A League of Our Own

When it comes to many aspects of seminary life, a good rule of thumb might be: if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. When you have a house which is packed to the gills with men from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, men with countless different talents and specialties, it's not too infrequent to be pretty blown away by the kinds of things that group of seminarians can pull off.

One area where this is constantly on display is in the realm of sports. Whether it's a guy who was at one point being scouted by a Major League Baseball club, or a man who turned down a full-ride track scholarship at a D-I school to enter seminary, you see some pretty amazing things on the court, the track, and the field!

At SJV, the sport which most consistently inundated our lives was, of course, football. Whether it was playing a pick-up game of flag out on the quad, or cheering our throats out for the Tommies on Saturday afternoons at UST, football was a big part of our yearly routine, and, of course if cheering for a football team was worth doing, then it was worth over-doing. Thus, the SJVer's basically become the Tommie football superfans, which was always really cool!

Over in Rome, things are a bit different. While we all still manage to follow the big American sports such as football, baseball, hockey, and basketball, there's another sport which is pretty tough to ignore if you're living anywhere on the European continent, and that, of course, is soccer. Or, as the Italians call it, calcio (cal-cho). Being a part of the soccer culture over here is a blast! Following the local squad (AS Roma is mine) and keeping an eye on all the various leagues around the continent can be a bit time-consuming, but we all need a good distraction every know and then, right? And besides, if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing!

But the true over-doing doesn't come so much in heading down to a local pizzeria to watch some Italian soccer. No, in true seminarian form, it was decided that the best way to participate in the soccer culture of Europe was for seminarians to have a league of their own! Behold, the Clericus Cup, an annual 16-team soccer league which pits seminarians from all over the city of Rome against each other in a battle to decide the kings of the clerical pitch (and who will win that tasteful trophy!) The tournament even has its own Wikipedia page, of which one of my favorite lines is: "While some press outlets hinted that the Church hoped to offer a brand of football free of football hooliganism, the reality is that play on the field is intensely competitive." Haha!

 If the idea of a bunch of seminarians playing a World Cup-esque tournament against each other seems a little ridiculous, that's because it totally is. But hey, if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing, right?

The squads come from all over the world, and this usually makes for some pretty competitive play. For instance, there is a team of African seminarians (from the College right next to ours), a team of Brasilians, some with men from all over Central and South America, Ukrainians, and a few teams that have players from all over the world. Then, of course, there's the NAC! While the U.S. certainly isn't known for its soccer prowess on a worldwide stage, we are consistently one of the more competitive teams in the tournament, and I'm always proud to cheer on the boys in red-white-and-blue!

The season begins every year in late-February/early-March, and continues through May. The each team plays a sort of round-robin with the 3 other teams in their group, with the top two teams in each group reaching the knockout round. The North American Martyrs (our full team name) won the league in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013, so I'm hoping that I'll get to have a taste of such glory during my years here at the College! Regardless of the outcome on the field every Saturday, however, we always have a wonderful time at the games, as we scream and cheer and do everything an obnoxious American would do at a game which he doesn't fully understand. And that's what it's all about. Because if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing!

I'll include a little write-up I did for the Martyrs after our first win of the season last Saturday. I'm hoping to remain a "beat writer" of sorts for them this year. I hope you enjoy!

On Match Day 1, Martyrs Ride Dominant First Half to Victory

by Colin Jones

Rome, Italy – While the winds blustered steadily through the trees surrounding the pitch at Roma’s Campo Pio XI, the North American Martyrs battened down the hatches for a resounding 3-0 victory over the Collegio Spagnolo on Match Day 1 of the 2017 Clericus Cup season. If there were any jitters in the bowels of the young American squad, they dissipated quickly, as the red-white-and-blue scored early and often, punishing their Group A opponents for 3 tallies before the intermission.

Returning NAC footballers Andrew Auer and Bernardo Rios led the early charge, with Auer capitalizing on an early chance, picking up a goal in just his first appearance as a striker since Fr. Danielle Russo’s taking of the American reigns. To say that Auer seemed comfortable in his forward role would be an understatement, as the Missourian ran the Spanish defense ragged from whistle to whistle.

Rios doubled the deficit a few minutes later, when a sloppy clean-up job in front of the net left the Bolivian with an ideal chance. Rios, whose superb touch and reliable cannon will be needed by the Martyrs at every stage of the tournament, seemed in prime form in the early goings, although a tweaked hamstring later in the contest forced his early exit. As of the final whistle, trainers said that the NAC midfielder seemed to be in good condition.

Russo’s coaching staff certainly deserves additional credit for a strong showing from the Martyrs’ rookies. The NAC’s final first-half dagger was buried when Will Frei landed a masterful cross on the waiting foot of fellow rookie Matthew Goldammer, who expertly redirected the ball past the keeper to stretch the lead. Frei looked calm and collected in his midfield post, and, alongside with sophomore namesake Will Nyce, kept the Martyrs in steady control of the contest. Goldammer, for his part, would assault the net again in the second-half, chipping a near-perfect ball over the gloves, but unfortunately finding metal instead of twine.

In their own end, the Martyrs’ veteran back line unit kept the waters tranquil for John Kladar, who handled well his few opportunities to diffuse the Spanish attack. Tim Wratkowski, Mike Zimmerman, and Captain Grayson Heenan kept things on lockdown against the largely overmatched Spanish strikers, thus giving the American squad the control they have often lacked and so desperately needed on the small pitch at Pio XI.e

The Martyrs will carry the momentum of their strong start into their second group-stage matchup, which will take place next week against Gianiculum rivals the Ukrainian College. The NAC was bested narrowly by the Ukrainians in a friendly earlier this year, but confidence is high for the young Americans following their opening day victory.

Let's go Martyrs!