Weird Sports

Nearly everyone has an attachment to some form of sport. I hope that my use of the term weird is not taken out of context or considered derogatory. To me, it’s about being unique and visionary

Whether it’s urban golf, cardboard tube fighting, Godzilla wrestling, lingerie football, Segway polo, or drag queen softball, this body of work documents events you will not find in the sports section of the local newspaper. Over the past five years, Sol Neelman has been traveling around the world seeking out the weird and wacky in sports.

Sol Neelman is a failed athlete turned successful sports photographer.

Sol Neelman (b. 1970, USA) is a failed athlete turned sports photographer living in Portland, Oregon. A journalism graduate from the University of Oregon, he began his newspaper career soon after not being selected in the 1994 NBA draft. Three years photographing at a small, community paper in McMinnville, Ore. led to seven years of service at a major metro, The Oregonian. In 2007, he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team recognized for Breaking News Reporting. Soon thereafter, he left his staff position at The O to pursue a photo book project on sports culture around the world. His work has appeared in National Geographic, ESPN the Mag, SI, Rolling Stone, People, Newsweek, and TIME.

Brandy Rettigaka Rettig to Rumble is a roller derby player.Her resume includes being on the 2007 WFTDA western regional championship team (with Rat City), finishing 2nd at the WFTDA national championships (2007 with Rat City and again in 2010 with the Oly Rollers) and captaining her Grave Danger team to the 2007 Rat City Rollergirls league championship.

Mike Davies is the features photo editor at The Oregonian, Portland.