Pictured The Team. Paul, Garrett and Jake. Photos by Ross FormanWhen Paul Cannella received an e-mail about two years ago about a gay rugby team that was forming, he was interested, but quite hesitant. 'What the hell is this, some strange hook-up club,' Cannella wondered.
Cannella's rugby-playing experience dates back to the late-1980s, and about the same time that e-mail arrived, he was seeking rugby-playing options in Lincoln Park. He opted to check out the gay group.
At the first few meetings in 2003, this new gay rugby team drew only two or three potential players, maybe as many as 10 or 12. When more showed up, the group would throw the ball around.
At a December 2003 get-together, 'we just decided that, hey, if we're going to do it, let's do it right,' Cannella said. Soon, they produced flyers and planned some pub-crawls for early-2004. Before long, there were about 30-40 who were interested in playing.
A year ago, after some debate about the team name, the Chicago Dragons were born, the Midwest's only predominantly gay male rugby club. Last spring, they played about 10 matches after joining CARFU, the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union, which is the local sanctioning body for the sport.
'We struggled,' Cannella admitted. 'It's been an incredible experience nonetheless, especially when you see guys with no rugby experience and then they start to develop and turn the corner into good players. In a year's time, we've really made some significant accomplishments—from those early get-togethers with only a few people to holding fundraisers to signing aboard some financial sponsors to traveling to other rugby tournaments. I try to measure success on and off the pitch ( playing field ) , and I'm very happy.'
All but four members of the Dragons are gay, and players range in age from 21 to 42. There are African-Americans, whites, Latinos and Asians on the roster, and players range from students to company executives.
Cannella, who is gay, is 34, a Lincoln Park resident who was raised in the Northwest suburbs. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is now the director of online advertising sales for McGraw-Hill.
Teammate Garrett Taliaferro also is gay; he's 28 and lives in Lakeview on Belmont.
Jake Howard, 37, also is a Lakeview resident, taking law school courses at DePaul University. Howard also plays for the Chicago Gay Hockey Association ( CGHA ) , yet is happily married to wife Debbie Flapan, and the two are expecting their first child in early May.
'On the pitch, the gay or straight factor doesn't really come into play,' Taliaferro said. 'After the match, when ( both teams ) are together at the bar, that's when sometimes opponents can be more reserved,' because they are a predominantly gay team. 'But that's not the majority of the time. Most of our opponents are married and secure in their manhood, so it's not a big deal.'
Oh yeah, one of the greatest rugby traditions is, after the match, the home team also hosts a get-together at an area bar—for both teams. 'That's why rugby is the ultimate gentleman's sport,' Cannella said, 'whatever happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch.'
Even if that means the Dragons might endure a few stiff shots—on the pitch, not at the bar—because an opponent knows the Dragons are a predominantly gay team.
'Hey, we know that some ( opponents ) may take cheap shots at us because ( most of the team ) is gay, but hey, it's rugby; it's a physical sport and that's part of the action,' Cannella said. 'We just keep playing and keep earning their respect—and that we have. Several of our opponents have told is that the thing about our team is, we never quit and we're always giving 100 percent effort.'
The Dragons play matches against other city teams, filled with adults in the same age-range. They also play against select area college teams.
'Our ultimate goal is to be a competitive rugby team in division III of CARFU,' which divides its member clubs by skill and ability, Cannella said. The Chicago Lions are the best area rugby team, classified by CARFU in its Super League. There are two Division I teams and five in Division II. Some of the Dragons' Division IIII opponents include the Fox Valley Maoris, the Illiana Misfits and the Rockford Ravens.
Howard joined the Dragons after a season on DePaul's club, and hasn't looked back. 'I didn't really have much in common with many ( of my DePaul teammates ) ; they're college students and some of them I was almost twice as old,' he said. 'I found out rather quickly that I had a lot more in common with the players on the Dragons, be it the fact that most of us have mortgages or significant others. My mom is gay. I've been around the gay community my whole life, so playing for a gay rugby team was really no big deal for me, not an issue, just as it's not big deal playing for the Chicago Gay Hockey Association.'
A Minnesota native, Howard said it's naturally been a painful experience physically on the pitch, but also, at times, mentally. But the pain tied to building a club from the ground-up has been pleasurable as well.
'I couldn't be happier that I chose to play with the Dragons ( as opposed to returning to the DePaul club ) . It's been a lot of fun, probably more than I expected,' he said. 'Rugby, like hockey, is not a sport you play if you're looking to pick up guys. I'm sure there are much easier and much less-painful ways to pick up guys, or so I would imagine.
'The Dragons are about rugby first. Heck, it might be cold and rainy, or incredibly hot, and we're playing. We might be playing in mud and someone is throwing an elbow in your face. It's a lot of hard work, but it's worth it; it's a lot of fun. Rugby is a sport that anyone can play—all shapes, all sizes. There's a place for everyone.'
HISTORY OF RUGBY
While playing soccer at the Rugby School of England in 1823, William Webb Ellis picked up the ball in his hands and ran with it. This sparked an interest, leading to the creation of rugby. Cambridge University immediately adopted the game, popularized it and made local rules. The game grew popular at area schools and in 1871, 10 years after the common rules of soccer were set, the first Rugby Union was founded in London and firm rules of the game were established.
In the U.S., the game emerged primarily on the West Coast. The lack of precise rules, ambiguities in the game and complexity of the sport drew a lot of U.S. players away from the game and major changes were invoked. In 1880, the scrum was replaced by a line of scrimmage, drawing emphasis from the free-running characteristic of the game. The game continued to play with rugby rules until 1905 where the publication of photographs of a harsh game between Sarthmore and Pennsylvania created a stir. President Theodore Roosevelt insisted on reform of the game to lower the brutality with threat of abolishing the game by edict. In 1906, the forward pass was introduced to the U.S. game. The rules of rugby died. Thus the game of American football was born.
Rugby continued to flourish elsewhere, especially Britain, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Although a handful of clubs remained in the U.S., rugby did not reemerge until the 1960s. College campuses turned to the sport because it was one where many could play and escape the rigid discipline and professionalism inherent in college football. The sport is now played in over 80 countries.
Regular Chicago Dragons games are usually 1 p.m. Saturdays, home matches held at Lerner Park. The fall season runs from late-August through mid-November; the spring season is March to mid-May. For more information on the Dragons, call the team hotline: ( 773 ) 347-1240.
