F(or) T(he) B(oys)
It’s a Saturday afternoon. You've decided to go support your local ruggers, because how else do you start off a weekend? You arrive with a small crowd of close friends, all of whom brought their fair share of libations. The group settles in and an anxious excitement grows for the upcoming gladiatorial spectacle to begin. Unfortunately, the team you've looked to cheer for, didn't give much opportunity to cheer. They got routed. The type of beat down an older brother gives to his younger brother for thinking about touching his stuff. It's hard to watch, and as the final whistle blows, the team gathers on the patch of grass within earshot. Natural curiosity leads to overhearing an aggressively displeased coach lecturing them on everything gone wrong. His monologue finishes with a
“You boys figure out what needs to change, because I've done all I can, and clearly that's not enough.”
Silence enters back into the group. The leader finds his moment, and speaks to the boys. He played the full 80, and knows his brothers played with grit and effort. They were simply outclassed on the day. He manages to recognize their effort while not hiding the fact that they need to work harder and come back a better team. But here comes his key line:
“Alright boys, tough day. But we got one more half. Everyone is expected at the after-match social. If you're not there, today will seem like a walk in the park as to what you’ll face come Monday night at practice.”
Given you are an uninformed bystander, this seems like a crazy idea. For 80 minutes he watches an opposing 15 men dominate this team in a fashion similar to a barbaric pillaging. How could they then go to a bar, break bread and share a drink with the team that just whooped their ass? The logic doesn’t make sense. Yet, the story is the same across any true rugby club in America and even the world. The logic in the rugby world is simple: The community is bigger than the individual.
The community isn’t driven by the idea of drinking together, rather it is focused on the act of gathering, and drinks are there to pass the time. The highest aim of a community is to build a kinship where a ritualistic meeting can be counted on. The strength of which allows every member to feel part of a larger organism. For ruggers, we participate in a sport that is cosmetically disguised with a few rules and a referee just to allow 30 men to attack each other with malicious intent. What binds us together on any given gameday is that we do this for the love of the game. This love for the game develops the bedrock to a community that has become rich with tradition. Anyone who has simply tied a pair of cleats, donned a tight fitted jersey, and walked across those white lines, has walked into a brotherhood bound by blood, sweat, and tears. This ironic juxtaposition of love and pain connects us ruggers to the sport. This impact of community goes far beyond the words on this page. It extends deeper than the feeling of scoring a try. It finds a space in the area of the soul that makes us human.
So, Community. That's what it is all about, yeah? A feeling of belonging. To be seen with value amongst your peers. Yes, this is all well and good. But, at Rugby Rent Scholarships, we aren’t satisfied with what is just ‘good’. We know that there is something deeper beyond all the surface’s edge. When seeking to develop the depth of our very being, we have to pursue that voice within us that calls us to do more. This voice beckons us with an inward question as to what type of impact we would like to leave on the world. The responsibility to this question comes in the form of a simple act: Service.
Rugby Rent Scholarships has created 4 pillars to construct the foundation of an experience. We desired to improve the character of every candidate that comes through our doors. The only pillar that goes beyond seemingly self-serving action is the commitment to community service. This is why this pillar is of the utmost importance. To bring a sense of community to others through acts of service is to return humanity to those in need. We’ve witnessed the transformational ability of a community to grow out of the passions we hold. Such is the kinship created amongst opposing teams in rugby.
Community service performed alone, while commendable, is a rarity. Because alone, we can forget about the value and importance of community work. Because when alone, we tend to not think beyond our own needs. Here is where the rally call comes in.
You've had a long week, and all you want to do is sleep the weekend away, you check the group chat and see: FTB. You've gotten to the end of training and extra fitness has been added to an already grueling practice, you look to your side and see the look in the teammates eyes: FTB. It's time for the yearly Barbarians soup kitchen, and while you have a laundry list of personal responsibilities that could easily take precedence over doing service, you remember the thought: FTB.
For the boys is but a simple allegiance to a larger commitment. A commitment to community. To bring community to people who are without, creates an impact to the individual. Residually, it also returns a deeper sense of belonging in the soul which no post-game beer can fill.
So here we stand firm, atop the fourth pillar, ready to give back to the community. If not for ourselves, then,
For The Boys.