Rugby 'Native' Attempts American Football As a freshman on Harding's campus, Brett Reed, like many other freshman males, decided to try out for the football team. Once he got on the football field, though, he had some seriou questions. Why are they throwing the ball? Why do they run around for a few seconds, and then rest for a while? And why are they wearing those wimpy helmets? You see , Brett was from Brisbane, in Queensland , Australia , and the football they play there is actually rugby. "I had never seen American rules football being played before ," said Brett. "It 's very complex, very hard to understand right away. But , I decided to go out for the team anyway ." Bretl decided to be a placekicker, presumably so h could lay low and figure out the game before he decided what position he really wanted to play. "They don't have the same positions in football that they do in rugby, " xplained Brett. "Back home , I was a five-eighths and a hooker. A five-eighths is kind of like a running back, and a hooker's job is , well, whenever there 's a scrum (dog-pile), he runs over and tries to dig the ball oat with his legs. "Another thing that is different between the two sport is that Americans wear those pads and helmets. Rugby players just wear long-sleeved shirts and shorts. People get hurt a lot more, but we pride ourselves on being tough. Also, rugby balls are fatter and round r, so they don 't take crazy bounces like footballs do. Our rules are very different, too... a game lasts 90 minutes , conversions (extra points) are worth two points, and the clock never stops unles there 's a penalty or someone goes out of bounds. " Brett enjoyed many other activities in his leisure time when he wasn't playing rugby . "I did basically the same things everyone does here - watch TV, play video games , shoot kangaroos.... They're all over the place, like rats or the squirrels on Harding 's campus. People in America just don 't understand what a nuisance they are. They're pretty fun to hunt though. And the meat tastes pretty good, too. "My friends thought I was crazy when I said I was going to go to school in the states , but I'm really glad I did. I've made a lot of friends here , and had a lot of fun being on the team. I think that when I graduate , I might go back to Australia and try to coach some American football teams down there. " - Ryan Gjovig Freshman !3rett Reed heads ro the foo tball fi eld fo r practi ce. Brett was just one o f the internati onal students from Australia. Steven Swan - Frankli ng. T'.: Natalie Takarni - Hitach i , Japan James Tandy- York. :\E Natalie Taylor - Burbon. TX Justin Tedesco - New York . NY Scott Thibodeaux - Bentom iJle. AR Jana Thomas - Gaine~, iJ J e. FL Jason Thomas- Prairie: Grme. AR Melissa Thomas - Aurora, .\JO Michelle Thomas - Abingdon. .\ ID Erin Thomason - Hoon~r . Al Chris Thompson - Nonh Augu5ta, sc Stephen Thonlhill - Wi nter Haven. FL James Thornton - Lake Prm idence. LA Mark Thrift - J\lonroe, LA Freshmen 267
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