“Silicon Valley has long accepted its role as inventor of technology’s Next Big Thing, but with that came a corresponding acceptance of certain shortcomings in the athletic arena,” Bruce Newman reports for The San Jose Mercury News. “Until six years ago, when the pudgy and the pale climbed aboard tech’s nerdiest toy — the Segway personal transportation device — and attempted to create a little geek chic with Segway polo.”
“This silently thundering herd is led by Steve Wozniak, the valley’s Perpetual Big Thing, who has become the sport’s face — and bod — tilting at windmill shots for one of the most successful teams in the newly formed International Segway Polo Association,” Newman reports. “Not for nothing does this group’s initials start with ISP.”
“Woz and his Silicon Valley Aftershocks teammates were practicing last week in Sunnyvale for the sport’s championship tournament — the Woz Challenge Cup — which begins June 10 in Barbados,” Newman reports. “But even as they hurtled up and down the field at a top Segway speed of 12½ miles per hour, they were beating a retreat from the recent rise of Xtreme sports. With a median age just under 50, the ‘Shocks are unlikely contenders at the next X Games — though they could blaze a trail to the first Rascal Scooter Games.”
Newman reports, “Bellied up to the bar that controls his speeding Segway, Wozniak leaned forward and swung his polo mallet, driving a foam rubber ball toward goal posts at the far end of the field. He pitches his body at a rakish tilt over the prow of his rechargeable chariot, in defiance of Newton’s law of gravity, which states that an Apple co-founder leaning that far forward will eventually hit the ground. But he never does.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
I so wanted a Segway. I have autism and it would be very useful as a mobility device. But it has not had an upgrade for years and the company was recently sold. I cannot afford to spend that much money unless I know it’s rock-solid for years. So I bought a Newfoundland puppy instead as my service dog.
The Segway is a wonderful product and I’ve always been glad Woz adopted it so wholeheartedly. It deserves a great future. Here’s hoping!
Are you freakin’ kidding me? C’mon, Woz is a RELIC. This is news?? I thought this was about CURRENT Apple related news, not lifestyles of the rich and obscure…
Segwaying his fat little life away. I might do the same if I had his money.
Judging by the snippit in MDN, Newman seems to have a chip on his shoulder so big that is should disqualify him from using the title of journalist.
He even seems to be criticizing Segway polo because Wozniak is becoming the face of the sport.
Wouldn’t that be Newman and The San Jose Mercury News’ fault for not covering anyone else?
No offense to Woz, as I like him, but he ought to get rid of the Segway, and actually run using his own legs when he’s playing Polo.
It will help his health immensely, and he’ll be around a lot longer.
WHY IS THIS ON MDN???
I don’t get why anyone cares about this guy… He’s contributed NOTHING to Apple in many years — he had nothing to do with OSX or the iMac or the MacBook or the iPod or the iPhone or the iPad… he’s an eccentric FOOTNOTE in Apple’s history.
LET HIM GO.
As long as he dismounts to use the restroom……
Romeo
No one is holding a gun to your head. Just ignore the items you don’t like. Why waste your time. And who do you think cares that you don’t like it?
“WHY IS THIS ON MDN???”
Huh? Dude, anything about Woz is vital news. To us nerds, anyway.
Besides, he’s not a “footnote” in Apple history, he’s a pillar of Apple history. Although I agree he’s a bit eccentric. But we like that.
@ HughB
Let’s turn the tables here:
Let’s see if that gun is pointed at your head…
Couldn’t you just as well ignored HughB’s remarks about Woz?
Everyone’s time was wasted…
Who really cares what you think about HughB or Woz or anything else for that matter?
Always thought Woz came across as a complete dork.
Woz is a happy nerd who has done well for himself and championed excellent causes. He is a bastion of Apple history and has a fond place in Apple DelightORama.
@romeodawg
what was the last notable thing you did that anybody other than yourself and your mother cared about?
Exactly…so be the boring pissant your are someplace else.
IMHO Seagway is a transporting device for lazy fatasses. It makes you lazy, degrades your health. Buy a bicycle instead.
Playing polo on Seagway is a misunderstanding. “Horse” polo is a fast and dynamic game excellent both for players and viewers. I saw Seagway polo this yera in L.A. and its butt ugly ang boring show.