Jake Auerbach would love this story. Apparently a handful of Syrians have a new favorite pastime: rugby. In today’s NY Times, there is a fun article about the growing popularity of rugby in Syria. After the local British ex-pats began inviting some rather buff Syrians (one is described as “a buff 33-year-old whose pectorals strain from a white polo shirt”), the game began to attract a cult following in Syria. The club is the Zenobians, which is a reference to the Palmyran queen who challenged Roman authority in Syria in the second century.
The article is a nice break from the NY Times’ typical coverage of Syria, which mostly tends to be doom and gloom or related to the Iraq war. I’m also fascinated that the club name for one of the most macho sports on the planet is a woman’s name.
Technorati Tags: middle-east, syria, rugby, zenobians
