Summer is here and with it comes an exciting season of Summer Rugby. As long as there has been Metropolis there has been a presence at all the major 7's Tournaments in the Midwest. There were several successful seasons mixed in there for good measure. For many of those years, when we hosted the Minnesota Qualifier, we also had Metropolis Old Boys playing, a team of Metropolis Pachyderms and others in the mix, all competing in the same tournament, under the Metropolis umbrella.
Over the past few years we have seen a trend of off-shoot Summer teams, mostly comprised of Metropolis Players (both active and retired) as well as Active Metropolis Players playing for other Competitive 7's Teams. This weekend presents an interesting situation where we'll find Metropolis players in competition at two different locations, playing for a number of different teams. Given that, I feel it's worth a note to help put it all in perspective.
Metropolis Rugby will be fielding a side in the Young Bloodz 7's Tournament, a Midwest Qualifier in Eagan, this weekend. This is the primary and official Metropolis team for summer competition. It is this team, coached by the Metropolis head coach, practicing twice a week at Columbia, utilizing Metropolis equipment, that we all support and fund as a club. We are coming off of a Spring where everyone: players, fans and Old Boys, were united, in unprecedented support, behind the Club and its competitive endeavors. We must not lose that focus and cannot afford to short change the boys taking the pitch this Saturday in Metropolis colors. The Summer Rugby program is important to the overall strength and growth of this club and deserves the same attention and commitment given to the 15s Program.
At the end of the day, Metropolis Rugby is your club and you are Metropolis Rugby whether you're in Eagan playing for Augie, in Eagan playing for another team, or down in Faribault trudging through a 10's Tournament. I ask that we all remain conscience of what that means and conduct ourselves accordingly and appropriately. Rugby is fun so have fun this weekend, but be sure to keep Metropolis Rugby in the forefront of your minds and let that guide your actions and allegiance.
Good luck to all competitors this weekend.
