Due to the fact that I am
celebrating National Marquette Day, it is expected that today will be a day of
tradition. In keeping with some more recent traditions, I got up early to get
my workout out of the way, and onward to the rest of the day.
I also spent close to 30 minutes,
in honor of Tom, to get this rugby jacket selfie just right. While my feelings
towards Tom are not secret, I can recognize that without his involvement I
might not have had a rugby team to join 15 years later.
But it is the other infamous
Warriors I'm celebrating Presidents Day with, and in style too. Of course, in
this case when I say Presidents Day, I'm really referring to
the founding matron of the Marquette Women's Rugby team, and other club presidents
throughout the years. (is founding mothers the female version of founding
fathers?) You see, Shannon invited us to her box at the Bradley Center to
watch the Marquette vs Villanova game, and network with the different leaders
throughout the years.
As tradition would garner, we mustered at none other than Wolski's to organize tickets and rides to the Bradley Center. However before I could head over to one of my favorite daytime establishments, I had to first stop at the spirit store. Besides a ratty sweatshirt, most of my Blue and Gold clothing had a controversial warrior head instead of our current Golden Eagle symbol.
This brief detour ended up being more costly than the overpriced gear I purchased. Milwaukee was one of the first cities I've seen to replace coin operated parking meters with the centralized, credit card machines. I found a parking spot near the Union, and noticed the meter maid nearby ready to pounce. Usually, I live life on the edge, risking parking tickets by purposefully not feeding the meter. However, seeing the nearby public servant, today was not the day for that. I parked my car, and had to stand in line to pay at the central machine. I took my receipt, went inside to get my swag, and then hopped in the car without second thought. 3 or 4 blocks into the drive, what do I notice flapping brazenly on my window but a ticket written during the time I waited patiently to pay. Tradition strikes again, it would have been strange to leave Milwaukee with this familiar token.
The game was great, we lost but I
had a hot dog. Obviously, it is a rebuilding year if the thing I am most
excited about is how delicious my ball park hot dog was. More importantly,
Linda formulated a plan for a 20th year reunion this summer, and combining it
with other clubs also celebrating milestones in 2015! Considering that I came
out as being gay at the 15 year reunion, who knows what will happen at the next
one. (I guess technically, the last reunion was the 10
year anniversary of when we were National Champs, so it was like 7
years ago.)
And on we went, leaving the ball
game to hang out at a few other establishments in the city. It has been ages
since I learned a new rugby song. Thanks to the wisdom of my fellow alumni, I
left these Milwaukee establishments with the tale of Sir Jasper looping through
my mind (to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.)
Shannon brought our group together,
not only this weekend, but in many other ways as well. This includes our first
encounter in Nashville, later coaching me when we really needed it, and most
importantly starting the team with Linda in the first place. My life would be
extremely different if our paths had not crossed, and I
am grateful they did.
Tomorrow's goal:
- Rugby practice with the Wisconsin Women's team
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