Sharks vs. Blue Bulls

From the first week I stepped onto South African soil I knew that Rugby was a big deal.. and I knew I was about to be in the middle of a big rivalry! I'm staying in Pretoria, home of the Blue Bulls (colors: blue), and I'm living with a Durbanite, supporter of the Sharks (colors: black, grey, white). How was this going to end well??

My first week here we went to Andre and Karlene's house (Living Hope and 1Hope team members) for fellowship and I learned some of the rules of Rugby. I also watched Invictus and got a few more lessons. Then Saturday rolled around! All the stops were pulled out to be sure we girls knew what was going on! Britt, Sarah, Vinson (not a girl. haha), and I crowded around the computer for some YouTube educational videos. I think I'm pretty much an expert now!

 It felt so much like a fall football day! I came out in the morning dressed in all blue and asked what time the game was "Get back inside and change right now young lady! You will not go out in public like that!" Donovan told me.. I'm tell you - this is serious stuff! So I knew right away, inters are for the Sharks.. and we embraced it :) We wore black and grey from head to toe! At 14:30 about 25 friends arrived for the braii - just a south African barbecue. We ate Boerewors - A delicious South African sausage that is traditionally eaten before or at Rugby games - and rolls, and tried some South African chips and cokes. Excitement was in the air! There were 2 blue bulls fans at the braii and all the jokes and jibes were hilarious!

Me, Sarah, Britt

Hanging out around the grill

Food and fellowship

Friends :)

Before..

..and after! Just cut off a slice of this and stick it in a roll! Yum!!

Finally it was time to go! The game was one of the coolest experiences ever! I got super into it.. as we were walking to the stadium I thought I would just join in the camaraderie so I shout "Go Sharks!" at some sharks fans. They smiled and looked slightly confused - then I remembered my American accent that follows me everywhere. Oh well!

At the game, we were literally sitting on the edges of our seats because we were so excited! When the sharks ran out you would have thought that I had been a sharks fan for my whole life from the way I screamed! It was so exciting and fun! That atmosphere was contagious. We cheered and at Biltong for the next 80 minutes + half time. Biltong is a delicous snack that is kind of like beef jerky. but way better because I don't like jerky and i LOVE this stuff! Unfortuantely, America isn't a fan of me bringing any home :(

Sarah and I

The guy in the yellow shoes who is about to get the ball had an identical twin on the Sharks team!

I loved the line-out! [See.. i know terminology! (: ]

The scrum

This wasn't taken from our seats and it was taken before everyone was in the stadium so the seats weren't full yet.. but they were by the time the game started!

Hello :)

The game was super intense. In the end, the Sharks barely lost (20-19, I think). Rugby is now one of my favorite sports :)