Schwartz: Brooklyn's Mike Petri Leads USA Rugby Into Chi-Town Showdown
By Peter Schwartz
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Brooklyn native Michael Petri will walk out of the tunnel at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday and see over 61,000 fans. The capacity crowd won't be there for a football game or even a soccer match.
What Petri will be part of is a sellout crowd of 61,500 for a rugby game between Team USA and the New Zealand All Blacks, the reigning World Cup Champions who will be playing their first match in the United States since 1980.
The crowd will set a United States attendance record for a rugby match, eclipsing the previous mark of 20,181 in Houston back in June 2013. To put this match into perspective, Team USA will be facing a club considered to be the New York Yankees or Manchester United of Rugby.
"The game against the All Blacks will be a great event for rugby in the United States," said Petri, who is also a math and science teacher as well as the rugby coach at Xavier High School. "Hopefully, it is the start of something big for rugby in this country. On a personal level, to have a shot at the world champions and be able to do it alongside my teammates will be something to remember for the rest of my life."
Rugby is the second-most popular sport in the world behind soccer and is growing in popularity in the United States.
According to a survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, rugby is the fastest growing team sport in America. While overall team sports participation fell 1 percent in 2013, rugby participation grew 33.4 percent. Rugby also leads all team sports in casual participation growth and core growth, which means participating multiple times per year.
Also, Rugby becomes an Olympic sport in 2016 with a 7-on-7 version of the game that will serve as a big growth opportunity for the sport.
"Rugby is a game that incorporates many aspects of other sports that Americans love," said Petri, who plays the position of scrum-half. "It also has a very unique culture that is often lost in many of today's mainstream sporting events."
Petri's road to playing for the USA Eagles began when he played basketball at Xavier High School. After a game, the coach spoke with the players about trying out for the rugby team.
At first, Petri wasn't interested.
"I was really small and wanted a mental and physical break from sports after a long soccer and basketball season," Petri said.
But Petri, who turned 30 this past August, went home and spoke to his parents about it and he learned that his dad has played rugby for Saint Francis Prep in Brooklyn. Petri knew that his dad had played college football, but never knew that he also played rugby. So after listening to his dad talk about the game and how much he loved it, Petri decided to give it a try.
"Even though all we did was run and do push-ups for the entire first month of try outs, I ended up loving it so much I stopped playing basketball to focus more of my efforts on rugby," said Petri.
Today, Petri continues to juggle his life. He has been able to balance being a teacher and coach at Xavier while also remaining an active and competitive player for New York Athletic Club in the American Rugby Premiership.
In 2010, Petri captained NYAC to the Rugby Super League title in 2010. He has also been a regular for Team USA, having participated in both the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups.
His schedule has been a little hectic in recent years.
"I just have to manage my time wisely and make valuable use of every opportunity to better myself in both areas since I am still learning as both a player and a coach," said Petri, who made his national team debut in 2007 with the U-19 squad.
Petri has also found time to add the role of "writer" to his resume. He has written two rugby books for children including "R is for Rugby," a book that uses playful rhymes to introduce young readers and their parents to the sport.
When Petri and his wife Lauren were expecting their daughter, they were browsing children's books and noticed that there were no books about rugby.
"I never intended to write a children's book, but with encouragement and support from my wife, I started writing rhymes on the subway during my commute to and from Xavier," said Petri. "I hope to give back to the sport that has given me so much throughout my life."
Not only is Petri preparing for Saturday's historic showdown in Chicago, but he will also be representing Team USA in the second leg of the Pacific Nations Championship and next year is the Rugby World Cup.
The grind of the rugby schedule means some time off from his full-time job at Xavier High School.
"Yes, I've been granted a leave to play, said Petri. "They accommodate this every year if I'm selected for the USA."
But for Petri, the immediate focus is on Saturday as the Eagles face the best team in the world.
"It will no doubt be a tough day at the office for us yet nothing changes from our perspective," said Petri, who has 44 caps for Team USA. "We have faith in our systems and trust in each other. We are excited to have this opportunity and intend to seize it."
It's a big game for Petri and the American squad as they face a stiff challenge from New Zealand. But Saturday is about more than just a game. It's about how far the sport has come in the United States.
Over 61,000 people at one of the most famous stadiums in the world.
For a rugby game!
The sport has certainly come a long way -- and one of the best American players will be on display for everyone to see. And he hails from Brooklyn.
For Michael Petri, it's a day he's been dreaming about. All the hard work and all the sacrifices that he's made to play and coach the sport that he loves reaches new heights on Saturday.
Enjoy that walk down the tunnel, Mike!
You can follow me on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow Mike Petri and the Eagles @USARugby.
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