Today’s drawing is a tribute to that rare sort (though somewhat less rare than when I was in school), the African American who rows on the college crew. Today I came across an article about Aquil Abdullah, the history-making Black rower who became the first African American to win at Britain’s Henley Regatta and the first African American on the U.S. Olympic crew. Reading about him made be think back to my undergraduate years. No, I didn’t row. I was too short to even try out for the women’s team, and I was too tall and too heavy to be a coxswain for the men’s team. I quickly discovered another sport, rugby, and I remain an avid fan of men’s and women’s rugby at all levels, both collegiate and professional. Still, I’ve always felt a significant degree of admiration for the men and women who row. Back in college, the strict training rules and intense workouts, even during the coldest months of the year, demanded a level of dedication that was hard not to admire. Here’s hoping that in the next Olympics, there are a least a couple more Black men and women competing in this sport. If it doesn’t conflict with any important rugby matches, I’ll be watching.
This drawing depicts one of two men who were having an animated conversation with each other outside Zocalo cafe in San Leandro. I was sitting too far away to hear what they were talking about, but it must have been fairly serious stuff. Both men were gesticulating passionately. Perhaps they were discussing the current economy or the gridlock in congress…
A few days ago we had our first rain of the season. I had the good fortune of being at Zocalo cafe on that day and during the few minutes that rain was actually falling from the sky, nearly everyone in the cafe was turned toward the window to watch something we hadn’t seen in months. If the wistful looks on people’s faces were any indication, the rain was a welcome sight. I think the man in this drawing was thinking about the rain for the rest of the afternoon.
This drawing marks the end of sports week at 8-Rock.com and the end of my celebration of Rugby World Cup 2011. If you look closely at the background of this drawing, you’ll notice that the pattern consists of tiny rugby uniforms. Cool, right?
Sports week continues at 8-Rock.com. In this drawing, there’s a little bit of a fun reference for the rugby insider. Barbarian is a popular brand of rugby gear, including the iconic Barbarian brand rugby ball. Because this drawing depicts three players of African descent, I have replaced the word Barbarian with Zande, the name of the central African tribe that is legendary for its prowess on the battlefield. This drawing is a composite of three of the many Black rugby players I was excited to see at the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament at UNLV, summer of 2010.
Sports week at 8-Rock.com continues with the third of what will be five drawings inspired by the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This drawing, like others in this series, features a limited color palette (white, black, and shades of blue). The drawing in the background is a drawing of a rugby game that was originally published around the turn of the last century. As you can see from the earlier drawing in the background, rugby had been–for the most part–a “white man’s game.” Today rugby is played on all continents (except Antarctica), by men and women of all races and ethnicities.
Sports week at 8-Rock.com continues with another tribute to the 2011 rugby world cup. The backdrop is one of the stadiums from the 2007 world cup, held in France.
Sports week at 8-Rock.com continues with this tribute to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, taking place in New Zealand. The Rugby World cup began on September 9 and it will end on October 23. On the left side of the drawing I have listed all the countries that are competing in this years tournament.
