Today was probably the worse rugby game I've ever played, or at the very least made me feel the most shitty. No, it was not the hits to the head I received nor the hand stomps my hand can testify to, but the totally lack of team unity I witnessed today and the clear distrust among the players.
No one's listening to the fly-half. No one is passing the ball. No one is sticking their tackles. No one is running! How do you expect players to give it their all and put their body on the line, when no one else seems to give a rat's ass about the game? I personally have enough to worry about in a game, I don't want to pick up anyone else's slack! Too many dropped balls, crap tackles, and jogging and next thing you know, the 15-player team just became a solo act. I can't trust you to play your part, so why should I depend on you to make a play, when CLEARLY you can't.
It's just me, myself, and I now. To hell with y'all. I put the "me" in team.
We lost, to everyone's surprise, the game and each other's trust.
As one of the veterans on the team, I can't believe how much this team has fallen apart. Just last year on this very field, we played with exactly 15 girls, no subs, but our love for the game and for each other was so much more prevalent. Everyone played their part, whether with tackles or kicks or passes, and not one person dared to take on the team herself. I remember my teammate limping back onto the field because she'd rather shoot herself than let us play down players. I remember that even though we lost that game, that we did not lose respect for each other, and we arrives as a team and we left as one.
Flash-forward to today. There is literally no back I can fully trust to actually play the ball correctly, I fear for my life every time we scrum, and we can pretty much count on our full-back to not catch that ball and let it roll 20 more meters.
Team unity. Though I have read how important it is to a team, today I've come to understand how lack thereof can be detrimental to a team. Without it, everyone fends for themselves, communication falters, and effort plummets.
There's a correlation for sure between strength of team unity and effort, and thus injury. Perhaps this is why last year my team was riddled with injuries, and this year everyone seems to be breezing on by. Yes, technically we're all safer, but we're sure all bored and sick of this damn fucking around attitude. Or least I am.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
The Drunken Beauty, that is the Rugby Social
Ah, rugby. Bruises, tackles, blood, and British men come to mind when I think of rugby, but above all is the socially accepted high consumption of alcohol and beer.
Yup, in rugby it's ok to be an alcoholic, in fact, if you're not reaching for a beer after a game, you're looked at as an outcast. In rugby, socials play a huge part in the social aspect of the sport. It's where teams bond through collective singing and insulting, and how teams establish good relationships with other teams.
Though socials aren't for everyone. They're not for the easily-insulted, highly religious, sore losers, or people who always walk around with a stick up their arse. But if you have a good sense of humor and enjoy a feast of pizza and beer (and who doesn't after an intense rugby game?), then socials are the thing for you! Especially when it comes to the infamous rugby songs. Rugby songs are offensive, blasphemous, lewd, highly sexually, and you tend to leave feeling as though you're one step closer to burning in Hell. But damn are they catchy.
During the match insults and punches fly, however, all of this animosity stays on the field once the match is over. Everyone packs up their stuff and anxiously heads on over to the social. Here, everyone talks, laughs, and mingles with the other team as though we've been friends forever, taking bites from pizza whenever one is done taking a gulp of beer. Then, from the center of the room, someone shouts, "ME-ME-ME-MEEEE," to which the crowd responds, "YOU-YOU-YOU-YOUUU," signalling the start of the highly anticipated rugby songs. Drink in hand, everyone forms a circle, with the shouter beginning the song of her choice, begging for the crowd's participation when needed. Rugby songs rely heavily on this back-and-forth relationship with the lead singer and the crowd, and it is in this way that teams bond together and the fun truly begins.
Below are some lines from my personal fave rugby songs. You have been warned.
I Used to Work in Chicago
I used to work in Chicago in an old department store
I used to work in Chicago, I don't work there anymore
Lead: A man came into the store one day, asking for a ruler.
All: A ruler? From the store?
Lead: A ruler he asked for, his 12 inches I got! I don't work there anymore!
Lead: A man came into the store, asking for seafood.
All: Seafood? From the store?
Lead: Seafood he asked for, my crabs he got! I don't work there anymore!!
Follow the Band aka Me Lover
Oh, you've got to drink a little, fuck a little, follow the band
Follow the band with your tits in your hand (toot toot)
Drink a little, fuck a little, follow the band
Follow the band all the way
Oh me lover's a pastry chef, a pastry chef, a pastry chef, a mighty fine pastry chef is he,
All day he fills tarts, he fills tarts, he fills tarts,
And when he comes home he fills me!
Oh me lover's a dentist, a dentist, a dentist, a mighty fine dentist is he,
All day he drills teeth, he drills teeth, he drills teeth,
And when he comes home he drills me!
Honestly, I just got excited writing these done. Really wish I was at a social singing these now....where's my beer?
Yup, in rugby it's ok to be an alcoholic, in fact, if you're not reaching for a beer after a game, you're looked at as an outcast. In rugby, socials play a huge part in the social aspect of the sport. It's where teams bond through collective singing and insulting, and how teams establish good relationships with other teams.
Though socials aren't for everyone. They're not for the easily-insulted, highly religious, sore losers, or people who always walk around with a stick up their arse. But if you have a good sense of humor and enjoy a feast of pizza and beer (and who doesn't after an intense rugby game?), then socials are the thing for you! Especially when it comes to the infamous rugby songs. Rugby songs are offensive, blasphemous, lewd, highly sexually, and you tend to leave feeling as though you're one step closer to burning in Hell. But damn are they catchy.
During the match insults and punches fly, however, all of this animosity stays on the field once the match is over. Everyone packs up their stuff and anxiously heads on over to the social. Here, everyone talks, laughs, and mingles with the other team as though we've been friends forever, taking bites from pizza whenever one is done taking a gulp of beer. Then, from the center of the room, someone shouts, "ME-ME-ME-MEEEE," to which the crowd responds, "YOU-YOU-YOU-YOUUU," signalling the start of the highly anticipated rugby songs. Drink in hand, everyone forms a circle, with the shouter beginning the song of her choice, begging for the crowd's participation when needed. Rugby songs rely heavily on this back-and-forth relationship with the lead singer and the crowd, and it is in this way that teams bond together and the fun truly begins.
Below are some lines from my personal fave rugby songs. You have been warned.
I Used to Work in Chicago
I used to work in Chicago in an old department store
I used to work in Chicago, I don't work there anymore
Lead: A man came into the store one day, asking for a ruler.
All: A ruler? From the store?
Lead: A ruler he asked for, his 12 inches I got! I don't work there anymore!
Lead: A man came into the store, asking for seafood.
All: Seafood? From the store?
Lead: Seafood he asked for, my crabs he got! I don't work there anymore!!
Follow the Band aka Me Lover
Oh, you've got to drink a little, fuck a little, follow the band
Follow the band with your tits in your hand (toot toot)
Drink a little, fuck a little, follow the band
Follow the band all the way
Oh me lover's a pastry chef, a pastry chef, a pastry chef, a mighty fine pastry chef is he,
All day he fills tarts, he fills tarts, he fills tarts,
And when he comes home he fills me!
Oh me lover's a dentist, a dentist, a dentist, a mighty fine dentist is he,
All day he drills teeth, he drills teeth, he drills teeth,
And when he comes home he drills me!
Honestly, I just got excited writing these done. Really wish I was at a social singing these now....where's my beer?
Thursday, February 7, 2013
One Question IRB: Why?
I love rugby.
From the aching muscles, to the bruises, to the intensity of the match, to the drunken social, I love rugby in its entirety. When I first joined about 2 years ago, the excitement of the foreign sport and the allurement of the pleasing girls made me jump headfirst into the sport, and because I was a noob in the game, I did not question rules or methodology. Rather like a kid in a candy store, I grabbed as much as I could about the game, picking up some here, some there, not caring about the hidden consequences of the game.
But of course, just as eating too much candy has repercussions, jumping into rugby too quickly can have consequences for individuals not ready to bear the risks.
With so much talk nowadays of the long-term effects of repeat victims of concussions in the NFL, I could not help but think of the long-term effects that rugby posed for its players as well. There's just one main difference between those leagues...the NFL has the best protective gear available for its players. Rugby literally has none, yet has just as many collisions. In my last post, it was found that the scrum cap is pretty much useless against head and facial injuries, and with the limited amount of protective gear that the IRB allows its players to wear, I cannot help but wonder what in the world is the IRB's deal??
Players can only wear official IRB approved equipment.
Players cannot have shoulder padding exceeding a width of 1 in.
Players cannot wear shin guards.
Players cannot wear padded spandex.
And lastly, players are not required to wear any protective gear (including the mouth guard)
With claims circling that the NFL knew about the long-term effects of concussions but withheld this information from its players in order to keep revenue flowing, this idea may ring true for the IRB as well.
Clearly, rugby is an intense sport and players leave the field injured everyday, some with scratches, others not being able to move the legs. And yet, the IRB continues to allow ruggers to play without offering or requiring any protective equipment, and should a player feel compelled to protect him or herself (God forbid), the player is limited to a very narrow allowance by specific brands or poor construction.
For me, I can't say realizing this information will stop me from playing rugby, but it sure does make me reevaluate the intentions and aims of the rugby union. Why doesn't the IRB offer more protective gear, and why does it continue to allow members to play under such dangerous circumstances when safer options are available? Is this an attempt to keep rugby in its most traditional form, or does it speak to the possible idea that the IRB is monopolizing rugby to satisfy its own fiscal gains?
From the aching muscles, to the bruises, to the intensity of the match, to the drunken social, I love rugby in its entirety. When I first joined about 2 years ago, the excitement of the foreign sport and the allurement of the pleasing girls made me jump headfirst into the sport, and because I was a noob in the game, I did not question rules or methodology. Rather like a kid in a candy store, I grabbed as much as I could about the game, picking up some here, some there, not caring about the hidden consequences of the game.
But of course, just as eating too much candy has repercussions, jumping into rugby too quickly can have consequences for individuals not ready to bear the risks.
With so much talk nowadays of the long-term effects of repeat victims of concussions in the NFL, I could not help but think of the long-term effects that rugby posed for its players as well. There's just one main difference between those leagues...the NFL has the best protective gear available for its players. Rugby literally has none, yet has just as many collisions. In my last post, it was found that the scrum cap is pretty much useless against head and facial injuries, and with the limited amount of protective gear that the IRB allows its players to wear, I cannot help but wonder what in the world is the IRB's deal??
Players can only wear official IRB approved equipment.
Players cannot have shoulder padding exceeding a width of 1 in.
Players cannot wear shin guards.
Players cannot wear padded spandex.
And lastly, players are not required to wear any protective gear (including the mouth guard)
With claims circling that the NFL knew about the long-term effects of concussions but withheld this information from its players in order to keep revenue flowing, this idea may ring true for the IRB as well.
Clearly, rugby is an intense sport and players leave the field injured everyday, some with scratches, others not being able to move the legs. And yet, the IRB continues to allow ruggers to play without offering or requiring any protective equipment, and should a player feel compelled to protect him or herself (God forbid), the player is limited to a very narrow allowance by specific brands or poor construction.
For me, I can't say realizing this information will stop me from playing rugby, but it sure does make me reevaluate the intentions and aims of the rugby union. Why doesn't the IRB offer more protective gear, and why does it continue to allow members to play under such dangerous circumstances when safer options are available? Is this an attempt to keep rugby in its most traditional form, or does it speak to the possible idea that the IRB is monopolizing rugby to satisfy its own fiscal gains?
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