Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (2004)

That's the stuff that gets college coaches fired. For the POTUS we don't use the same exacting standards.

Btw, the picture is a hoot:

http://www.yale.edu/rugby/roster.htm

I'm not trolling here...I would fight through Pinkertons to vote against Bush.

I rowed crew in the 80s - there was no varsity program at Ohio St. Honestly, I always make the distinction that it was a club sport. That said, we competed intercollegiately against other varsity programs and we had varsity boats and JV boats. Rugby has much the same setup throughout the nation. I would say, at worst, this is pretty venal stuff.

The picture is a hoot, though. My wife was not surprised Bush was a rugger - they had reputations at OSU as huge partiers and I know of a few other schools where the rugger buggers have the same rep.

Mark

Dang, like I never thought I'd be bailing George Bush out in this blog, but...

At least when I was there, there were many official college teams and then other teams that did not get official recognition (or funding) from Yale called "club teams". So, for example, the ultimate frisbee team was a club team back in the 80s, and I suspect it still is. But that ultimate team, and certainly the rugby team, would go out and play actual opponents from other schools (especially other Ivies) although they presumably wouldn't be a team in any NCAA-recognized conference. I think some clubs had (again, informally) multiple teams that would broadly correspond to varsity and JV *if the sport had been recognized officially by Mother Yale*. So to the extent that Bush played on "the" rugby team, which was a club team, in intercollegiate competition, I wouldn't raise a big ruckus that it wasn't officially the varsity. It's not like it was a college intramural team (heck, *I* played on those).

So let's move onto slamming him for all of the more important stuff, shall we?

Well, given that Putin is from KGB maybe Bush was protecting national security.

technically, he played "club varsity"

but it does seem a bit defensive ... maybe he's embarrased that his Dad was a kickass baseball player who led his team to a nat'l championship, whereas Jr. rode pine the whole time.

technically, he played "club varsity"

but it does seem a bit defensive ... maybe he's embarrased that his Dad was a kickass baseball player who led his team to a nat'l championship, whereas Jr. rode pine the whole time.

http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2004_08_08.html#001687

is perhaps more relevant than any of the above.
Picture proof of how Bush played rugby.

http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2004_08_08.html#001687

is perhaps more relevant than any of the above.
Picture proof of how Bush played rugby.

Turns out a couple of others were onto this 3 months ago:

http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2004/04/rugbygate.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_04/003806.php

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/005967.html

Small fish, except when we equal Vrsity to Cambodia:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_08/004487.php

http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2004_08_08.html#001687

is perhaps more relevant than any of the above.
Picture proof of how Bush played rugby.

I can't believe it myself but I find myself, for the first and probably last time, rising to George W. Bush's defense. It's news to me that he played rugby in college at all. I thought he didn't get any nearer to any sports than was required by his cheerleading. All along I had thought, how does this guy, who did nothing more "manly" than cheerleading in college pull off this macho swagger bullshit. Rugby, huh? I have to say I'm impressed. Not a lot. But still.

Well I have to say I am slightly sympathetic to GWB on this one, the one thing that appeals to people about him is his down home kinda guy appeal.

Some of the most neanderthal peopleI know are guys I have played rugby with. But they can be good fun too. Shit, GWB would be a very good Rugby Club secretary or president, you know having drinks with the boys and singing rude songs, raising money for a new pitch from local worthies and that kind of stuff.

His only business success was running a baseball team - and ripping off the local town to get a ground is what sports teams do. If he had stayed in this line of work he would have made a great IOC member in the end!

I agree that this is pretty minor, but can you IMAGINE what a fuss they'd have made if Al Gore had made such a claim?

A few weeks ago, the BBC World Service interviewed a guy who played rugby with Kerry *and* Bush.

Not at the same time, though. He played with Bush at Yale, and with Kerry at St. Paul's.

He wouldn't come out and say who he'd vote for, but it was pretty clear from what he said that he thought Kerry was the better player.

Here's a similar story. In this, his estimates of the two as players seems a bit different from what I gathered from the BBC interview:
http://news.hawaii.com/article/2004/Aug/02/ln/ln09a.html

John Kerry has no honor and he endangers America.

While John Kerry promises that he will take care of us veterans; those of us who weren’t born yesterday know that he’s lying and he knows it.

How do we know it? Well, we know that each and every one of the Neocoms who support him shares the feelings of “verplanck colvin” who recently posted the following on this site:

“…Oh, and as for Vietnam, GET OVER IT. This post-baby-boomer is sick of hearing the self-centered bleatings of a washed up generation debate over this war AGAIN. Who cares if Kerry tossed his ribbons/medals? Who cares if Bush snorted coke and missed out on reporting for duty in Alabama? I don't!... Posted by: verplanck colvin”

These are the people Kerry would appoint to implement his policies. The fact that these folks hate us is secondary to the fact that they would be responsible for the defense of America.

DOESN’T ANYONE ELSE SEE THE ABSURDITY OF PUTTING MILITARY HATERS IN CHARGE OF OUR DEFENSE IN THIS DANGEROUS WORLD?

The Democrats have absolutely no realistic military thinkers that they pay attention to. Would any Democrat have put US soldiers on the ground to kick Saddam out of Kuwait or the Taliban out of Afghanistan? I won’t even ask about Iraq.

Under a President Kerry, Somalia would be the model for military action – get out if any Americans get killed. People in the know realize that the Clinton Somalia disaster was directly responsible for...

http://pep.typepad.com/public_enquiry_project/2004/08/john_kerry_has__1.html

I shouldn't feed the trolls, but Adrian has crossed the not-so-fine line into unconscious self-parody with that last post!

How sad...that a name like 'Adrian Spidle' should turn out to be a troll alias. Already this morning he's spammed at least one other site with that drivel.

It just goes to show that even the old he-man rightwing neanderthal has degenerated into a lisping pinko with one finger crooked free of the teacup handle.

No wonder they don't believe in evolution.

Great, we have the choice of two rugby players for President. At least they didn't play cricket. Unamerican, if you ask me.

(Says the guy who lettered in soccer in high school.)

FWIW, in my experience it's always distinguished as A-side and B-side; I've never heard the term varsity used around rugby. Also, two seasons - one year - isn't much. Most ruggers I knew played their whole college careers, but a few guys always were passing through for a season or two to check things out.

As an ex-rugger and current mountain biker, plus a huge baseball fan, I'm troubled by W's predelictions for these activities, but, as they say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day....

>Btw, the picture is a hoot:

>http://www.yale.edu/rugby/roster.htm

Would that be the Yale rugby team, or the Jail rugby team?

Bush is Unfit For Command!

-Rugby Players for Truth

Now hold on a minute. According to the new Republican standards of accountability, Bush can't reasonably be said to be lying if ist possible for credulous morons to think he is just all mixed up, that he sincerely doesn't know any better when he utters the falsehood du jour.

And since Bush is an idiot who doesn't read newspapers, its not impossible to picture Bush as a dupe in any given situation. Therefore it is impossible for Bush to be a liar. Funny how that works when you're a Republican.

Think about the current case. The obvious explanation is that Bush was mixing up his days as a varsity CHEERLEADER with his days playing rugby with the guys from his dorm that one time. You can see how it would be easy to slip from one to the other: cheerleading/rugby rugby/cheerleading...whatever!

Re: the link provided by ogmb:

Is that Shrub in the back row, between the cute blonde guy and the guy with the way-too-long sideburns? What's that his right hand is doing? Ewww get your mind out of the gutter. Why, it's flashing a peace sign! Commie traitor Hanoi George! Unfit for the presidency!