To Those Going For The Gold....


For those of us who follow rugby around the world, it can get pretty hectic.  There's a lot of teams on a local, regional, national and international level to keep track of it all.  Not to mention all the tournaments and international events that can take the whole of the spotlight.  Personally, I've spent the last year trying to keep up with SMRC, Wales, USA Eagles, Lions....and frankly geesh I'm glad the international stage is clearing down a bit.


It's easy to get lost in it all.  It's easy to forget important events.  It's easy to not even know about them. 
But one event that I'm not forgetting is another team USA that's making a rugby stand over the next few weeks in Israel.  The Maccabi USA Rugby team is right now in Israel competing for gold medals in both 7s and 15s rugby at the 19th Maccabiah Games.  The opening ceremonies will air live July 18th, 1pm EST @ http://www.jltv.tv

The Games bring together players of Jewish heritage of various sports from countries around the world.   Resisting the urge to write a super extended long blog, I encourage you to go to their website and discover for yourself how they are impacting and bringing together not only those with Jewish heritage, but people from all cultures and sports from around the world.

Our Maccabi USA rugby team.  They look like gold to me!

Thanks to the surge in social media, a whole lot more of us know these games are going on.  And many more of us are going to be watching and waiting for updates and photos.  FYI - here's their schedule for 7s on July 17th.... And hopefully, there will be links to viewing the games. (These are local times so use noggin to figure out your time zone. FYI-they're 10 hours ahead of LA.) 

5.20PM Great Britain vs. Israel

5.40PM USA vs. South Africa

7.00 PM Great Britain vs vs. South Africa

7.20PM USA vs. Israel

8.40PM USA vs. Great Britain

9.00PM South Africa vs. Israel

10.00PM Bronze Medal Final

10.20PM Gold/Silver Medal Final

When we wake up tomorrow, they'll already be playing the 7s games, and USA will be playing South Africa at 7:40AM PST.  By the time those of us on the west coast are eating lunch, the gold medal game will be underway.

The 15s get started in a few days.  Here's Team USA's 15s schedule (again, do your own math for your own local time):

7/21/13 - USA v Canada 5pm

7/23/13 - USA v Great Britain 8pm

7/25/13 - play off to 5th/6th place match 5:30pm

7/25/13 - Semi Final 1  7pm

7/25/13 - Semi Final 2  8:30pm

7/29/13 - 5th/6th Place Match 5pm

7/29/13 - 3rd/4th Place Match  6:30pm

7/29/13 - Gold Medal Match  8pm

(A full schedule for all sports is here.)

I found out about these games earlier this year, through the blog of my friend and Vice Captain of Team USA, Aaron Davis. (You can follow his Maccabi Team USA journey at his blog.)  His story reminded me of a strange trip I went on through sport and subsequently I'm now wrapped up in following the USA Maccabi team.  More and more it's made me think about the tapestry of our lives.  How what we think and do affects so many others.  How one journey we go on impacts not only ourselves but the lives of those we've met and will meet along the way.

When I was little, and my father passed, the whole concept of rugby disappeared from my life.  By mere chance, I re-discovered it.  Then, fell in love with it again in the midst of tragedy.   I didn't know at the time that I would ever have a reason to reflect on that tragedy again.  I never thought I'd see those events as connecting me to something else in the future.  I knew I'd change course, but didn't think of how or where my potential was now headed.  Being a supporter has introduced me to new opportunities and friends that would have gone right past me.  It's changed my life, impacted my career, and given me clearer vision for change and growth across the board for myself and the world around me.  And it's because I lived those moments, that I live my life the way I do now.  

I am overcome with emotion about the people I know who are there playing these next few weeks.  Sure we have a two stellar teams there, playing for the gold medal.  But they are playing for so much more.  When they come back, there won't be endorsement deals, parades, banners and headlines.  But there will be a gold medal around their necks and the swell of pride in their hearts.  Even more, there will be their contribution to the growth of rugby, to the growth of the Maccabi games, to the growth of their local teams, to the growth of the people they've met, to the growth of their own lives.  There will be memories, friendships, photos and team spirit that they carry always.  I look forward to their arrival back in the states, they are missed.  Even more, I want to see what's changed in their eyes.  What's been sparked in them to change their world and all our worlds again.  United in their Jewish heritage, united as a rugby team, united as Team USA, united with all of us as friends and family.  United and connected to the world and the people around them in a whole new way.

Look for the hashtags #ForTheBoys & #MaccabiUSA to help support our team.

Finally to Dave, Aaron and Ross - Good luck, safe travels and get back here with the GOLD!!

UPDATE: 7/17/13 - Maccabi USA 7s team has won the gold medal defeating Israel in an awesome final match 17-14  Congrats to both teams!!  

UPDATE: 8/16/13- A LONG overdue update.  (forgive me my day job butted in LOL)  Team USA brought home the Bronze!  And while it wasn't the gold they went for, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the trip was a huge SUCCESS!  I feel nothing but pride for these guys.  And Aaron-get your butt home soon we all miss you!!

Calm Down. It really will be ok.

For those of you thinking I'm going to be talking about the SMRC 7's tourney this weekend....you're in luck.  Aztecs won, we came in fourth, it's gonna be a showdown at the Belmont Shore corral later this month.  Dolphins will be packin' the heat, don't you worry.

But, I got bigger fish to fry this morning.  The Lions have announced their roster for the final test match against the Wallabies on Saturday morning (wee hours by LA time) and well, some people (not all Irish but Lions supporters in general) seem to be staring aghast, slack jawed and wide eyed.  Ireland's star centre and legend Brian O'Driscoll is not on the roster, not even on the bench.  What seems to be even worse than this (according to some of my Irish friends) is that Welsh standard, Jamie Roberts, appears to have been chosen in his place.  Outrage even has a hashtag #odriscollgate


Now this kind of thing can happen on Lions tours.  You get that many rock stars on one stage and sure enough you find that four bass players is a tad excessive and someone has to sit out on a few stops on the tour.  It happens.  Do we really need all the kerfuffle?


What also seems to keep many Lions supporters fuming is that with Sam Warburton out, O'Driscoll should have been the easy choice for Captain.  First, let me break down that last phrase for you, "easy choice for Captain".  Anyone who thinks picking a Captain for the Lions when your #1 is sidelined before the last game of the entire tour needs their head examined.  There is no easy choice for Gats this week.  Lions backs are against the wall and his butt is on the line.  So please don't sit back and presume that Gatland threw darts at a squad sheet after a few pints.

Roster choices are nerve wracking on a club level, imagine it on this level.  You've got an entire corporation ready to pop champagne bottles over all the merch money they're going to make "when" you win.  You've got malicious headline writers foaming at the mouth just waiting for you to blink wrong and so they can write about it.  And these are just the things I've thought of in the last few moments.  I don't even want to know what keeps Gatland up at night.

Second--for the select and scant few twitter-ites who seem to think Roberts = plague.  Or let me see how did one tweet put it -"Roberts should be ashamed. He should step aside.  He's a coward for not reliquishing and making Gats use BOD" (And that's by a Welshman!)  Really?  Really?  Stop it.  Just plain stop it.  Even the most adamant Irish friends of mine, who's blood runs green and their hearts are shaped like shamrocks, will step up and say Jamie is a good choice at centre against the Wallabies. He didn't pick the squad and I doubt anyone I know would give up a spot in a Lions jersey to one of their friends.  So sit down.  He's a doctor, he knows what he's doing.  And overly insane crying for attention twitter rants are starting to piss me off.  (There by the grace of Gods goes the unfollow button.)

Dammit Gats..I'm a Doctor not a...wait.....

Third, it seems bloodthirsty "kill em all" Lions supporters really do have huge mushy hearts, because it seems a large portion of outrage comes out of a need to say goodbye.  A need to have one last glorious run onto the pitch and score the game winning try at the last minute of the last lions game.  Guess what, we've seen it.  I hate to be so blunt, but didn't we get that goodbye moment last Lions tour?  Didn't we see the waving and the tearjerking gut wrenching tribute videos play over and over on BBC.   What about the 2012 6 Nations, the 2013 6 Nations, hell O'Driscoll has been retiring from Internationals almost as long as KISS has been on a farewell tour.  Yes I own that that last comment sounds crass and bitchy, but....

That's just it--the Lions Tour is not the Brian O'Driscoll Farewell Extravaganza--it's just not.  It's the LIONS TOUR.  It's bigger than the Welsh, the Irish, the Scots and the English.  It's bigger than one player or one game or one try.  It's bigger on a corporate level, sponsor level, player level and supporter level.  The Lions are even bigger than the corporation that runs it.  For six weeks every four years, the British and Irish are one - we are all Lions.  Look at the roster--it's not lacking in talent, skill, experience or leadership.

Dollars to donuts, hand to Rugby Gods, we'll all be watching O'Driscoll final international game tribute videos during fall internationals and probably even 2014 6 Nations.  I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing another one sometime.  The man's a brilliant rugby legend that crosses all nations and all teams. He has had the most shining heart racing moments in the sun.  He will have another before it's all over. Saturday will not be one.  And it really is ok.

Personally, I'd rather O'Driscoll not been on the Lions tour--I might have had the chance to photog him in Houston.... Don't worry about your leadership going forward Ireland-you're in good hands. O'Mahony is also just fun to say.

If we lose to the Wallabies-well I expect all of you to be on here with a ton of "I told you so's"  and guess what - if the resounding chorus is that O'Driscoll would have given us a win, then I'll deserve it.  But we won't - Lions 21-Wallabies 18