Alumni Rubgy Weekend

I made it back to Middlebury, VT this past weekend for the third annual Alumni Rugby Game.  I attended the inaugural Alumni Rugby Game in 2008, but was unprepared to play. My hip surgery was too recent and I was not mentally prepared to step onto the field. This year was different. I'd found out that in addition to Brian Napack, a classmate that attended and played in 2008, 4 other early '80 teammates would be attending and 3 would be playing.  I decided I had to give it a try.

Obviously I survived, but more than that, we actually thrived. As a unit, my '80's era alumni teammates played well together and for a few brief moments we were transported back to our glory days.  I loved stepping onto the rugby field with these men then and I was honored to do so in the present.  Tremendous bonds are formed playing violent, team sports like rugby -- it requires a swarming style of play to be successful -- and these bonds run very deep.

The other nice discovery of the weekend is that many of our traditions endure and are even being enhanced by the current members of the team.  They are all SO YOUNG, but they understand the history of the game and the history of this team.  They were marvelous hosts and it made for a fantastic weekend. I want to make this an annual tradition.

There is more detail on the weekend at the Middlebury Rubgy Blog.