards, the company putting together the polo documentary, were the only ones working to make it a group effort. Hats off to Michele Everett and Nathaniel McCallagh. They certainly did their part. At least some people cared. Mike, Walter , nwestpolo, Pirate, Pologuy and the rest of you on the PoloZONE.com Message Board, keep it going before we become grooms for foreign polo players and truck drivers for the U.S.P.A.’s war chest. I am sure we will send it South to bring polo North.