03/29/2009, (part 2a)

One fixture of HK 7s worth mentioning would be Melissa, a slinky blonde extrovert, who I'm told is a local aerobics instructor - those of you from the SF Bay Area, think Joanie Greggins in high-heel black boots, with lots of attitude. Each year, she roams the stadium with a camera crew, whipping up the crowd; "discovering" characters and giving them 15 seconds of fame on the stadium screen; and just generally having a good time. My Aussie friend "Big Dave" is a favorite target of hers, and she seems to get a great deal of pleasure torturing him by hauling his shirt up and rubbing his belly, all the while leering at the camera and whispering in Dave's ear.

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03/29/2009, HK Stadium

The rugby is wonderful: two seven minute halves, seven men to a side; it's fast, high-scoring and the upper stands of HK stadium have a great vantage for seeing the action of the game. Twenty-four teams from Europe, Asia, North & South America, Africa and Oceania and a truly international audience make the entire experience interesting. The games themselves all run together for me at this point. Watching the rugby, I had frequent fond memories of the Santa Rosa Rugby Club and Faded Roses. Great memories of Joa, Suki, Affa, Talla, Terry M, Terry C, Terry B, Beagle, Tony, Pete E, Pete M, Glenn, Biff, Dave P, Pete T, Bob, brother John, Dennis B, Dennis M, Steve W, Lynn, Larry, Patrick, Tim V, Jim O, Willie B, Jake R and others whose faces are clear to me, even if the names are not.

And all that before we even begin to talk about the South Stands.

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03/29/2009, HK Stadium

The South Stands at HK Stadium are a legend, an affront to decency, a continuous 3-day party, the aspiration of every HK international school teenager and at least as interesting to watch as the games themselves.

South Stands do not have a cover, so if it is good weather, one is in bright sunlight all day; if raining, it's raining on you. No one under 18 allowed; it fills early, is closed and after that one has to queue up, and wait until someone leaves to get in.

Virtually everyone in South Stands is in costume; and most are in groups of identical or theme costumes. It makes a colorful picture when viewed from the stadium uppers east and west, and the cameras are always on the South Stands throwing images up onto the stadium screens, whenever there's a break in the action on the field.

In describing the costumes it's hard to know where to start, so I did what any good OCD would do, I categorized them (hey, I didn't say I alphabetized them... yet).

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