I nervously walked into Harry Rossoff’s ’12 room. I had heard he was in seclusion following the men’s rugby team’s devastating defeat at the hands of Merrimack College. Michael Natriello ’12, another player on the team, was also in the room, attempting to console him. Harry looked haggard; his normal Grecian complexion was marred with jaundiced skin and mysterious bruises. When I walked in, he looked up at me with eyes glazed and apologized for the fetid defeated smell.
Despite high expectations, the Men’s Rugby team failed to advance in the Division Four playoffs. I interviewed Rossoff, one of the integral members of the team, as well as Natriello, regarding their playoff loss as well as their season as a whole:
What is a day in the life of a rugby baller all about?
Harry: Very similar to Hahn Je’s description of a water polo baller. Except we do harder P90X exercises, including the notorious Ab Ripper.
How close to home did this loss hit?
Michael: What does that question even mean? It was an away game, so technically, not very close.
Were you devastated?
H: It was disappointing, but there’s a solid crop of freshman boys that we look forward to getting into scrums with in the future.
M: Although we lost, there were some positive takeaways.
Who is better out of the two of you?
H: We’re not answering this question.
M: I am. Harry’s a better tackler. But we play different positions. But overall I think I could take him one-on-one.
What position do you guys play?
H: I play flanker, which is a loose forward position.
M: I primarily play fullback.
Are fullbacks as useless in rugby as they are in football?
M: I’m the last line of defense, and the first line of offense, so you tell me.
What is the most glamorous position on the team?
M: Outside center, or fly-out.
Are you jealous that you are not one of these positions?
M: I’ve played both of those positions, so no.
H: I am jealous, only because they get to score more tries.
An upbeat song comes up on iTunes. Harry immediately changes it, preferring to dwell in a post-match stupor. He switches on Notorious B.I.G.’s prophetic album “Ready to Die.” He says, “This really embodies what the New York City experience is all about.”
What is the most embarrassing sports injury you’ve ever given or taken?
M: I did a triple off the high dive and landed directly on my ear. I couldn’t hear for a while. I didn’t go to the doctor for it. My equilibrium was all thrown off, and there was pus coming out of my ear. One morning I woke up next to a busty blonde and my ear was stuck to the pillow because there was so much dried pus.
H: I gave a kid a concussion in our last home game. He couldn’t stand up for 10 minutes, and the NLFD had to come take him off the field.
That’s not very embarrassing. It actually makes you look good.
H: That’s the only thing I want readers to get out of this interview. It was embarrassing for him, though. I have a question for you. How do you feel when you’re watching a rugby match? Having only ever played in them, we have no concept of what it’s like as a spectator.
Primarily, I feel pretty inadequate as a male. I’m usually hungover, so it’s difficult for me to process things clearly. Do you ever feel like a fucking animal out there on the pitch?
M: I feel like a hyperactualized version of myself.
Do you ever feel like you’ve died and gone to rugby heaven?
M: After a try (sort of like a touchdown in football), you feel like you’ve done something really great for yourself and for your team. And if there is a rugby heaven, I hope it is saturated with this sort of emotion.
Harry turns on “The Homeless and the Hummingbird” by Alaska in Winter and says “This song adequately expresses how I feel.”
As I leave, he cryptically calls out to me, “This is going to be a long winter.”
Photo By: Julie McMahon
