Maganares 1

Markos Maganares
Professor Blair
UWRT-1102-t-h
December 1, 2014
Assignment #3
Ever since I was a little boy living in California I have had an obsession with Football.
Whether I was watching the sport from my TV or physically playing the game with all my
friends. However it sadly came to an end on my senior year in high school, I became lost along
with all my friends that also had their football careers come to an end. We all had that feeling of
emptiness, until my friend Anthony told us about a local rugby club. We all were hesitate at first,
until we witnessed our first game on the TV. We all suddenly became anxious to play the new
sport, we couldnt wait to get back on the field and play a new contact sport. However what we
did not know was that we were about to enter a whole new sports world, with an entire new
dialect, outfits, gesture/specific actions and values. Although it was an entire new world, it would
soon be an entire new experience we all would never forget.
Our first day of practice seemed like it took for ages, our head couch, who liked us
calling him Couch Riian, walked us through the new dialect. He began explaining the different
ball formations, such as black ball, blue ball, and red ball and what we needed to do in
order for it to work in a game time situation. In order for our team to know what formation to get
into, our captain Anthony Santelle, would yell out black/blue/red ball. For instance we used
black ball when we wanted all the forwards (linemen), to move into the front and protect the ball
so that our back line players would be able to come and grab the ball and send it down the field.

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Red ball was similar to black ball, however instead of the forwards running up to the front we
had the back line go up and kick the ball down the field. Another formation example we used
was blue ball, blue ball was when the ball was on the ground we would have one of the forwards
pick it up and run down the field. I personally had a hard time grasping the concept to the red
ball, I would accidently move to close to the ball and get in the way of the back line players
when they would try and throw it down the field; however, as the season went on I was able to
grasp the concept. At first it all seemed like a bunch of gibberish, but once we got into a game
time situation it all seemed to come together. Although the new dialect seemed odd, it wouldnt
compare to the new outfit that came with the sport as well.
The outfit that rugby players wear in todays world would seem very unorthodox when
compared to other contact sports. For instance in football you are required to wear a helmet,
shoulder pads, thigh/knee pads, a mouth piece and cleats. While in Rugby the only thing that you
are required to wear is rugby shorts, a jersey, a mouth piece and cleats that dont have metal
spikes. The reason rugby wears such little padding is because it is a non-stop eighty minute
game, and because in rugby you dont tackle with your body, you tackle the opposing players
with your arms. At first I was very surprised with the little protection they had us wearing and
feared that I would obtain and injury much easier then when playing football; however, as I
continued to play rugby I began to realize that the pads were unnecessary, as long as I played
with my mind, as in thinking the play out before acting on it, and not my head, as in just
throwing my body into the tackle and risking a injury. As stated by Dr. Lyle Micheli Statistics
show that Rugby players are less likely to get injured as compared to football players. This is
caused due to football players depending too much on their pads for protection, even in their

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hardest hitting hits (Micheli, paragraph 2). Although the rugby attire seemed very unorthodox,
they gestures/techniques that came along with it were not so different from other common sports.
In rugby there are many common gestures/actions that are used in many popular
American sports. As stated by John Ruben, A common action used by both a rugby player and a
football player is being able to tackle/juke an opposing player in open field (Ruben, paragraph
3). I personally have experienced this action in our championship game against the South Meck
Lions. I used my football tackling skills when one of the opposing teams wing player (furthest
player to the side line) broke free into open field, to where I was then able to contain him and
then tackle him to the ground. John Ruben also stated Another common action can be related to
both rugby and basketball, when they use their skill of using open space to pass the ball around.
Rugby is also related to a soccer player when playing on offense and keeping your teammates
spread out, so that you can then move down the field easily. (Ruben, paragraph 3). I personally
have used the skill of a soccer player; however, in rugby we have a gesture to when we want the
ball. For instance, in our first rugby game we were marching down the field and about to score a
tri (touchdown), however I realized that I was not going to be able to run my way through the
opposing players and needed to send the ball to another player. Our wing, Michael Gates, gave
me the gesture of wanting the ball, by tapping his head two times. I threw the ball as hard as I
could and managed to have it make contact with Michaels chest for him to then run it in for a
tri. Although there many similar actions in Rugby and other familiar American sports, the
players do obtain different values from their experience in the sport.
In rugby you gain many values; however, the most important values that you can obtain
is the value of teamwork and being a gentle men. Unlike in football, there is not a single player
on a rugby team that can win the entire game for them, as stated by Mr. Loselevich, Rugby has

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no individual player that can win the game (Loselevich, paragraph 2). Although that is true, this
shows that you need to embrace the value of teamwork in order to succeed and win a game in
rugby, which is also a value you can use much later in life in order to succeed. Also Rugby
teaches you the value of being a gentlemen. As stated by Mr. Loselevich, Rugby is a hooligans
sports played by gentlemen, while football is a gentlemens sport played by hooligans
(Loselevich, paragraph 3). I personally have experienced what Mr. Loselevich has had to say,
when I played football, I hated the other team no matter if it was a win or lose I would show
them no respect; however, in rugby, win or lose you are to show the other team respect and to
show that we were gentlemen after the games both teams would sit down together and enjoy a
meal.
Although I have played Football for almost my entire life, I still to this day wish that I
participated in Rugby more. Rugby not only made me a better athlete but it also made me feel
like a better man. It also taught me to not have that constant fear about getting an injury as long
as I played everything with my mind and not my head, and that no matter what the outcome of a
situation, to always take the high road and show respect. Although rugby seemed like a new
world to me after football, I believe it is a world that I can get use to staying in and keep
participating in the game of hooligans played by gentlemen.

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Works Citied

Loselevich, Dmitriy N/a. 5 Reasons Rugby Wont Work in the U.S. Bleacher Report. Dmitriy
Loselevich, 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
Micheli, Lyle J. Popular Sport Worldwide. Is Rugby a Safe Sport for Americas Youth? Dr.
Lyle
Micheli, 2012. Web. 03 Nov. 2014
Ruben, John N/a. What Will Be American about How Americans Play Rugby? Grow Rugby.
Grow Rugby, 2 July 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.