Slabbs Was Here!

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since Marty "Slabbs" Rodgers made his way to our little city, but the memories will last quite awhile! Marty and Isaac Luten ( a Sydney OBD) arrived at our Clubhouse a little behind schedule, but it wasn't a huge deal. We proceeded to give Marty the tour of our team's Clubhouse, then spent a couple of hours looking back on our tour and consuming a few adult beverages.

As the afternoon/evening progressed we went to a bar/restaurant in town for an evening meal and more beverages, then to our last stop of the night, a bar that was having Karaoke (singing along to music). Needless to say, it got VERY interesting at that point! There was countless songs sung, dances danced, and a few too many beverages consumed by a few of our party.

One tradition of this particular bar is that if you sing three times you must kiss the stuffed moose head on the wall. We had Roger & Isaac perform this honorable task out of our group.

All in all it was a great night with our friend from Down Under. Slabbs said he had an amazing time, as we did, and can't wait until we meet up again. I'm sure if and when he makes it this way again, or we venture south to Australia again, the end result will be the same...good times with great friends. It's all part of our Golden Oldies Rugby world.

San Diego 2005, The Dogs first GO Festival

In the Spring of 2004 two senior members of River City Rugby, Ron Tjaden and Craig Skott sent out an email to our Club's current and former players to see if there was enough interest in forming a 35 years of age and older team to attend the 2005 World Golden Oldies Rugby Festival that was to be held in San Diego in the Spring of 2005. Once enough interest was shown, the actual planning started. A team name needed to be chosen first. After several suggestions were nixed, The Olde Barking Dogs was decided upon. A moniker was needed as well, so, "No Bite, Just Lick" was chosen. Team colors, t-shirt designs, pins, and other items were discussed and created over the Winter. Our team of 20 Dogs and several social members were kitted up and headed to San Diego for our first Festival!

The first Dog's roster was made up of  11 former River City Rugby players, and 9 additional players from teams we had played against at some point, or friends of ours. Once we had gathered in San Diego the week's festivities began with the Opening Ceremony. It was a very eye opening time for someone like myself who had never been on a tour of this type. That night is when my pin/badge trading addiction began.

I have compiled photo albums for all the trips The Dogs have taken, so here is the link for San Diego 2005 so you won't have to hunt on our Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivercityrugby/sets/72157600228108057/

The opening ceremony for San Diego was fun, and when we marched to Petco Field for the party/food/fun segment, it even got better. here's a shot of some of us Dogs from that evening:

The following day was first match day. We were picked up from our hotels and taken to the San Diego Polo Club grounds where countless pitches had been set up. Our draw was a team from the Cook Islands. A great group of people who some of us stay in contact with to this day. They utilized their colored shorts very well, but as we all know, then end score is always the same, and it was a fun match for everyone. We gathered afterwards for the first photo of The Olde Barking Dogs with an opposing team.

Since it was five years ago, the details and schedule of the week kind of escape me. Not sure if it was Tuesday or Wednesday, but our Mid-week day out was to Mexico. We were taken by bus across the border for a traditional Mexican feast with entertainment to dine to. Several of us wandered down the beach to check out some of the beach clubs and have some refreshments before we had to load up and head back.

Our two remaining matches of the week were also fun for everyone. After the last match the majority of us were trading the last of our t-shirts and even our jumpers/jerseys. This group of Dogs all managed to trade for polos from the Cook Island team.

All five of these Dogs made the recent tour to Sydney for the Dogs third Festival.

San Diego 2005 was the beginning of my Golden Oldies Rugby addiction. Since then I started the Old Boys Clash back in Iowa for my home club and anyone over the age of 35 who wanted to learn what this style of Rugby is all about. In future postings I'll explain more about the four Clashes held so far, and the Dogs tour to Edinburgh for the 2008 GO Festival. Once again, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are enjoying my postings about Golden Oldies Rugby and The Olde Barking Dogs!

River City Rugby Football Club

I see it only fitting that I go back to 1972 and tell my readers here about how the sport of Rugby came to be in Mason City, Iowa, and how that occurrence had a direct affect on my life since I became part of the team in 1992. In a nutshell, here is the beginning of the story:

It all began with an itinerant Irishman by the name of Henry Bird. It seems that Henry had been hiding out in the rugged mountains of Missoula, Montana when a fierce Chinook wind swept him up in the Fall of 1972 and deposited him on the steps of the Globe-Gazette newspaper in Mason City, Iowa.


Henry had picked up the tools of the advertising trade while in Missoula, and he quickly asserted himself within the Globe. Ah, but recreation was a problem for the roving Irishman, and following a few short weeks of boredom, he launched a search for a more physical sport than girl chasing.

The immigre Irishman called on his European background and assembled a collection of brawny but idle ex-athletes from the dimly lit confines of local pubs. With only the minimum of practice and know-how, the novice ruggers attacked a simple four game schedule. The result? An 0-4 record.

From those first 17 players the history of River City Rugby began. The years have past. Over 275 players have donned the team's colors and represented our Club on the pitch. Through it all one expression has held true: "Since 1972 The Tradition Continues".

My introduction to the sport of Rugby, and River City Rugby occurred on a Fall day in 1991 when my best friend gave me a call to see what I was doing. It so happened that my schedule was open (I was recently divorced and living at the local YMCA. Yeah, I was free), so I rode with him to Iowa Falls, Iowa to watch him play in a Rugby match with River City. My first reaction on viewing the action on the pitch that day was "those guys are crazy"! Yet, just five short months later I would find myself in shorts and an old pair of football cleats attending my first practice in the Spring of 1992. Yes, an overused expression, but, as they say, the rest is history.

My first couple of years with the Club were as a seldom used reserve (which I didn't complain about), and as head grill master for the 3rd halves. Since my grilling of burgers and brats for the after match festivities were unparallelled, I was given the moniker "Burger Bill".

In 1994 I started to see the pitch a little more often. My team mates at that time were some of the best to ever step on the field of play wearing our team's colors. We battled with some of the best teams in Iowa and the Midwest, and for the most part, had very good win-loss records. At first I played flanker, then moved to hooker in 1995 or 96 when the player who played #2 retired. I played actively until the end of the 1998 season, then decided my 38 year old body couldn't take the punishment of competitive play any longer. There were younger, stronger, and much fitter players to step in, and they did just that. Here is a pic from my playing days getting ready to hook in a scrum. Our team is wearing the red/blue jerseys.

During my Active Side playing days I held the position of Club President for three years. I admit, and others will as well, I was better on the organizational side of the team than I was as a player! During my active side playing days I never recorded a try, but think I may have assisted on a few! One of my fondest memories of those years was traveling to Chicago for the Junior Cup Playoffs in 1993. Man, we had a great side that year, and only lost to the Cup Champions Nashville that weekend. Great weekend!

In my next post I'll look back on my first tour with The Olde Barking Dogs, and what the years following have been like. Thanks for stopping by!