The best thing about the summer here – the Manhattan Beach 6-Man Volleyball Tournament – was yanked away from us in 2012. Here’s a snippet from a blog post I wrote pre-yanking:
The event features everything I love about LA: sunshine, sand, bikini-clad women, music thumping from 10-foot cabinet speakers, and a half-dozen drunk-and-disorderly arrests. Teams began taking the fun to a new level in the 90s, wearing costumes during matches. I personally dig the bolder outfits that impede play, such as hospital gowns with big, fake butts hanging out the back. The local cops field a team, and wear riot gear and fake mustaches.
At its peak, in 2011, the tourney drew 65,000 spectators. But along with the crowds came trouble: 23 arrests, mostly involving public intoxication and theft. So city officials moved the weekend event to Wednesday and Thursday the next year. There were 3,000 spectators.
People around here plumb forgot there was a tourney – the equivalent of New Orleans not realizing there was a Mardi Gras. It was bad for local morale, and really bad for local restaurants, who lost their biggest weekend.
But this year, the tourney was moved to this past Friday and Saturday, and the crowds and the spirit were back. One team featured Lakers Head Coach Luke Walton and 2016 NBA Champ Richard Jefferson. It was so much fun and so good. Fingers crossed no shitbags drunkenly messed it all up again. I like nice things.
