Pendleton East Oregon Rugby Club

We’ve been through a lot … but, everyone has … 2020 was a x#$&%!! show at best. A good x#$&%!! show, but a x#$&%!! show nonetheless. And 2021 wasn’t much better. But wait … let’s be positive here … 

COVID SUCKED BUT WE WEREN’T TRAPPED IN A FOXHOLE, UNDER ENEMY FIRE, WITH ROTTING FEET AND NOTHING TO EAT

During the height of COVID when fall sports were being cancelled throughout the country, I heard someone say that no one should care about sport(s) … “it is, after all, just a sport.” Really? I beg to differ. Because sports are not just dumb games that “no one should care about.” Time spent playing, watching, coaching … it’s engaging and it’s important. It can be some of the most raw connections we make with one another. I’m lucky I was an athlete. And I am blessed to have children that are also athletes. Not just because of their impending success, but because of the failures. And even more so, for all the friendships made on the field, on the track, on the court — for the friends that carried me through many of my younger years, and the ones that will carry them. The friends that were foes on the field.

“FRIENDSHIPS BORN ON THE FIELD OF ATHLETIC STRIFE ARE THE REAL GOLD OF COMPETITION. AWARDS BECOME CORRODED, FRIENDS GATHER NO DUST.” ~ JESSE OWENS

Growing up competitive athletes, both myself and my partner in crime inevitably turned into huge sports fans. Fans of good competition — fans of the fight, if you will. Why? Because competition is fierce. And when you watch a competitor’s face, you understand that it’s far more than a game. 

Sports — be it rugby, football or the steeplechase (or God forbid, bass fishing) — can start a conversation. It can feed Sunday night’s dinner-table talk, Monday morning water cooler conversation and multitudes of “If only” disclaimers across the Internet. Sports can keep you up late glued to post-game commentary … can call you from your slumber early in the a.m. for more commentary. Why? Again, because it is more than a game.

Sports can be a friendly yet fervent diversion from the mundane and the games we play, the races we run, the fish we catch (I guess) help us make connections with those we otherwise might not. Sports also allow us to dream about the “what could have been if only” not to mention the “what should have been if only.” 

WE ARE SPORTS FANS BECAUSE WE ARE FANS OF LIFE AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, GIVING YOUR HEART AND SOUL TO ANYTHING YOU BELIEVE IN.

So again, I am lucky to have been an athlete. And I am blessed to have children that are athletes — because through all their victories, all their disappointments, they will learn. And they will cherish these days along with the friends that stand beside them — win, or lose. And that is why all kids should do a sport … even if it’s with bait and tackle.