FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Okay, I played 8 years of American Football (including a region/city HS championship in Scottsdale in 1989) and one of Rugby in college (then I had to get one of those 'job' things.) Know what? I would trade the 8 years of football if only I could have been exposed to Rugby earlier!!!

The article on 'Greatest Athlete By Number' was fine if you think a horse or guys turning left are athletes....and also if you think the THUG-NBA or ROID/HGH-MLB are still quality sports. Let's see if I can sell you on one of the last real sports and the fact that IT IS MORE THAN LIKELY ACCESSIBLE IN YOUR AREA....

The WHY: EVERY position in Rugby is a skill position....you all have to run, pass, tackle and kick, all wearing a minimal amount of padding. You have to think on your feet. You have to understand leverage. You have to be in peak condition to go non-stop for 2-40 minute halves (no break every 10 seconds, no TV timeouts, etc.) NFLers can't wait to take their helmet off in the ME ME ME league....dont need a helmet in Rugby so you can show off your bruised mug to your hearts content! It is also a game of improvisation as much as impact...there are set plays coming out of a scrum or lineout throw, but you have to be fairly bright to play the sport as there are SO MANY responsibilities each player has.

The WHO: Rugby is the number ONE contact sport in the world. YES the U.S. does play it....go to usarugby.org and note we DID qualify for the IRB World Cup this September. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are the top 3 teams in the world...England (the defending World Cup Champs from '03), Ireland, France and Italy are probably the next tier, then Canada, the U.S., Tonga, Fiji, Japan, Samoa. EVERY STATE pretty much has a rugby union...for example go to Google and put in 'Arizona Rugby Union.' If you want to check out a local game check their schedules....AZ has one of the best DII unions, however there IS a national Division I League for Union Rugby...go to premier-rugby.com. It is called the U.S. Rugby Super League, however there is an international difference between LEAGUE and UNION rugby. We messed up on the nomenclature...our 'Super League' plays by UNION rules (and this is the way it should be....UNION rugby is the way to go.) Belmont Shores recently won the national title in this 18 team league and it is the feed league for the USA Eagles, our national team.

The HOW: Imagine the NFL with 15 per side, no pads, no stoppages and no forward pass. Also picture LaDanian Tomlinson dashing into the open with one man to beat...what does he do? There's always the stiff arm or dropping your head....how about a lateral? How about dropping the ball for a ground-rolling grubber kick? How about instead of a 'fade pass' you have a 'fade punt' to the opposite corner of the end-zone (try area?) You can do ALL of these in rugby. Oh, and no 'breaking the plane' in rugby....you MUST press the ball on the ground in the TRY area (equivalent to the end zone) to score a 5-point Try. This makes for the fun ability to hold an opposing player off the ground in a pile in the try area and it will not count as a score. In the NFL a RB or WR that doesn't feel like getting hit can just run out of bounds....you run out of bounds (or kick out of bounds) in rugby and the opposing team gets a lineout throw-in, and this is NOT a soccer throw in....picture very large guys VAULTING other very large guys into the air to receive, then dropping into what is called a "Maul."

The WHAT: Think of a ball somewhere between a round soccer ball and an oblong football (on a place kick you actually angle the rugby ball AWAY from you whereas in football you angle it towards you.) How far can it go? I've seen 60 METER dropkicks and placekicks for goal in international matches. The field is basically the same dimensions as an American Football field....90 meters try line to try line and the goal posts are still set on the try line (not in the back of the American End Zone.) This means it still gets run into on occasion. :-)

The WHERE: As I stated earlier you can most likely find a game....keep in mind almost every college plays union rugby as well so check online...ASU, NAU and U of A here in AZ all play. Two ways to see it on TV...if you are over 21, bug the heck out of your local sports bar owner to get the Setanta/Sky Sports package. It's about $15 a month on DirecTV per box and you get all the rugby (league and union....there are different rules and Union is MUCH better), futbol, hurling, Gaelic Football and Australian Rules Football you can handle for that much. More than likely they will be the only bar in the immediate range that carries it and it will be a business booster. As for Rugby, the best leagues are Super 14 (Australia, South Africa and New Zealand), English Premiership and South African Currie Cup. There are also international test matches and tournaments (like the Six Nations and Tri-Nations) and they are quite a spectacle. Check out New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga....they ALL do a pre-game war dance (what, you thought Ray Lewis before the Super Bowl was original or something?) and it is quite a spectacle!! The only thing I would advise to stay away from is International 'Super League' and 'NRL'....those are league rugby and the rules are different....no bind up on tackles, no lineouts, 4 points for a try (instead of the normal 5.) Trust me, just not as good as Union rugby.

The WHEN: Here's the cool thing....it's now. It's year round. If you get the international package there is ALWAYS one Union in season. Right now the TriNations is happening (for the Bledisloe Cup between South Africa, New Zealand and Australia) and the South African Currie Cup is being played. In the U.S. all the 7 on 7 leagues seem to be happening now as the 15 by 15 unions crank up in the fall and run through the spring.

This is my $.02 for rugby v. 'THE REST'....NHL is still great if you can see it in person and afford $80 for upper level seats. Go see an IHL/Minor league hockey game though....they play harder, it's cheaper and they still fight more! Hockey is a HORRIBLE TV sport. The NFL has too many breaks in the action. Tired of watching commercials and Chris Berman's and John Madden's acts are EVEN MORE TIRED. The NBA is getting more international (which is cool) however college basketball is better...still a team game as it was meant to be and more of the mid-majors have a chance now. Literally any of the 65 in the March tourny have a chance to win it! NASCAR is still guys turning left and the pit fights are hysterical....couple of slappies with their undies in a bunch. College football beats the NFL....one loss and you're done for the title and more colleges than not play by the rules these days. They are not as bad with commercials as the pro sports (and I am praying it stays that way!) International Football (Soccer) rocks....top 3 sport for me. Again, no commercials with it and lets you get into the flow!! MLB is too slow and drugged out. Bonds went to ASU and we try to disown him because of how he treated Jim Brock. Watch college baseball or check a minor league game...most of those guys are playing hard and stay clean.

DID YOU KNOW: Rugby has a position called "Hooker?" Scrum-Half, Fly Half, Tighthead and Loosehead Prop, Flanker and Fullback are some other positions. Numbers are 1-15 and subs are 16-22 and they are numbered by positions (a number '2' is a 'hooker.')

For your wardrobe....If I can say anything else, check out some of the paraphenalia on Amazon or WorldRugbyShop.com for shirts....phrases such as "I'm Going to Ruck You" and "A Woman's Place is in the Maul" (oh, did I mention girls, really cute girls play rugby?) are just a couple. My favorite is "Give Blood, Play Rugby!"

ANYWAY...DON'T LET SPORTSCENTER TELL YOU WHAT SPORTS YOU SHOULD WATCH!!!! SO MANY INTERNATIONAL, COLLEGE and MINOR LEAGUE SPORTS STILL TRUE TO WHAT SPORTS ARE ABOUT!!!!

1. Rugby

2. College Football

3. Soccer

4. College Basketball

5. College/Minor League Hockey

6. College/Minor League Baseball

-Karl the Truth