the 6 nations rugby tournament is on at the moment, and richard and i are sitting here watching the england/scotland game. richard has taught me the basic rules for rugby and i quite enjoy watching it (at least once in a while), but i have a serious problem: i look away at the wrong times.
you see, i spent years watching american football, and in that game, when the ball is down, it's down. the play is over, and you can look down, eat some potato chips, have a drink of beer, chat with your neighbour, watch the cheerleaders, etc. eventually, the players get organized again, and you can stop your chat and pay attention again before play resumes.
with rugby, when the ball goes down, it's still in play, and it's actually quite an important time to watch since the point is to pass the ball to the back of the pack of players--which rich tells me is called a ruck--and continue it down the field. so when i watch rugby, i habitually look away at the wrong time, and by the time i remember and look back up and focus on the game again, the ball is back in play somewhere else on the field, and i have to get caught up before they score a touchdown....i mean a try.
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