Seven years ago I was drinking a few beverages at the prestigious Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida when someone in my group of friends got into a deep drunken conversation with a couple of men who happened to be Massachusetts transplants. I can hardly recall, but I think the guy had mentioned something about running away to Florida before his cheating wife could take him for all his money.

But that’s neither here, nor there. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was that he kept ranting and raving about this thing called the “Greasy Pole” in Gloucester, MA. I had never heard of it before, and today a friend of mine reminded me that I had never attended it either.

The premise of the Greasy Pole is simple. A 45 foot telephone pole extends from a platform over the water of Gloucester Harbor. The pole is covered in grease and a flag is attached on a stick to the end of the pole. You capture the flag and you’re the winner for that day. The winner of Friday and Saturday move on to Champions Day (Sunday) where all previous Greasy Pole champions (or their proteges) are entitled to compete.

But it’s not as easy as it might seem, as the contestanst spend most of the morning enjoying adult beverages and arrive at the Greasy Pole decked out in a humorous costume. In other words, bumps, bruises and the occasional broken bone come easily.

Also, the first round of the day is a courtesy round (practice) and you’re not aloud to capture the flag during this round. As legend has it, a man was once punched out by another contestant as a result of grabbing the flag during the courtesy round.

For those of you who can’t be in attendance this weekend, here’s a video of the 2007 competition.

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