Photographer’s weird sports book chronicles underwater hockey, cheese rolling and more

Photographing traditional sports used to be a great career path for photographer Sol Neelman. 

But taking photos of “weird sports,” as he calls them, has given him more to laugh about — and to capture moments of people finding happiness.

“I wanted to document people celebrating joy,” the Portland, Ore., photographer told The Current.

Weird sports have altered the course of his career. Now, Neelman has documented it all in his new book More Weird Sports. 

“Most of the time people come up to me and it’s like, ‘Can you believe this? Is this the weirdest thing you’ve seen?'” he said. “I’m like, ‘Well, it’s up there, but I’ve seen a lot.'”

Neelman’s career in weird sports began in 2005, when he stumbled upon a roller derby — a sport that might not seem so weird today, though it was certainly less common at the time.

But when he had the opportunity to photograph a Seattle league derby game, it opened up a world of possibilities in the field of unusual sports. 

“I had so much fun, I immediately started searching online — there was a weird sports list, it was 10 sports,” said Neelman. 

From there, his obsession with photographing weird sports escalated.

Before he knew it, Neelman was taking photos of other strange sports around the world. 

He leapt at the chance to photograph underwater hockey in England, for example — which is more or less exactly what it sounds like.

“You hold your breath for about three minutes and you play hockey on the floor of a swimming pool,” he said. 

In 2015, he photographed Barbie Jeep downhill racing in Arkansas — where participants race kid-sized Jeeps downhill.

“It was a spectacular event,” he said. “Lots of laughter, lots of cheap beer, lots of wipeouts, lots of great photos.”

But perhaps one of the weirdest sports he’s come across is Pig N’ Fords, where drivers race each other in stripped-down Ford Model T automobiles. The catch? Drivers have to carry a pig under their arm. 

According to Neelman, the event’s origins go back to an incident near the Oregon Coast in 1925. Two people driving Model Ts chased down a pig that had escaped its nearby farm. When they caught it, they decided to bring it to the county fair.

Limitations in traditional sports

Neelman is a self-described “failed athlete” who watched sports from the bench more than actually playing them.

Covering strange sporting events gave him a chance to engage with sports from a new angle.

“I go to these events and I connect with people that are maybe not great athletes or they’re not getting paid to play sports, but they’re being active and they’re having fun,” he said. 

Photographing traditional sports is restrictive in many ways, according to Neelman.

“I was at the Vancouver Olympics, but access is very limited. You’re told where to sit and you end up taking the same picture everyone else does,” he said. 

“When I go to weird sports events, they don’t care where I’m at and a lot of times they’re like, ‘Go head on onto whatever the field of play is.’ No one’s going to care.”

Connecting with something bigger

At 52, Neelman has been in his profession for nearly 20 years.

He said the most wholesome thing he’s learned about weird sports events might be that the participants are often channelling their inner child as well as having some athletic fun.

“There’s a level of authenticity with weird sports,” said Neelman. “I don’t always feel like with professional sports — you know, again, people are getting paid, they’re trying to impress others, they’re trying to get a new contract, merchandise or whatever.” 

“[With weird sports,] nobody’s getting money or rewards other than maybe a fun selfie and a great laugh and a story to tell.”