Why I love watching AVP tournaments

My friend Andy is a troll. Like, he has an official diploma from the American Troll Academy. He’s constantly trying to pull your leg so it’s difficult to take him seriously, and he’s usually the loudest one on the volleyball court (where I met him). It’s also part of the reason why I love hanging out with him: he’s fun to be around, and always makes things interesting. Since introducing him to AVP last year, we’ve gone on 5 trips together to watch beach volleyball in LA, and it’s been a blast every time.

Sometimes, though, his antics rub people the wrong way, as it did on our most recent trip to Manhattan Beach.

We all got up early Sunday to watch the morning matches. Hurricane Hilary was coming, so all the matches were moved up 2 hours to minimize the potential weather disruption. Since it was so early we essentially had free courtside seats to incredible beach volleyball competition (also, Court 1 >> Stadium).

The 8 am men’s semi-final match featured the No. 4 seed Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander (both Olympians) playing against the No. 10 seed Hagen Smith and Logan Webber. Right from the beginning Andy started heckling the Taylors; it started harmlessly enough with chants of “ruh-oh” or “they don’t want it!” whenever the Taylors messed up or whenever Smith/Webber had a good play, and escalated from there. His best line was after Hagen Smith was aced by Taylor Sander. “Don’t worry,” Andy shouted, “he’s only got one of those.” (Sander’s jump serve, while lethal, was known for being 50/50.)

Sander took notice, and while he didn’t respond to Andy directly he was definitely glaring at us whenever he walked by (presumably trying to figure out who his No. 1 fan was). As we later found out, he also used it as motivation to step up his game, as he got a couple of blocks and closed out the first set 23-21 after surviving a set point.

Immediately afterwards Sander cheered and clapped, ostensibly to the crowd (but really to Andy), “That’s on you boy, that’s on you! Whoever you are…” He was visibly pumped, and the momentum stayed with the Taylors as they easily won the second set and match. They would go on to win the finals as well, after a particularly gnarly first set that ended 27-25 in their favor.

At that point we were already halfway home, and were watching Crabb and Sander’s post-match interview on ESPN while charging at Kettleman City. I was half-expecting Sander to thank his heckler for the victory in his speech, but he just thanked his family and fellow competitors for the well-fought match.

When I woke up Wednesday to a new volleyball podcast episode featuring the Taylors, though, I knew that Andy was going to get the credit he deserved.

I didn’t have to listen for very long before they started talking about Andy. It had been a grueling weekend, Sander was saying, and he woke up exhausted on Sunday. Then, “Some guy started yapping,” Crabb interjected.

Sander continued, “Some guy started chirping me, gave me a little bit of fuel. Yeah, I was thanking him, and I said he had to go apologize to the other team.”

This is just one of the many reasons why I love going down to LA to watch these tournaments. Not only do you get amazing (and did I mention free?) front-row seats to extraordinary athleticism and competition, there’s also the unique opportunity to interact with the players and be a part of the story. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not going to start heckling players anytime soon, but it was so entertaining to watch and experience live, and then to hear the players talk about it after…in what other sport do fans get that level of engagement with the athletes?

If it’s one thing I regret, it’s not asking Taylor Sander for a selfie with our group afterwards to commemorate the occasion. To be honest I was a bit scared to ask (even though Andy was the only heckler among us), but I guess there’s always next time.

In the end, going to AVP tournaments is about so much more than watching sports: it’s about the connections made, laughter shared, and the unpredictable narratives that emerge when passionate fans and dedicated athletes collide. And while Andy won’t be joining me in Chicago this weekend to watch AVP again, I know that the spirit of his heckling will be with me, reminding me that in the world of beach volleyball, even a troll at the right place and time could influence the outcome of a game.