It was a perfect weekend for Metropolis Rugby, period. First of all, our D3's traveled down to Dubuque, IA for their second round playoff match and returned with a definitive 57-10 victory over the previously unbeaten Gentlemen of Dubuque! Congratulations boys and best of luck as you look forward to a run at the National Championship next spring. The Metropolis D1 side not only hosted the Midwest Division 1 Championships at SAOS field but were victors in both of their matches as they downed Detroit 33-32 in a tight one on Saturday, worked out a few kinks and returned Sunday to soundly defeat Indianapolis 36-3, ending the season as the #4 team in the Midwest...securing a spot in next Spring's run to the Championship as well. Metropolis has TWO teams in the hunt for National Titles next spring....simply incredible.
That said, I want to take a minute to thank some folks who were instrumental in making this weekend's Midwest Championships a success. Each of them put up with my incessant, perhaps neurotic, calls for help, updates, details, etc. and responded willingly and above the call of duty. All of these people and organizations backed me up when it came time to make good on a rather aggressive proposal to the Midwest Union for the privilege of hosting this event. Without them, I wouldn't have even submitted a bid, but it was their follow-through that really made the day. These are some of the true heroes of and to Metropolis Rugby, making all the fun we get to have on that beautiful pitch a possibility while serving as an example to us all:
Rugby Athletic & Canterbury of New Zealand: Chris Babiash
Chris Babiash and his company, Rugby Athletic, were huge supporters of this effort. Chris was on board from day one. Rugby Athletic designed the event logo for the weekend, committing their artist's time, generously donated the bags that each player received and secured the very cool stainless steel Canterbury of New Zealand water bottles in those same bags. Rugby Athletic did both the artwork as well as manufacturing of the beanies and long sleeve t-shirts for the event, providing great service and price. They even sent, and paid for, someone to man the apparel table all day. Tom Delaney, from The Edina Rugby Club and one of the boys that attended some of our summer & early Fall training sessions, spent two solid days trying to help me make up for the fact that I severely over estimated the market demand for tournament t-shirts. Chris continued his support of Metropolis as he also created and donated a couple of new banners on display at the pitch, one Rugby Athletic & Metropolis banner, and one made specially for the event weekend, proudly displaying the championship logo and weekend info.
As luck would have it, Rugby Athletic came through this weekend on something they have had in the works for a bit....the brand-new goal post pads. As you no doubt noticed, we revealed some great new Metropolis Rugby/SAOS goalpost pads this weekend. Those, too, were donated to the club by Chris Babiash and Rugby Athletic. The old pads have subsequently been donated to a local, in-need, High School Rugby program, as facilitated by Andrew Mase & MARF.
Legend's Bar & Grill: Jeremy Ancel
Legend's Bar & Grill, with Jeremy in the lead, helped kick off the weekend in style and wrap it up as any big rugby weekend should. Serving as host to Friday Night's Championship Team dinner, Jeremy provided the space, food and service for both our club and visiting teams as they gathered before the big weekend of competition. Jeremy was quick to take on this event, sort out the details and roll with the changes as the schedule and attendance shifted as the date drew near. Legend's took their support of Metropolis Rugby a step further as Jeremy donated all the supplies, food, beverages, etc. for us to sell on Saturday at the concession stand. Donating all of that food was not the original plan, but Jeremy decided on Friday that he wanted to make that generous contribution. The weekend came to a perfect conclusion at Legend's Sunday afternoon and evening as Metropolis took over our home away from pitch....Legend's basement. The team, and even Jeremy, kicked back for a few hours and unwound with donated beer and other goodies thanks to Jeremy and his staff at Legend's. Stay tuned to this weekend's AGM for more information on further growth in the Legend's/Metropolis relationship.
Sports & Orthopaedic Specialists: Brent Millikin, Dr. Aimee Klapach & Adrienne Smith
SAOS, our well known and exclusive field sponsor, went the extra mile for the event providing Adrienne Smith to serve as an on-site Athletic Trainer, working the training area with Zach Lee, taping our boys as well as the other teams, both Saturday & Sunday, while tending to injuries on the field and after the matches were complete. The entire SAOS organization continues to be a valued sponsor and partner of Metropolis Rugby and never fails to come through when we need their services or direction.
The Metropolis Foundation: Super Joe Kiley and friends
I ran into a few roadblocks early on as I attempted to secure the funding needed to make good on items, events, etc. that were essential to a successful event. As soon as I saw trouble brewing I went to The Metropolis Foundation for help, ideas, support, etc. The result of that was Joe Kiley taking the lead on an impromptu, but extremely successful, fundraising drive. Joe's willingness to step up, organize, collect and encourage this effort had a huge impact on the weekend. Now, Joe took the lead, but without all of you out there who donated your hard-earned to the effort the weekend would have fallen flat. The initial request was to help sponsor the Friday Night Team Dinner. That goal was met, and exceeded, through your generosity, and allowed the club to cover the Division 3 team's travel down to Iowa for their playoff game as well as help cover other general expenses of the weekend. The outpouring of support and money was incredible and speaks volumes to this Club's ability to rally around each other and make things happen. I know a list of donor's exists, but I do not have access to it at this time. In order to avoid leaving anyone I'll just take this opportunity to thank you all for your contributions. It was all put to good use, and I hope you felt that if you visited the pitch this weekend.
Dropkick Photos: Rob Wagner & Rob Clarno
The Robs spent all day Saturday and Sunday shooting endless hours of rugby action and fan candid shots. They did a great job of capturing the spirit of competition and camaraderie throughout the entire weekend. The continued support of Dropkickphotos.com is greatly appreciated. Show your appreciation as well and buy some photos from them: http://www.dropkickphotos.com/
Minnesota Referees Society: Tammy Cowan
I learned, in the 11th hour, that while the Midwest Union covered match head referees, it was up to the host club to provide Assistant Refs, or at least touch judges for this event. We decided then, that an event of with this level of important competition, should have certified and capable assistant referees minding touch and aiding in the head ref's calling of the match. To that point, Tammy Cowan worked with us to quickly schedule and provide the excellent crew of ARs on site all weekend. The decision to follow-through on this came very late in the planning stages and Tammy's willingness and ability to pull it all together is greatly appreciated and the Assistant Referees, in general, added to the legitimacy and success of the competition.
Minneapolis Park Board: Timothy Grate, et al.
As usual, the pitch and park were perfectly maintained and ready for the weekend, a that we do not take for grated. In addition to their usual work, Tim and the folks with the City of Minneapolis were flexible in allowing special parking consideration for the weekend as well as ensuring the appropriate facilities were available for all of those in attendance. Their responsiveness and willingness to work with our schedule is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to make our venue among the best in the country.
The Short Order Cooks
Due to a last minute, but fortuitous, change of events, I needed to find someone to take the lead on running the concession stand all day Saturday. I was looking for someone that I could simply put in charge and cross it off my list of concerns. Our very own Tom Lavin stood up and took on the responsibility of making sure the stand was staffed and running smoothly while stepping up throughout the weekend to cover other things here and there. He recruited some very capable and generous help throughout the day, namely Eric Curtin, Tom & Anna Rubey and Sean & Bobbi Jo Duggan. Thanks to you all for putting time in behind the grill. Your efforts kept the crowd happy and made some cash for Metropolis along the way. Having to stand back, away from the action on the pitch, cooking and serving up food isn't an easy job, but you all came through without a complaint and did great work.
The Board De Keepers of Score:
What's the score? Did that last second try by Detroit just knock Metropolis out of the playoffs? Oh no! I'm so confused....would be the thoughts if a bunch of guys didn't step up and make sure everyone was well informed and up to date with the count on the field. Kevin Leonard & Mike "Homer" Langmack took the initiative to have new team signs made for each of the visiting clubs, working late in the week as teams secured last minutes berths to Championship Weekend. Putting their top-notch, public school educations to work were another crew of Edina Rugby players, namely Ryan "No Shirt" Gilligan, Jack "The Mouth" Butterfield, Ricky "Don't call me Joe" Kiley & Spencer "Make Coach pass left-handed" Roble who managed to accurately keep score of all the matches without having to take their shoes off. Well done guys and thanks for help!
Metropolis Players and Board Members:
There were some D1 players, who already had plenty going on this weekend, who also stepped up to make big contributions this weekend, as well as Metropolis Executive Board members who went above and beyond their typical duties to ensure a successful event. Andrew "Pepe" Mase connected with Muscle Milk to supply 16 cases of Muscle Milk to the players and for resale as part of the concession stand. A great addition to the event that everyone enjoyed. MRFC Vice President, Isaac Johnson, took the lead on ensuring that the gift bags were accounted for, packed and delivered to the pitch. Our own Match Secretary, Certified Athletic Trainer and resident Ginger, Zach Lee, showed up early both Saturday & Sunday morning, making sure everything was squared away, strapping up players at the training station, running player/team check-in and constantly telling me "Don't worry Davey, I've got it covered....just play rugby." Hats off, as well, to Matt "PB" Peterson for setting us up at LAFitness for a team cool down & recovery session after Saturday's match. It would have been nice, however, if you'd have informed us that LAFitness doesn't provide towels...several trees were wasted as 20 guys used 3 years worth of paper towels to cover for convenient omission. I need to thank the ManBearPig with the truck. Wade McInroy was able to get one of his work trucks to help me haul the tent, goal post pads, apparel, water, etc. to the pitch Friday night. Without his and Joey Brown's help I'd have been in a huge jam, making multiple runs to the Nordeast and back in my own vehicle.
Now, a final, individual thank-you, to a guy that contributed more of his time and energy than perhaps anyone to this event, working hard behind the scenes and always coming through with a "just tell me what you need and I'll get it"...that'd be Adam Dilley. Dilley was responsible for securing the donated water from WalMart, while given some direction from Travis Karlin along the way, getting the Larabars & Pro Bars as part of the player gift bags, making sure we had grills at the pitch, haulin' in the big metal trough for beverages, working to get fresh fruit contributed to the menu, volunteering to bus tables at the Team Dinner, and just generally taking any and all jobs thrown at him during the planning and execution stages. This often under-appreciated, but always reliable, guy made sure it all came together without a hiccup.
To all of you who helped with pitch set-up on Friday night and tear-down/clean-up when all was said and done Sunday afternoon I say thanks as well. This weekend was a perfect example of how being a member of a Club is much greater than just being a guy who plays rugby.
I must, however, give one final thanks to someone who really made the entire weekend a success. The opportunity for me to thank this person publicly is just too great for me to resist. With that, I give a heartfelt, Metropolis Rugby Thank-You to Mr. Al Gore! Without him, I'd have thought that we just got lucky with the incredible weather on the weekend. Thanks to him I now know it was Global Warming. So as to increase the chances that we can host another weekend like this next year I'll be holding a styro-foam bonfire at my house this weekend. All are welcome to attend. (I'm fully aware that I've lost 99% of readers by now and the 1% that actually read this far won't find this section shocking at all. In fact, consider it your reward for sticking through until the bitter end.)
If I forgot to mention someone, as I cobbled this post together over the past several days, I ask that you please accept my sincere apology. It was a once-in-a-lifetime weekend with help coming from many, many people. It is this kind of support that make our sponsors the best in the business and this team, a Rugby Club, that all can be proud of as it strives for bigger and better things for years to come.
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Dave Heebner
President - Metropolis Rugby Club
Metropolis Rugby
The Metropolis Foundation
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