I have to admit that I find Steve Crowder’s running commentaries on everything polo to be amusing, but there comes a time when you just have to pull back on the reins on him.
As the Santa Barbara high-goal competition began Steve was shouting to everyone who would listen that Audi’s Gonzalo Del Tour was a ringer. He wold tell you that he was worth six-goals if he was worth a goal. He stressed the fact by pointing out how Audi was “blowing out” everyone in its way. Now we arrive at the Pacific Coast Open.
Today we look at an undefeated Audi team (2-0) who won each of its last two games by a three goal margin. Crowder’s Zacara team (yes, Steve coaches Zacara), also undefeated (2-0), on the other hand has won its last two contests by an average of 7.5 goals.
Though Gonzalo Del Tour is a very talented player, he spent most of last winter’s season in Wellington looking for a job. A ringer, hardly. I had an opportunity to see him play in the Spring polo at Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, and though I was impressed by his work ethic and his dedication to teamplay, I had no impulse to speed dial the USPA Handicap Chairman. Sometimes the chemistry of the team can carry the day, at other times a player’s time comes, and he makes the hurdle in his play that moves him to the next level.
Do I think Del Tour will become a great player, maybe, but not today, and not during this tournament. Crowder, don’t even think about trying to invoke the Monster rule when your Zacara team is making mincemeat of its opponents. Just bite your tongue and wait for the final showdown. Maybe it will be another Audi-Zacara shootout, maybe not, but the real Monstor story at Santa Barbara is the fact that there is a field of eight teams making a Monstor comeback from last year’s field of four.
The winner is the Santa Barbara Polo Club and Andy Smith. The winner seems to even be the umpiring, as I hear fewer and fewer comnplaints, and more encouragement from the competitors for the job the officials are doing. The Monster story is the 2008 Pacific Coast Open.