There are few activities that accompany themselves like rugby and drinking. Perhaps bocce and cigars. Shoes and socks. Maybe, even, Tinder, and a lonely night in a 4-walled bedroom. But signed, sealed, and delivered, a rough game of rugby and a cold brew have had an eternal companionship.
But booze can only ever accompany the sports dynamic and fraternal qualities. On the morning of Floralia, the Suits and Gowns game is everything that makes rugby great. For the College, they are even more than that.
The tradition of the Suits & Gowns games date back at least a decade. Essentially, the games are a showdown between the current teams and a smattering of returned alumni. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams play the entire game in thrift-sourced formalwear of their choosing: suits and gowns.
‘The ritual of the game begins as early as 7:00 a.m,’ stated Dana Sorkin ’16, on the women’s team, with both teams hosting pre-match socials in anticipation. Even before Floralia, however, Sorkin highlighted the level of preparation required for the event. ‘For us at Conn, team organizes a day usually a week in advance that we all go to the Salvation Army in New London to buy the most ridiculous looking gowns — the uglier, the better.’
The choice of Suits and Gowns reconnects to an age-old rugby tradition. But it would be safe to assume that the costumes themselves are relatively arbitrary. Just this Thursday two players on the Men’s team were overheard in a heated debate over the merits of a kimono against a cocktail dress, if one were to cross-dress the event. No clear consensus was reached.
The true purpose of the games is to unite the teams and cap their competitive seasons. “Because the gowns game is after the end of our season, it’s a great way to end on a high note and finish the year with your teammates,” explained Sorkin.
But what makes it more than an aggressive two-hour reunion is the crowd it pulls. Every year the Suits & Gowns event attracts on-lookers in the hundreds. Men’s Rugby captain Tom Olson confirmed the intentionality behind orchestrating the phenomena that pulls students from the comfort of tents, music, and friends.
“We try to get as many people as possible. We love a good turnout ,” said Olson, and then further suggested that much of the fun is inherently bound in the involvement of a student audience.
It is evident that what provides cohesion for the games is tradition; perhaps purely for tradition’s sake. That the event even comes together is remarkable: these games are as lawless as a good episode of Game of Thrones. They can’t help but become confusing, as any sporting event both organized and attended by drunken people tends to be. They also tend to be highly competitive, with a high price to pay in bragging rights and collegiate rugby lore.
“There is only one rule: shenanigans,” confided Olson. The term is meant both literally and as a particular trademark of a game that hardly lends itself to being played sober. More often than not, players on the field might be competing with their own motor skills rather than the opposition. ‘As if there wasn’t enough booze on Floralia…” joked another source from the team.
But more beer on Floralia is just another drop in the ocean. Attempting to curb drinking on the day would be a herculean task to complete, let alone propose, for our sanctified day of release. In all likelihoods the event is relatively safer (although perhaps not for the battered players) than the well-cited dangers of idle drinking and listening to Based God.
It is worthwhile considering, too, how the day’s excitement is tempered by the anticipation of events. Collegiate belligerence notwithstanding, Floralia is a celebration of school unity. The music, tent ground, and events llike the game are ways by which we celebrate it. And for some, a day that starts as early as six in the morning would be re-miss without its own 11:00 a.m. headliner.
Perhaps we should consider how a morning of theatrical warfare characterizes our spring fling. The irony of suits and cleats rings in tune with a day that has always been about disengaging from the daily grind. What better way to take your face out of your book? The case for the game is the case for Floralia in its entirety. It’s also why we spend so much time anticipating one of our longest and most exciting days of the Connecticut College calendar year.
Here’s your reason to wake up early, if you hadn’t found one yet. Watch your friends tackle your other friends. Or, watch 50 strangers do the same. Better yet, observe how 50 fellow classmates made the most of $10 and a trip to goodwill.
It was hardly noon last year when we saw two veritably well-dressed Rugby teams go at it like cats and dogs. The hundreds of students in attendance made a gladiatorial occurrence of the game. Barring divine intervention, the ritual of Suits & Gowns should magnetize just many as in times past.
Expect ripped shirts. Expect loud. Expect the dirtiest tuxedos you may well ever see. But most of all, expect a tradition with character like no other at Conn.
