Stari, nisan mislia da ću ikada ovo napisati, ali kako me snerva Estiarte. 20 godina ga ni ćut, ni vidit i onda mi se iz niotkuda pojavi sa onon svojon parolon “Water polo will never die”. Podsjetilo me na zadnju scenu iz onog filma sa Bruce Lee-jen, U Zmajevom Gnijezdu. Znate onu scenu kada specijalci dolaze cili nabrijani u već riješenu situaciju. Tako i on. Mislin da je svima već jasno da vaterpolo neće izumrijeti.
Herr. Zellmer popped on my radar more then a year ago. His FB profile looks something like this. Michael “Mize” Zellmer, a two time Olympian Water Polo Goalie from Hannover, Germany and currently lives in Huntington Beach, California. I used to study in California. I currently live in Germany. Also Goalkeeper. Honestly I don’t know who added who over Facebook, but for the whole duration of our “friendship” I was always paying attention to what Herr Zellmer was doing with his goalkeeper academy.
Less then a year and a half ago I was just a guy who posted that 15 second video. Making certain moves elevated me to a place where across the world and on two languages “Who’s who” of the Water Polo world reads what I have to say. I have decided to write both on English and on my native language. Writing in English gives me potentially a way bigger reach, but writing in Croatian brings me a more influential one. Not to disrespect the rest of the Water Polo world, but I think that the Balkan region is still the most respected one when it comes to the true knowledge about the Game of Water Polo.
PART 3
My first panic attack happened some 7 weeks ago. By now I have given up on a single solution to help me get rid of this. It was not only one thing that pushed me over that edge. So I figured that it is going to take more then one thing to free me of this. Looking back and writing about this and trying to give words and meaning to my experiences has also been a part of that same process. We are all trying to achieve our goals. Sometimes your goals overlap with other peoples goals. I am slowly starting to realize that and started slowly to put my goals into perspective with other peoples goals. There is not a carved out way for me to be whatever I want to be, neither is for anybody else. That felt frightening and liberating at the same time.
Amo ovako. Nisan coronaolog, niti sam studirao coronaologiju, ali priče radi amo reć da će do kraja petog, ili sredine šestog miseca više manje cili svit počet opet normalno funkcionirati. Za razliku od mnogih drugih tradicionalnih sportova nekadašnjeg srednjeg staleža, NBA liga je odma najavila kako se sezona neotkazuje, nego se odgađa na neodređeno vrime. Oni planiraju završiti svoju sezonu, te saznati tko je prvak. Kakav će biti sustav natjecanja još se mora odlučiti, ali kako stvari stoje NBA će se igrati. I to će se igrati uglavnom kroz sedmi i osmi misec. Koliko sam primjetia ništa još nije službeno, ali zasad sve naginje ka tome.
PART 2
In the days following the incident in Herceg Novi I didn’t had any other panic-attack, or any other symptoms, or whatever you want to call it. But I was feeling edgy all the time. That same week I went to see some psychiatrist. His offices were located in the basement of the main hospital. Yeah. I know. And I am not trying to be mean, because I understand we all have our issues, but still sitting in this basement of this main hospital, waiting on my turn and looking around at the patients that they had walking around.
PART 1
It was a very important game in Herceg Novi. They were our direct rivals for the spot in the Final 4 tournament of the Adriatic League. Jug, Primorje and Mladost were going to get those first 3 spots. This was some 6-7 years ago when Primorje was Primorje. There were other teams in the mix for that fourth spot, but as the season progressed, it was clear that it was up to Mornar Split and Jadran Herceg Novi to decide who will take that last spot in the Final 4 bracket. They were our last, or second to last game in the first round of the season. We were playing them in Herceg Novi. I was the starting goalkeeper for Mornar.
So, some 3 weeks ago my wife and few other people from her company were for a few days on a business trip in Milan. Airport. Fair. Hotel. Fair. Airport. She comes back home, Netflix and chill, everything as usual. Few days past and we hear that this Corona virus situation has now affected the northern part of Italy, with areas around Milan included. The next day she came back from work feeling tired as f… and with a strong cough. Now I understand when you say that we are overreacting and that nothing is going to happen to us. I also understand that the chances of us getting this specific virus are slim to none, and that even if one does get this virus, he/she/it should still be okay and survive it, BUT what if its your own wife?
Pita me neki dan kolega s posla, kad će Jug zaigrat neku utakmicu doma, jer bi je rado pošao pogledat. Kad je čuo da još mjesec dana sigurno neće, nije mogao vjerovat jer zna da Jug igra Ligu prvaka. Nije baš da zna kako stoji u toj ligi, ali zna da ima nekih utakmica. Također, očekivao bi da ima nekakvu domaću ligu u ovo doba. Eto nema, nakon pauze od dva mjeseca zbog Europskog prvenstva, klupska vaterpolo natjecanja imaju novu pauzu od oko mjesec dana jer se reprezentacije moraju pripremat za kvalifikacije za Olimpijadu.
Internet is a weird place. I was laying on the couch with my wife. Netflix and chill. All of a sudden I get three messages on my messenger. Quote of the first message:”Being that you are involved with the water polo media, have you heard the biggest comedy in our sports history?”. In the second message he explained me in short paragraphs everything that has happened to him and his team as they were trying to qualify for the Olympic games. Third message:”Sorry if I am bothering you, but it is always easier when you share your suffering with someone, even if you don’t know that someone personally.”