Ligonier Highland Games

The Scottish Highland games were pretty cool - although it was a very long day. After a 2 hour bus ride, we 'stepped into history' (kinda-sorta. You gotta use the lame cliches occasionally). The shrill sound of bagpipes greeted us as we neared the grounds, the percussion of drums reaching us also. Through the day, several hundred (a very conservative guess) bagpipers performed all over the grounds, uniting at the end of the day with the drummers to play amazing grace at the main event field. The smell of Haggis drifted with the scent of hot dogs (for the less adventurous) and the sight of kilts became commonplace. Vendors sold swords that would possibly even rival Matthew's monstrosity. Since our game wasn't until 4:00, the team spent the time from 10:00 until 3:00 in watching the Kaber tossing, the axe throwing [some guy with arms the size of my waist threw the 'axe' (a 4-foot metal handle around an inch in diameter, with a 6 or greater inch diameter metal ball on the end) (rather heavy) 161'11" (one inch shy of the record!) ] and slept on the grass. Coming to the event was fun in and of itself, but my purpose for coming was to play (or at least watch) a rugby game, which happened not so punctually at 4:30. The results in advance - Grove City lost ~20 to nothing, with the team from Franciscan University scoring 5 tri's and 2-3 kicks. (a tri is similar to a touchdown and worth 5 points, and the kicks follow the score through the goal posts, worth 2 points). Well, it definately gives room for improvement. My part in the game was small - I subbed in for the start of the second 40-minute half, and played for a couple of minutes, making one good hit. The game seemed to be a blur - it was a small field, which didnt help, and the other team had left many of thier better players in, outplaying the new guys on the GCC side. Oh well. I got to watch, which was more important for learning how to play. It was a good game, casualty-wise. We had two injuries on our side, and only one fatality (just kidding). One guy had a huge gash in his forehead right at his eyebrow that required 5 stitches, and the other had a dislocated collarbone that popped back into place, still causing excruciating pain. So, after the game we waited at the hospital until 9:00 for the doctors to patch them up, followed by another 2-hour bus ride back to the college. After that experience, some people would actually want to stick with this crazy sport. I happen to be one of those people, so I can't wait until practice tomorrow night and our next game in two weeks. Another week of college classes await me - I'm starting #3 already!!!

Jeremy Turpin