The world of Rugby

The rugby world cup is upon, us and man is it getting New Zealand all in a tizzy. Marnie is pretty new to the sport of rugby, but Mark is an avid fan. The New Zealand "All Blacks"...the mere mention of the team makes grown men tremble with excitement and women scream and shout. Mark surprised me with tickets to the game this weekend and it was so much fun! It was a freezing cold night yet you can't help but be warmed by the excitement of the crowd. American football fans have nothing compared to New Zealand fans, where their home team plays on the international level and is not simply the state in which they have the closest affiliation like in America...it's a national pride issue. I soon learned that a 'try' cannot be called a touchdown (although it looks like one to me) and that you can't just pass the ball forward to get a first down, that's illegal you have to pass sideways or backwards, and it's OK for grown men to cry if 'their' team looses. Even though I don't totally understand the game yet and was just as happy about the American hotdogs as I was about the game, I'm getting pretty into it and enjoy the fact that one sport can bring a whole country together....wearing black and white and cheering for their very short short no pads wearing team! Go ALL BLACKS.