I don’t follow sports much (though they are always playing in my house thanks to my husband), but every four years when the Olympics roll around, it’s go time. I watch almost anything that is on, and I develop instant fandom for individuals and teams based on completely arbitrary things that I see on the TV, hear from the commentator, or discover while doing a wiki dive. Women’s water polo is my new obsession, after seeing the USA play Spain a few nights ago. Spain won 13-11, but at the end of the game the American goalie Ashleigh Johnson scored a goal, throwing the ball with such force that it was almost weapon-like. “Wow,” I thought, “she seems so cool.”
Last night I got home and saw there was another water polo game, this time the US against Italy. The American team was doing a lot better (they eventually won 10-3), and it wasn’t for Italy’s lack of trying. Johnson, I quickly noticed, is one hell of a goalie. (Later, in my wiki dive, I learn that she is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world; these are her third Olympic games and the team won gold in 2016 and 2020.)
Now, I am not one of those people that watches sports and thinks, “I could do that.” I can do a lot of things, but I am the least athletic person around, something that I’ve known in my bones since I was literally in elementary school. Still, there is such a pull when you’re watching someone be totally great at what they do—it’s probably why I will watch any sports documentary on Netflix—and as I saw all these women swimming with force, absolutely smashing each other on occasion trying to get the ball, in a way that was truly beautiful, it hit me: I can’t play water polo, but what if I wore a little water polo hat?