This Will Only Hurt a Little

Saturday we played Thunderbird. We came to play rugby. But actually what happened was the Phoenix Storm watched Thunderbird play rugby. We (the Phoenix Storm) just kind of stood there (in the 100 degree heat) the whole time and watched as Thunderbird scored again, again and again. Oh and again and again...

It was the worst game we've ever played. And it was terribly frustrating. And I'm still pissed.

Before the game, Phill gave us backs a little slip of paper. On it were things we needed to remember during the game. For me, he wrote to be a more (vocal) leader on the pitch, to take some risks (although it wasn't stated, I inferred he meant defensively) and to follow through when I threw the ball.

I was much more vocal on the pitch than I've been in the past. I don't know if it did any good. But I was yelling and talking a lot. I never got a chance to take any risks (offensively or defensively). It was more important to try to slow the train wreck. I only got to touch the ball once or twice offensively. But I didn't throw the ball away when I did get it, so that's good.

I don't know what the hell happened. All last year, our forwards (the big guys) were so strong. They really managed to hold their own in scrums, rucks and defensively. But Saturday, they just kind of stood there and watched the ball roll on the ground in front of them. When a T-bird had the ball, the wouldn't run up to the guy and tackle him. Instead, they waited until the guy with the ball approached them. That does no good. There was no aggression.

I found myself having to tackle (or attempt to tackle) too many forwards. Although I don't mind, I shouldn't have to continually tackle guys 100 pounds heavier than me. Don't get me wrong. I could have played better too. I needed to tackle lower. And there were a couple of times I probably could have been more aggressive.

I managed to burst a blood vessel around my eye. After I tackled (or tried to tackle -- honestly, sometimes I was just hanging on the person until someone helped bring the guy down) someone my right eye was blurry. I thought my contact was messed up. But after the game everybody made fun of "my mascara running." I also managed to jam my thumb. I heard a crack or a pop. It's still swollen at the joint and I can't bend it very well. And I have the obligatory scabby knees (it wouldn't be a rugby match without them).

There were some success stories to Saturday. John A. -- the oldest guy on the pitch at 51 -- played the hardest. I've told him before that he's an inspiration for me. Once again, he was. He was honored with forward of the match. And Padlock Tony deservingly won back of the match.

After the game, Phill told us all to think of why we're there. Were we there to play rugby or for social reasons? I'm afraid of how people will answer...

I was bitching to Kevin about the game today. He said, "When I watched you guys play it was obvious that you, Joe, that tall guy (Dave) and maybe one or two others played like you cared. The rest are in it for social reasons and that's it."

Grr...

So, I was up late Saturday night thinking about the game. While Joe was sleeping I caught a couple of episodes of this show called Two-A-Days on MTV. It's about a high school football team. The team is #2 in the nation and undefeated after 27 games. It was interesting to watch them finally lose a game (I think #28) and how they responded. I hope we bounce back. I hope we play with purpose.

In other news... Joe and I watch Underworld: Evolution. It was ok but a little confusing since I didn't see the first one. We also watched the remake of Poseidon. It sucked compared to the original, The Poseidon Adventure. The first one is bad. But it's campy bad. The remake was just crappy.

That's all for now.