Being a NORMAL HUMAN BEING

Ok, so this is going to be a little bit of a rant.

I was just surfing the web and I came across a news article from Washington DC that was extremely disturbing to me. This article discusses the spreading of a "game" in which strangers are the target of random knockout punches.... Excuse me? Did i read this correctly? What kind of criminal idiot would invent this game, and what kind of coward would continue to play it!!!!! Watching the footage was extremely bothersome and made me feel sick seeing the bodies of the men AND women falling unconsciously to the ground. In reading the article provided with the video it stated that some people have also lost their lives due to this "game."

Growing up I can safely say that I have never been in a fight, or thrown a punch in anger or with the intent to hurt someone. That is not the case for everyone, but hell, some people deserve it. In rugby punches are thrown all the time, but 90% of the time it is harmless, and 99% of the time the players know each other. Rugby, and sports in general instill a code within the person. Pick on someone your own size. Sure you will try to out muscle someone smaller than you to make a good play, but you would never go on a personal attack against someone who is a pipsqueak compared to you. You see this all the time in hockey, where the smaller player is hit by the bigger one and the enforcers come in and make it an even fight.

I think that these punks punching out random strangers on the street need to be "enforced" themselves... preferably by the police and a stern judge.

If you want to see this disturbing footage click here

thank you for listening

Being a Family

Hello Friends,

A fitting salutation, friendship is an aspect of my journey that is probably the most influential. Through my 9 years as a rugby player at both Barrie Central Collegiate and McMaster University I came across a vast array of different people, personalities, and demographics. However, these groups of individuals became more than just teammates; they became my friends and family. The goal in which my high school coaches had was to become a family, more than anything. We were an elite team, who commonly would win championships, but in the end if we didn’t become a family – we lost.

The men – and occasional women – who were involved with the team became friends and family through a great many ways. The first of which is just the shear amount of time that you spend with each other. In high school we were together from sun up to sun down. We would practice after school, during lunch break, and occasionally before classes. We ate together, we trained together, and we played together. At university it was the same, except we didn’t go home, we would be living together too.  The locker room became our bedroom, our field became our backyard.  

With the sport of rugby, after the long hot days tackling, sweating, and bleeding there is no more room left for macho attitudes. We would bond through common exhaustion. Those who shared injuries would be come closer. If your trainer taped you up, or worked out a muscle, they became your god-sent. During the early days of the season, ice baths was necessary and a place where men shed any sense of dignity hopping inside the icy water and letting out a squeal as your boys went for a polar dip. Friendship came quickly.

Coach became a father and friend in one fell swoop. They were always there to support you in all aspects of life – more than just performance on the field or the gym. They went through the same life that you are going through. They have done the same stupid things you have done, and been in the same sticky situations. They were always there for guidance and advice, and when needed – a kick in the ass for being an idiot. These men and women of the coaching and managerial staff became your rugby mom and dad – they weren’t perfect, but you wouldn’t change them for the world.

One of the biggest forms of bonding was through the social events that were commonly hosted. A very unique thing about rugby is that after every game the home team hosts the opponent to a full meal spread and drinks afterward. As mentioned before, we are so sore and drained after a game that all you want is a full meal and a full pint. It was common to see two guys who may have been in a full on fist fight an hour earlier on the field buying each other drinks at the bar.

Regardless of what day the game falls on usually enough beers are consumed that a party is thrown after the game… celebrating a victory or drinking away the loss. This is where rookies had a chance to prove themselves in the ring of drinking games, anecdotes, or ridiculous pickup lines. Immortal fame in the eyes of the rugby team was usually discovered at these social gatherings.

Being away from the sport I have joined a prestigious crew of gentlemen who now alumni of the program. It is an interesting situation. All events are still open for alumni attendance, and I am revered by the new rookies, but I don’t feel the same as I used to with them. The love for my former family is still strong as ever, but I don’t feel the bliss of a cold beer after a hard fought victory, or the camaraderie of sharing an injury with a fellow team member. There will always be a place for me in my rugby families, but I have transitioned to a different place.

The men and women in my rugby family are just as special to me as my own family. They have loved and supported me, made me become the man that I am.

 I am better because of them.

FOOD!!!! ..... and exercise

Hey,

So I am not going to lie, I love food. It has always been one of my favourite things. I enjoy to cook, snack, and talk about food. I love to cook food for people, it’s awesome. However, this is the first time in my life were I have actually had to watch what I consume.  It literally never crossed my mind until I began to realize that jeans are tighter than they used to be. Damn, this sucks!

Being a rugby player for the past 9 years, and a jack of all trades athlete before that, with a job as a lifeguard and swim instructor I really had the metabolism of a squirrel. I couldn’t eat enough food to satisfy my needs. The only thing that would leave me a little soft around the edges was beer, which was a fairly large part of the rugby life. After a day of fitness, however, I would be back on the straight and narrow.

Nowadays it seems like after I eat a pasta dinner I am in need of a jog or else I am going to pop a button. So that is an interesting situation in which I am trying to eat slower and stopping because I believe I have eaten enough. I used to eat until I hated myself, and even then I would catch myself looking in the fridge 15 minutes later. I have discovered that plate size directly helps in tricking your mind into thinking that you have eaten more than you have.

The largest aspect of me eating the amount that I did was because of the rugby mentality that I needed to be as big and strong as I could be. Now to give myself credit, I did just that. I came into university weighing 195lbs, could bench press 225, and was good enough to play for the junior varsity team (for a basic level of fitness comparison). When I left university I was 240lbs, could bench press 315lbs and was a playing member of varsity squad. Without eating the way I did I would not have been able to do such things. Now, since I am not longer having to lift 250lbs men above my head, tackle someone running at full speed, or be a part of a scrum of 8 men with a total weight of 1500lbs plus, I don’t need to have the same “be as big and strong as you can be” body.

Now it seems logical to me that I need to change the diet and workouts and it will change my body. But that is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. I like eating and I don’t like running… but I also don’t like growing. It is quite the dilemma.

I think I need to just get a new sport, with the mentality of getting lean and fit… any suggestions J

Anyways, talk to you later

This is new...

Hello everyone,

So I am not going to lie; I am quite new to this form of faceless conversation, however I will give it a shot. To begin, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Ben Patterson. I come from a loving family of five and I currently go to Mohawk College for a postgrad in Public Relations. Now previously I would have a whole load more of things to identify my life with, but this past year has been a very transitional period of my life. This is the first year of my since I was a very young child I am not actively involved in sports. During my previous athletic “career” I have played almost every sport popular in North America. However, if I was to identify myself with a particular sport, it would be rugby.

Rugby to me is much more than just a game, it was a lifestyle. I know, so cliché, but it’s true. Without rugby my life would be radically different. Now that it is gone, my life feels… different. The series of blogs that I am going to post are going to be related to the effect that rugby had on my life and how I can see these changes now that I am away from it. I am sure that there are many of you out there who now consider themselves “ex-athletes” and how it is much more than just not playing a game.

Talk to you guys later

 

Ben