Multi-Time Champions From Smack Sportwear Are Back For Friday-Saturday Event
As the Manhattan Beach 6-man inches its way back to a full weekend event, one of it s legendary team is returning to the sand.
Magnum P.I., the mustached and Aloha shirts team that features Tom Selleck look-alikes (well sort of) and a team leader dressed like sidekick Higgins, is playing in the the whacky beach volleyball tournament, Aug. 3-4, at the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Magnum last played back in 2012, the first year the tournament was moved from a Saturday/Sunday event to a Tuesday/Wednesday affair. Magum has traditionally been one of the most entertaining teams on the beach, featuring near-constant playing of the TV show’s theme song on a boom box and the hilarious smack talk of Master of Ceremonies, J.T., on the megaphone.
One year, even the PubClubettes served as the team’s cheerleaders.
Back when the tournament moved to weekdays, Smackfest founder and team leader Bill Sigler said, “we’ll support 6-man. “We’ve been playing in it for the past 18 or 19 years. The last eight years we’ve won it five times and finished second twice, so yes, we’ll be there this year.
“I loved (founder) Charlie Saikley, so we’re definitely going to do it. I hope it goes well.”
So, too, does the city of Manhattan Beach, which switched the event from the traditional first weekend of August to the middle of the week in order to curb the partying long associated with the 6-man.
This worked but it also nearly led to last call for the tournament itself. The number of participating teams dwindled to the point that the very survival of the tournament was in jeopardy. So the Parks & Recreation Department moved it to Friday and Saturday this year and the result is team like Magnum are back in the show.
When the tournament was moved to Tuesday and Wednesday, Sigler offered these sage words to PubClub.com: “They did too little too late. When they put up the fence, they should have limited the number of people who got in, like a bar. When it’s full, it’s full.
“The problem is the young people who don’t know how to handle their alcohol; us older people who are responsible have to suffer from their actions as a result.”
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