First off, don’t worry mom I feel fine. No, I don’t have a cold. My chest is not congested and my temperature is a comforting 98.2 (36.8 C). However, I may have a case of the sniffles!
Tonight I experienced my first live rugby match and it was a slaughter. Let me back up for the American readers. Rugby is a sport that is commonly compared to “gridiron” as a very similar game when having a conversation between an ex-pat and a kiwi. Granted, and we have touched on this before, there is a remote similarity but they are two very different games. Ball: check. Field: check. Extremely large men running into each other: check. Raucous fans consuming over priced beers: check. But at that the similarities end. I won’t even attempt to explain the game itself, as that I am a newcomer and only today actually learned the names of two of the players, but you could read a wikipedia article and attempt to make heads or tails of it. That being said, here is my story.
Rugby World Cup is a tournament that includes 20 teams from all over the world that is held every four years. This year the RWC is being sponsored by New Zealand, and thus, the nation is consumed with rugby fever. Granted, the pride of the country is the All Blacks (which have the highest win ratio over a century than any other team in any other sport in the entire world), rugby is the national pastime. But, now that the RWC is in full swing, that consumption has expanded astronomically! With such a massive influx of sensationalism it becomes imperative to get involved. Basically, when in Rome Jeanne and I must go to at least one game!
So, we got tickets for the United States versus Australia game being held in Wellington. Don’t feel bad, I didn’t realize the US had a rugby team either! The game was on a Friday night and I ended up having to work Saturday. Of Course! This left Jeanne at the game with her close friends and our buddy Mark with my ticket. While I was working, and receiving texts from Mark about how awesome the game was, it occurred to me that I have now missed my chance to get a taste of the festivities. This, however, did not end up being the case.
One of my buddies at work is not only a rugby fan he is an enthusiast. He loves rugby. On his time off he has been flying all over “N Zed” to catch not only All Black games, but just games in particular. Well…… It turned out that one of his mates was unable to attend the game tonight …… so…… my de-virginizing to the sport was All Blacks versus Canada. What a spectacular way to start what could become a passion. Mind you, Canada got absolutely decimated, at points it seemed like the bullies were running rampant on the playground and at some point one of the teachers should jump in and take control of the situation…… but it was awesome. I realize that the common misconception is that American football and rugby are similar, but they are not even close. I saw people wearing NZ paraphernalia rooting for Canada! They would have a razz with each other, and then they would root each other on. I honestly believe that there is a love for underdogs but also a true national pride that extends to a true love of the purity of the game. I’m not going to focus on the game itself, it was a blow out and I am sure there are tons of blogs with the highlights, but what floored me was the compassion and camaraderie with an open arms policy. Half the stadium was red and white while the other half was black and silver (with a small mix of yellow and green and a variety of motley apparel). The amount of support that the Canadians received was breath taking. And the feelings shared were not solely the conquering heroes, but also those exalting O’ Canada.
During halftime, which is a mere 15 minutes, I walked up to a group of Canuck fans in the jersey I have purchased for my sister and precariously asked them if I could get my picture taken with them. Shocked! They were absolutely excited to get our picture taken together and point out that they were actually ahead by 3 points (which ended after the first couple minutes of the game). It was awe inspiring that sport fans could be so……. Cool. Can you imagine a guy in a New York Yankees jersey getting his picture taken with an estranged Red Sox’s fan?
I must admit……. I think I may end up loving this sport.
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