Rain, Rugby and Rabbitohs
Alas, I was aching to play a match of rugby yesterday. One would think that we would like playing in the rain and mud. C'mon, let's face it. We're all just really big kids and who wouldn't want the opportunity to get dirty. However, it was not to be. Whitehorse's pitch is a public school's playing field and the arrangement includes not playing on the pitch when it's raining heavily. (Playing rugby in a heavy rain will tear up any grassy area and the high school kids need it for the week.)
However, Whitehorse still was going to host the drink up. These boys have been really good chaps, including the fact that most of the team goes to our drink ups that we host at Tavern on Camac. (Those who don't come just wouldn't have been staying for the drink up anyway.) So a handful of us went out to Malvern to hang out with the team.
After Lee, our Whitehorse contact, made a joke about the drink up being like a bad high school dance with the Gryphons on one side of the room and Whitehorse on the other, we mingled and chatted it up.
One of the Whitehorse supporter is a South African, who makes his own jerky. He made an throwaway comment about the jerky he brought to the drink up being made 3 years ago in SA. I said "I've always wanted to try Springbok." He was happy to oblige. In reality, it was cured london broil and it was good.
A second supporter showed up late due to getting off work, and he was an Aussie from the suburbs of Sydney. I found that out since I commented on his overdressed attire. It turns out he's an alumnus of Thunderbird and we could talk about MBA programs. He was a very interesting chap. He wife is American who can't understand why he left Sydney. (Recently, they got to go to Australia to visit family and friends, etc.) She loved it.
He had an impressive dossier. He had played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and was mates with Ian Roberts, the famous Australian footballer who his equally known for his coming out. We talked about how the Rabbitohs had a strong fan following and how due to the fan base the Rabbitohs were saved from disqualification through legal battles. Fans collects money in buckets to find the legal fee payments. (The Rabbitohs play in Australia's National Rugby League. They are the most successful team in the history of Australian rugby league, in terms of championship, winning an unprecedented 20 first grade. However, they have not won a champoinship since 1971.) We also talked about Russel Crowe's purchasing the team.
I informed him about the sad news of the Wharton MBA student who died at the Thunderbird rugby tournament last November. The player suffered from a pre-existing, undiagnosised medical condition that just struck him while playing. Since it was a school's tournament, a full investigation was conducted and found that is was definately a pre-existing, undiagnosised medical condition that took his life. He began to relay a story about a tourney at Duke, and I asked him if it was the tournament where the referree died due to a similar condition. He confirmed and looked me dead in the eye and ask "Oh, so you know about that?" (The Thunderbird Rugby team started a scholarship for the referree's then four-year old daughter.)
We talked about how horrible Bush is and the state of being gay in world. His nephew is gay, and he has a strong opinion about the idea that being gay is a choice. He knows that it's not a choice, it's just who one is. Why anyone would want to choose to be part of a group who is ostricized, ridiculed and marginalized is beyond him. He's very counter-Christian Fundamentalist.
Our day had to end and we were all disappointed that we didn't get to play. However, we'll reschedule and hope it's not raining heavily the Saturday we reschedule.
However, Whitehorse still was going to host the drink up. These boys have been really good chaps, including the fact that most of the team goes to our drink ups that we host at Tavern on Camac. (Those who don't come just wouldn't have been staying for the drink up anyway.) So a handful of us went out to Malvern to hang out with the team.
After Lee, our Whitehorse contact, made a joke about the drink up being like a bad high school dance with the Gryphons on one side of the room and Whitehorse on the other, we mingled and chatted it up.
One of the Whitehorse supporter is a South African, who makes his own jerky. He made an throwaway comment about the jerky he brought to the drink up being made 3 years ago in SA. I said "I've always wanted to try Springbok." He was happy to oblige. In reality, it was cured london broil and it was good.
A second supporter showed up late due to getting off work, and he was an Aussie from the suburbs of Sydney. I found that out since I commented on his overdressed attire. It turns out he's an alumnus of Thunderbird and we could talk about MBA programs. He was a very interesting chap. He wife is American who can't understand why he left Sydney. (Recently, they got to go to Australia to visit family and friends, etc.) She loved it.
He had an impressive dossier. He had played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and was mates with Ian Roberts, the famous Australian footballer who his equally known for his coming out. We talked about how the Rabbitohs had a strong fan following and how due to the fan base the Rabbitohs were saved from disqualification through legal battles. Fans collects money in buckets to find the legal fee payments. (The Rabbitohs play in Australia's National Rugby League. They are the most successful team in the history of Australian rugby league, in terms of championship, winning an unprecedented 20 first grade. However, they have not won a champoinship since 1971.) We also talked about Russel Crowe's purchasing the team.
I informed him about the sad news of the Wharton MBA student who died at the Thunderbird rugby tournament last November. The player suffered from a pre-existing, undiagnosised medical condition that just struck him while playing. Since it was a school's tournament, a full investigation was conducted and found that is was definately a pre-existing, undiagnosised medical condition that took his life. He began to relay a story about a tourney at Duke, and I asked him if it was the tournament where the referree died due to a similar condition. He confirmed and looked me dead in the eye and ask "Oh, so you know about that?" (The Thunderbird Rugby team started a scholarship for the referree's then four-year old daughter.)
We talked about how horrible Bush is and the state of being gay in world. His nephew is gay, and he has a strong opinion about the idea that being gay is a choice. He knows that it's not a choice, it's just who one is. Why anyone would want to choose to be part of a group who is ostricized, ridiculed and marginalized is beyond him. He's very counter-Christian Fundamentalist.
Our day had to end and we were all disappointed that we didn't get to play. However, we'll reschedule and hope it's not raining heavily the Saturday we reschedule.
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