An American Cinderella

Our seats were pretty good. I’d never been to this stadium before, but we were high enough to see the complete play of the field, but yet still close enough to make out all the players. Henry pulled his cap down over his hair and we headed to our better than average seats.

We’d missed the national anthem, and both teams now huddled up on the field. The men were all muscular with strong legs. I was surprised to see that no one wore protective gear. The field was a converted football field, but it was bigger than what I was used to.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Andre and Valentina take their seats behind us. They were one row back and more on Henry’s side than mine. Henry seemed intent on ignoring them.

The All Blacks were easy to spot in their black uniforms. The Irish wore Green tops with white shorts. The stands were filled with either black or green and everyone seemed happy to cheer. I was amazed at the number of people filling the stands.

The All Blacks took the center of the field and faced their opponents. The crowd quieted as the team began to chant. I didn’t understand the language, but the intent was clear. Intimidation. They hit their elbows and stomped their feet in unison. Goosebumps popped out on my arms.

“What are they doing?” I whispered to Henry.

“It’s called Haka,” he explained. “Many of the players on the team are of Maori descent. Haka is a traditional war dance. The whole team does it before a match. It’s something they’re famous for.”

“I like it,” I said, watching the fierce faces and aggressive body language. “I wouldn’t want to mess with them.”

The crowd roared their approval. The stands shook and the excitement for the start of the match filled the air like a living thing. And then the game began.

The Irish kicked the ball toward the team in black. Both teams quickly formed a wall of bodies around the ball, each man fighting for position. It was aggressive and intense.

“What are the rules?” I asked, leaning my head close to Henry. The crowd was loud and I didn’t want everyone knowing that I didn’t understand the game.

“There are fifteen players for each team,” Henry explained. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, but his eyes were on the field. He watched the players running and throwing the ball with keen interest.

“The objective of the game is to score more points than the other team. You can do that two main ways: a try or a drop goal,” he continued. One of the All Black players started to run down the field with the ball, sending up screams from the stands.

“Okay,” I nodded. The All Black player was blocked by the team in green. The crowd died down, but the energy was still there as the man threw the ball to a teammate behind him.

“A try is worth five points and you get it by putting the ball in the opponent’s try-zone,” Henry said. He frowned and threw up his hand. “Come on, Ref!”

“So a try is like a touchdown in American football,” I said, brightening as I figured out part of the game.

Henry thought for a moment. “Yes, it is. And a drop kick would be the equivalent of a field goal,” he said, nodding. “And it’s even worth three points as well.”

“Okay,” I watched the game for a moment, noticing that no one threw the ball or kicked the ball in the direction they were trying to go. “Why not just throw the ball in?”

“The ball can only be thrown backward or sideways,” Henry explained. “You can kick a ball forward, but the next person who touches it has to have been behind you. The only way to move forward is to run. If you get stuck, you have to throw it to your team behind you.”

The crowd let out a loud “ooh” sound and I looked around to see one of the Irish tackling an All Black. It looked brutal, but the player just got back up and kept going like he hadn’t just been slammed into the grass.

Suddenly, an All Black player took off down the field. He was unstoppable. I rose to my feet, cheering with the crowd as the player sprinted to his try-zone. Now that I knew that he was going to score, I screamed along with everyone else.

“Touchdown!” I shouted as the player touched the ball to the ground, scoring his point. I jumped into the air, excited. Henry paused, and shook his head. Two men in All Black gear sitting in font of us both turned and looked at me.