Player of the Month: June

Martin Jimenez began his playing career for Pasadena Rugby in 1994. Legend has it; he frequented the John Bull, a smarmy bar that allowed the types of shenanigans that only rugby players could appreciate and soccer players lament. It was here that our own Mike Aston was a bartender, bouncer and poet laureate. Being an absentminded professor type of a bloke, Martin occasionally found himself in the women’s bathroom and Aston would surgically extract him. Martin was given an ultimatum (this is also where Robert Ludlum obtained the idea for the book, the Bourne Ultimatum) leave the bar forever or come play rugby. And a legend was born.

In 1995, Martin was named Rookie of the Year. His initial years at Pasadena, he played primarily on the wing. His quickness and devastating “juke” won him respect from both teammates and opponents. A series of injuries, namely a torn medial and lateral meniscus and a torn ACL found his playing time limited in 1998 season and he took a brief "rest." His rehab brought him back stronger, but his, cough cough…advanced…er…age…saw him drop a step or two in the speed department. His move to Flyhalf was partly due to frustrations that the PRFC playing style didn’t get the ball to the wings often enough for his taste and partly due to necessity after our starting back line was decimated. In 2002, Martin was voted the backs captain and helped lead Pasadena to the DIII SO Cal Championship. Martin played one more year when injuries (split ends and a torn labia majora) forced him to retire.

Martin married his beautiful wife, Andrea in 2007… well… to be more accurate…I suppose Andrea allowed Martin to marry her. They live in Altadena and have a gorgeous daughter Sofia, who was born 9/17/2006. Martin has been seen out to 7’s practice lately, but you will usually find him cooking, drinking tequila and watching soccer. Oddly, you can also find him mowing, picking weeds and generally taking care of the landscape. NOOOOOOOO, not because he is Mexican… he genuinely enjoys gardening. Martin is the last of the renaissance rugby players. He is equally at ease on the field as he is painting a portrait.

Oops, Tanner

Who we gonna play?

Now that we know what division we are playing in for the 2008 season, who will our opponents be? How have we fared against them in the past?

The White Division last year was made up of a North and South bracket. Los Angeles Rugby Club won the conference title, advanced to San Diego losing to Raleigh RFC and choosing to be promoted to the 1st division for 2008. The Oxy Old Boys forfeited the season after numbers dropped and they were relegated (am I getting this Matt) to the 3rd division for 2008. The last place team in DI, Back Bay, was then relegated after LARC went up as stated earlier. That leaves the following teams to compete in DII:

Back Bay 1 (forfeit) -9 (in DI)
San Diego Old Aztecs 8-2
Riverside 6 -4
North County Gurkhas 4-6
San Luis Obispo 3-5
Kern 2-6
OMBAC 0-9
Pasadena 11-0 (in DIII)

Obviously Back Bay has to be considered a favorite. Scanning their website, they have a tradition of success at all levels. I am sure they did not want to come down and will be working hard to return to the first division… I am guessing.

The Aztecs and Riverside are two very solid teams and should also be considered among the favorites. We watched the Aztecs play in South Kackalackey where they lost their game, but played inspired rugby. Riverside has had success in recruiting very talented players in the past and has had a rebuilding year or two. We have played both these teams in preseason games in the past. We have done well at times… and horrible at times. I think it is safe to say, both teams know how to win and play solid rugby. Interesting point, the Aztecs spent one year in DIII a few seasons ago and look where they are now.

OMBAC’s “0-fer” year had to be an aberration and I am sure they do not plan on repeating this feat. They are a solid organization…boasting a Super League, DI and DII side. They have excellent facilities and a well oiled coaching machine. However, if they don’t have the talent, well…games are won by the players on the field not by the “awesomeness” of the pitch.

SLO, Kern and the Gurkhas have always been tuff opponents that play very solid rugby when it matters…during the season. Yes, Pasadena has beaten these teams in preseason over the past few years. As a matter of fact, Pasadena beat Kern 2 years ago in one of the most dramatic games in our history. At the time, Kern was still in DIII and hadn’t lost a game on the field (there had been some paperwork forfeits) in two-ish years. I don’t think it takes a genius to know that these teams don’t want the upstarts to beat them!

If they put teams into geographical divisions again, we may end up seeing Kern, SLO and Riverside twice and the rest once for a very interesting 2008 season.

Did Casey mention something about off season workouts????

On to the the 2nd Division

Well, it is official. Technically, I guess it is not official until the union allows us to relegate (I stand corrected that promoted is the correct word) to the 2nd division, but you know what I mean. The club has voted, 26-9, to move up to Division II. I had thought it would have been a little closer, but am also relieved it is a decided vote to one side. If it HAD been closer to 50/50, that could mean that ½ our team was always second guessing the decision to move up. The decision has been made and it is now time to work! Matt summed it up nicely when he wrote:

"Make no mistake, though - it will be a challenge. Everything from practice intensity to recruiting to fundraising needs to be enhanced. The EC will be looking for (actually, counting on) more people to step up and take responsibility for various club functions. The coaching staff will be expanding and challenging the players in new and exciting ways. You will be hearing more about this as the summer progresses and at the club Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the fall."

So, see you all at Elections. Remember this is an important process in our journey. Anyone who has any desire to help guide this club should volunteer their time…

Pull back the curtain already!

Despite the votes being nearly 4:1 that Matt Hettermannn was the Blue Blogger, recent revelations have revealed that the Blue Blogger is Pasadena's own Alan "Wally" Johnson. For the latest information on the Blue Blogger and the happenings of the Blue Division... go to http://bluedivisionrugby.blog-city.com/

What is next?

In just a few hours we will learn the outcome of the team vote… will we stay in DIII or will we relegate to DII? From what I can gather, it is going to be a close vote and I would not be surprised if the decision was close to 50/50.

I am glad that Coach has decided to throw his hat into the ring again. I am sure the coaching committee will work hard to provide the team with the best possible people(s) to help lead us no matter where we play.

Feel free to leave your thoughts as a comment on where you think we should play.

Let's review

So…. My first year and a half with Pasadena Rugby, we lost almost every game. We were in the second division and were required to play two games every Saturday. In short, it sucked. In 2002, we were relegated to the third division and started, what I was told, the rebuilding process. Being new to the game at the time, I was unsure why we lost so many game. We had a solid pack, our scrumhalf was an Australian that led with conviction, and our flyhalf was an ex-Eagle (an old one, but an Eagle nonetheless). Our Centers were very solid, one was an English transplant that had played since he was in grade school and the other currently plays for a Super League side (and was on the Eagle Select side a few years ago.) Lastly, our back three were fast SOB’s and one, Mark Frazier, would end up being one of the best rugby players I have ever had the privilege of knowing and playing with. We had a dedicated coach and a sponsor. But we lost. We scored a lot of points. We lost. So, we went to the 3rd division and looked to regain composure. Problem was, half our team left. The ones that stayed were good, but we lost a big chunk of our numbers. 2004 turned into quite a rebuilding year. We won the So Cal DIII Championships. Because we had limited numbers (8 guys regularly showed up to Thursday practices… don’t even ask about Tuesdays), we didn’t go to Nationals. The following years saw Pasadena play mediocre rugby. In 2007, we finally had a coach, we had a fundraising effort that many companies would be envious of and we had the talent to win it all. Boasting a roster of over 40 players, Pasadena RFC went undefeated and Traveled to South Carolina were we eventually lost to last years DIII National Champions and this years DIII runner-ups, Mission RFC.