Rugby!

Last Saturday, Edinburgh hosted the Scotland vs. South Africa rugby match, and my friends and I were lucky enough to get tickets. I've seen a few rugby matches at Colby so I had a general understand of how the game worked but was not prepared for the level of ferocity with which these men played or the amount of Scottish pride associated with the sport.

After going to bed the night before and hoping for sunshine the following morning, I woke up to a traditional Scottish day: pouring rain. Although the rain stopped for the bus ride to the field, giving everyone a sense of false hope, it immediately started pouring again when we stepped off the bus. The game started with an introduction of the players, and although it was cool to see South Africa's players in green and gold, (I loved the movie Invictus) watching Scotland's players come out was incredible. There was an enormous marching band on the field, complete with a set of bagpipe players, and everyone sang a traditional Scottish song.

When the game got underway, I could not believe how violent it got and how tough the players were. These enormous men were sent flying in every direction after taking awful hits. The crowd didn't make it any better, with collective groans and gasps echoing throughout the stadium. However, even when bleeding or in need of a muscle taped up, the game continued and the player pushed through it.  There were several times when trainers ran onto the field while the game was still in progress, taped someone up, and ran away again. These guys define true dedication. Each time Scotland scored, the crowd went wild, cheering, singing, and waving their flags. Scotland eventually won the game 21-17!

Throughout the game, it was amazing to see how much pride Scots take in their sports and in their country. Everyone was dressed in blue, waving huge Scotland flags, and singing traditional Scottish songs. Fans were much more respectful and less vulgar at this game than the football (soccer) game we attended in September, but there was still a great deal of cheering and yelling in support of the team (just a lot less swearing and threatening of the other team!). A little girl was sitting next to me with her Dad, and it was her first rugby game as well. She kept asking her Dad lots of questions and I couldn't stop thinking about my first Red Sox game 11 years ago, sitting in the stands at Fenway with my Dad, watching the Red Sox play the White Sox and asking lots of questions. I'm definitely missing watching American sports at the moment, but Scottish sports have been a crazy experience!