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LA Weekly
February 27, 2004
SCRUM AND SCRUMMER
A Considerable Town
By Andrew Vontz
“Is this a national anthem?”
“Yeah, mate, a national anthem of drinking!” said my Kiwi pal Steve, hoisting a toast as far too many of the 8000 fans at the Home Depot Center tooted ceaselessly on long plastic trumpets. A 4-to-the-floor house/harmonica mash-up pumped over the sound system while a massive contingency of Kiwis sporting the black kit of their country’s team did a skank-like jig amongst a crowd sporting flags and clown wigs. A woman with a giant green foam “hang loose” hand shook her ass, while an O.C. thug-a-be fondled the udders on an inflatble miniature cow.
New Zealand was about to take on Fiji in the semis of the Team Roc USA Sevens international rugby tournament, the first ever North American stop on the eight-event World Sevens Series. Sevens rugby features seven-player teams (as opposed to the standard 15) engaged in what looks like a lateral-heavy game of kill the man with the ball. The athletes are bull-thick, dragster-quick, and devastatingly powerful. Games last less than twenty minutes, play flows almost continuously in one long sprint, and violent collisions are frequent. It’s kind of like human pinball.
You could see that in – or, rather, on – the face of 23-year-old American player Tyson Meek who, following a losing prelim battle against Australia, sat in the stands next to some supporters from his home state of Oklahoma. His hair matted down with sweat, and with raw, red abrasions over his brow, Meek took a slug from a bottle of Gatorade and watched the action unfold on the perfect emerald rectangle that is the Galaxy’s intimate 27,000-seat home pitch.
Back up the 110 at the Staples Center, meanwhile, some of America’s highest paid and most temperamental primadonnas were preparing to battle for an NBA All Star title and you can bet they won’t be climbing into the stands to chat undisturbed with their pals after the game. In spite of the warmup suit that clearly identified Meek as a member of the USA side, no adoring fans swarmed him, begged for his autograph, or tried to steal his Gatorade bottle to auction off on E-bay. For the moment he was just another rugby fan in the crowd.
Southern California has one of the strongest rugby scenes in America and the sport is one of the fastest growing club sports on college campuses, but rugby remains underground. This hasn’t dissuaded Team Roc – a subsidiary of Jay-Z’s Rocafella Records -- from sponsoring this Los Angeles stop on the international circuit for the next two years, creating an inner city youth rugby program, and sponsoring the USA sevens squad.
As I glanced around the stadium I counted 22 Rocafella and Team Roc signs. What exactly did the hip-hop and rugby communities have in common, I wondered? I flipped open the event program in search of an answer and found these words from Damon Dash, CEO of Team Roc/Rocafella/Rocawear: “The athletes that we (America) currently produce for football, basketball, wrestling, and soccer are like an available national resource to me. . .The Roc is out to conquer! Roc for Life!. . .Holla!”
Translation: Rugby represents an opportunity for Dash and company to seize first mover advantage, develop a pipeline of Team Roc sponsored talent, usher this talent into the Team Roc tournament big leagues playing for Team Roc (USA), create greater brand awareness of the Rocafella family and American family, and kick some global ass. Holla.
Just as regulation time ran out, a New Zealand player charged past the try line, breaking a 5-5 tie and sending the Kiwis on into the finals (where they would lose to Argentina). But first it was the USA’s turn to play again. With two tries from Meek, they take the Shield from Korea, then celebrate by taking laps around the field to a standing ovation – after which the announcer inspired the day’s first round of boos. In a rich baritone that cut through the cacophony of cheers and blaring horns, he intoned, “An important announcement to all rugby fans: Sales of alcohol will cease at 5 p.m.”
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