For those of you making your USA Sevens debut, congratulations! You finally mustered the courage to look your boss (spouse, kid, professor, parents, parole officer?) in the eye and - with a straight face - declare, "I really need to be in Las Vegas this weekend." Good for you. Deal with ramifications when you get home, I say. For now, enjoy; you are among friends!
Along with the price of your flight, hotel and entrance into the stadium today, you also have gained free membership into one of the world's greatest affiliation: the rugby community, a multi-ethnic, nondenominational, colour-blind and gender-equal association, whose entire existence is founded upon respect and fair play. Think I'm embellishing? Observe:
Notice the absence of players taunting, trash-talking and excessively celebrating. For one, the game is too physically taxing to waste valuable oxygen on showboating. More than that, this game doesn't tolerate selfish, "look-at-me" jerks. You won't see star players doing the "Ickey Shuffle," dunking the ball over the crossbar, or leaping into a crowd after a score. Nobody is going to run halfway across the field, slide on his knees and pull his jersey over his head. Why? Humility. Respect. Note the post-match handshakes and man-hugs. The players even refer to the referee as "Sir."
Nowhere is the rugby community better exemplified than in the stands. You, rugby fans old and new, are the keystone, the anchourmen, the glue that binds us all together. Watching one of the world's most violent games is collection of tolerant, fun-loving, die-hard sports fans. Notice the absence of fences to keep the home fans from assaulting the visitors. Proponents of rugby will not be surprised by these observations, but in an era marked by acts of deplorable fan behaviour, our spectators are exceptional.
Were there any college teams that played there at the time? My cousin play for BYU and I thought he said he was down there recently. Maybe just to see the national teams. Oh yeah, looks like fun!
ReplyDelete-Daniel