Drinks are on Me
October 22, 2005
Y’all know me. How into sports am I? I barely know a soccer ball from a basketball. My sports minded friends always laugh at the choices I make for the winning team. I am ignorant about whether the Lions are better than the Packers or the Mariners are better than the Mets. I have never really cared before and that attitude has certainly not changed.
Last weekend Reg convinced me to come cheer on his rugby team. They’re called Western Province and they played the Cheetahs. It was an interesting game. I asked a lot of questions and was disappointed when Western province lost. After that game, the Blue Bulls played the Lions. It was a much more aggressive game and the Blue Bulls won, much to my chagrin.
May I just take a moment to say that I think the name Blue Bulls is a ridiculous one. I mean, what the hell is a Blue Bull? I’ve heard of Babe the Big Blue Ox, but Blue Bulls? That sounds like an affliction I can do without! After two games and at least six beers, I was extremely vociferous about my objection to the name. Needless to say, Blue Bulls fans were unimpressed.
It turns out that the competition I had witnessed was merely the playoffs. This weekend was the Super Bowl of Rugby. The Currie Cup is serious, no messing around son, RUGBY: Cheetahs against the Blue Bulls. They played the game on the big screen at the club. Morne (Mornay) set up a pool. For 5,000 cfa (~$10) you could pick a winner and points. The winner won the pot and a case of beer.
Having witnessed the playoffs I felt qualified to pick the winner. I anteed up my 5,000, picked the Cheetahs (although it was clear they didn’t stand an ice cube’s chance in hell) and stated the final score. Having thus participated, I sat down and watched the game.
It’s a fascinating game! It moves very fast. There aren’t the breaks and time outs that there are in the NFL. There are two forty minute halves and a half time of maybe fifteen minutes. The clock never stops. Guys get tackled and mauled and play continues. Penalties get called, guys get ejected, and the clock never stops. Eighty minutes is what they get. Win, lose, or shut up!
At the end of the match the Cheetahs won. The final score was 29 – 25. Since I had selected Cheetahs 28 – 25, I won the pool. Having watched three games of Rugby in my life, I won nearly $250 and a case of beer in the mine rugby pool. How cool is that? The South Africans would say, “That’s lacker!” (read that; “that rocks!”) I distributed my case of beer to the rest of the spectators and proceeded to “Kak braat!” (Talk shit!) It was particularly amusing to hunt out those that had been so disdainful of my earlier opinions on the Blue Bulls and rub salt in their wounds. I exited the club by thanking everyone for giving me their money. I acknowledged that anytime they felt like giving me their money, they should feel free to call.
I think I’m starting to understand the allure of professional sports.
I had a good time today. I really like the game of rugby. It’s fast, it’s furious, and there’s plenty of carnage. It was fun to win the pool, especially as the one person in the bar who knew the least about the sport. I am sure that now I will get roped into many “meaningful” conversations about rugby, football, soccer, and sports in general, but hey, I can bullshit my way through anything, can’t I?
MJR
Y’all know me. How into sports am I? I barely know a soccer ball from a basketball. My sports minded friends always laugh at the choices I make for the winning team. I am ignorant about whether the Lions are better than the Packers or the Mariners are better than the Mets. I have never really cared before and that attitude has certainly not changed.
Last weekend Reg convinced me to come cheer on his rugby team. They’re called Western Province and they played the Cheetahs. It was an interesting game. I asked a lot of questions and was disappointed when Western province lost. After that game, the Blue Bulls played the Lions. It was a much more aggressive game and the Blue Bulls won, much to my chagrin.
May I just take a moment to say that I think the name Blue Bulls is a ridiculous one. I mean, what the hell is a Blue Bull? I’ve heard of Babe the Big Blue Ox, but Blue Bulls? That sounds like an affliction I can do without! After two games and at least six beers, I was extremely vociferous about my objection to the name. Needless to say, Blue Bulls fans were unimpressed.
It turns out that the competition I had witnessed was merely the playoffs. This weekend was the Super Bowl of Rugby. The Currie Cup is serious, no messing around son, RUGBY: Cheetahs against the Blue Bulls. They played the game on the big screen at the club. Morne (Mornay) set up a pool. For 5,000 cfa (~$10) you could pick a winner and points. The winner won the pot and a case of beer.
Having witnessed the playoffs I felt qualified to pick the winner. I anteed up my 5,000, picked the Cheetahs (although it was clear they didn’t stand an ice cube’s chance in hell) and stated the final score. Having thus participated, I sat down and watched the game.
It’s a fascinating game! It moves very fast. There aren’t the breaks and time outs that there are in the NFL. There are two forty minute halves and a half time of maybe fifteen minutes. The clock never stops. Guys get tackled and mauled and play continues. Penalties get called, guys get ejected, and the clock never stops. Eighty minutes is what they get. Win, lose, or shut up!
At the end of the match the Cheetahs won. The final score was 29 – 25. Since I had selected Cheetahs 28 – 25, I won the pool. Having watched three games of Rugby in my life, I won nearly $250 and a case of beer in the mine rugby pool. How cool is that? The South Africans would say, “That’s lacker!” (read that; “that rocks!”) I distributed my case of beer to the rest of the spectators and proceeded to “Kak braat!” (Talk shit!) It was particularly amusing to hunt out those that had been so disdainful of my earlier opinions on the Blue Bulls and rub salt in their wounds. I exited the club by thanking everyone for giving me their money. I acknowledged that anytime they felt like giving me their money, they should feel free to call.
I think I’m starting to understand the allure of professional sports.
I had a good time today. I really like the game of rugby. It’s fast, it’s furious, and there’s plenty of carnage. It was fun to win the pool, especially as the one person in the bar who knew the least about the sport. I am sure that now I will get roped into many “meaningful” conversations about rugby, football, soccer, and sports in general, but hey, I can bullshit my way through anything, can’t I?
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 7:54 PM
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