Re: Invictus
<span style="font-weight: bold">"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul"</span>
I have not been to a theater in several years and now TWO Movies in as many weeks. First The Road comes out based on a Pulitzer Prize winning book and now Invictus, a Clint Eastwood directed movie about a rugby tournament that featured, arguably, two of the greatest minutes in sports. My entire family is fired up about this one. It will win awards.
Great event #1. In an early round, Ireland's tighthead prop Gary Halpin unexpectedly picks up a loose ball and then pummels two people before touching the ball to the ground between the uprights. The referee immediately signals a try. The fans are shocked, as are the New Zealand All-Blacks, and pretty much, the entire world as Gary then looks up into the lenses of a hundred cameras broadcasting the live games back to their home countries, and with a great smile w/o two teeth, holds up two middle fingers to the world. Ah, you gotta love the Irish in a fight...
Great event #2. Final match. South Africa Springboks vs. New Zealand All-Blacks, the AB's featuring a giant named Jonah Lomu that would crush defenders that got in front of him. Well, just before game time Nelson Mandela walks onto the pitch wearing a Springbok jersey. Even on TV, you could hear the silence in the stadium. Apartheid was over, mostly... Then after a good moment of silence, this incredible crowd begins chanting "Nelson, Nelson" at the top of their lungs and as one, while he shakes the hands of his players. I remember being absolutely thrilled to see that moment.
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I played that game for 17 years but just cannot anymore. I began to think of it not so much as a sport but more like a cult. There was a time when I would have sold or traded eveything I had just to be on a national club. Win or lose, after 80 minutes, each time you truly believed you accomplished something. This picture is a favorite. In support are two friends, one a Col. working in a mountainous country, the other deceased, killed on 26 March 2003 during the drive on Baghdad.