It's Only Ruck and Maul (But I Like It)

Madly Confident Team Rockets Through Season

In the season thus far the scoring has gone like this:

Middlebury: Alot, every game.
The Other Guys: ...what other guys?

The Post Season is underway and in three days Middlebury hosts the kick-off to the best Rugby of the season. It is also Homecoming Weekend. Welcome Old Boys and Guests.

The New England Championships start with Saturday's semi-final matches and will conclude with Sunday's Championship Match. Rugby madness is on tap for everyone. Sorry no shrimp though.

Saturday is also Middlcbury's Homecoming Weekend and there promises to be a WHALE of a football game between Midd and Trinity. NESCAC bragging rights are at stake as both teams are locked in a four way tie for first place. Shout Wa-hey.

Topic: Hugh Marlowe. Discuss.

You Gotta Love ‘Mr. Middlebury’

Middletown, CT Saturday 9/22/07:

I imagine Hugh Marlow doesn’t know me from Adam’s off ox but it came as no surprise that he was in (my town) Middletown, CT at the Middlebury – Wesleyan football match. While simultaneously completing a thought with another Middlebury parent/alum/other Middleburyian he was acknowledging my ‘Nice to see you Mr. Marlow” with a firm handshake and a “Good seeing you !”

I first met ‘Mr. Middlebury’ at an ‘Accepted Student luncheon hosted by a West Hartford (CT) Middlebury alum back in the spring of ’02 when my son Calvin Garner (‘06) was still in high school. For those of you not aware, Hugh Marlow is a 1957 Middlebury graduate and the energetic Executive Secretary of the Middlebury Alumni Association.

I probably have seen him 25 times since our first meeting, both on campus and off at events ranging from Midd Family weekends to sporting events to President McCardle's Northeast Exit Tour to Cal’s Graduation. I manage a hello when the opportunity presents itself. Always scanning the crowd for that ‘Relations Moment’ he remains the face of Middlebury that spans generations of Midd students and parents. He is good at his job.

Is there a better example of a cheerleader/spokesperson champion shmoozer ? Part of the effectiveness of such a person is that he is everywhere, all the time. At any event and at every event. “Wow. There’s Hugh… again.” It's uncanny. Perhaps he exists in a Disney (like) World with special hidden doors and subterranean corridors that allow quick teleportation. Foof. "Gotta dash, I have to watch our boys smote a Wesleyan Cardinal, then I've got that Brewery thing in Chicago. Busy, busy. I'll be back for pizza later though !"

With a memory described as legendary, Huge Marlow seems ready to engage all comers, whatever the venue. Regarding the sporting events he attends, I feel a little sorry for him. I don’t see how he can possibly watch any uninterrupted action …so many chances to chat, so little time. He should consider a disguise.

With his newsletter shout-out to View From The Pitch following the MCRC National Championship win last spring (thank YOU Jimmy Manyuru ’07 for alerting me) I learned something else: Hugh is a big rugby supporter. It’s great to see his continued presence as the quintessential Public Relations man at Midd events far and wide. Middlebury couldn’t have picked a better guy for the job.

You go Hugh.

The Cale and Clapton Epiphany

Lyrics Offer Hope and Inspiration to Sports Fan Crushed by (Another) Yankee Post-Season Collapse

Until today I have resisted the urge for posting Poetry on these pages which is as it should be. And OK, music lyrics ain’t exactly poetry… mostly they are just a bunch of words that rhyme -sometimes quite badly.

But the cut, Ride The River from JJ Cale and Eric Clapton’s album, The Road To Escondido just might be the perfect set of song lyrics to capture my impression of the joy Ward Patterson is experiencing as the first Full-Time Head Coach for the MCRC.
The lyrics go a little somethin’ like this:

Floatin’ down that ol’ river boy
All my worries far behind
Floatin’ down that ol’ river boy
Leave old memories way behind

Yesterday’s slowly fadin’
All my life I’ve been waitin’ for this time.

Floatin’ down that ol’ river boy
Leaves me feelin’ good inside
Floatin’ down that ol’ river boy
Tryin to get to the other side

Yesterday’s slowly fadin’
I’ve been waitin now forever for this ride.

Ride the river in this boat, ride the river…

Ok, it’s not Billy Cummings and at the risk of overselling what still seemed like a good blog posting idea about an hour ago, you can get the idea with all the metaphors and stuff, right?

For those of you who have spoken with Coach since last May, when his team brought The National Rugby Spotlight to a sleepy rural Vermont campus long accustomed to the glare of certain OTHER national sports spotlights, you can’t help but feel the love this guy exudes for this game called Rugby, or the sheer joy he is feeling in his new position.

The phrase “ Happy as a Pig in S*!#", though a tad off color, sums it up nicely.

Well, the lyric thing works for me and JJ Cale and Eric Clapton complement each other nicely... kind of like Craig Wilson and Ari Silverman. And I think WP has been waitin’ forever for this ride.

Cue the music. Sorry for the needless Yankees reference.