FW: What USC Rugby Means to Me - Oliver Dabao '19
Dominic Riebli
In addition to reflections from our cherished alumni, I’ve asked some current players to share their experience at SC. Here is another installment from Oliver Dabao ’19. When Coach Milford and I first saw Ollie play three years ago, we continually expressed our amazement at his ability to find holes in the defense and exploit them. He’s the ideal team player – always volunteering to do what the team needs, always prepared and ready for any challenge. Ollie’s the reason why we coach.
To help USC Rugby build memories like Ollie’s, please contribute to our fundraising campaign (link here). We have just over one week left in the year.
From: Oliver Dabao []
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2018 5:54 PM
To: Dominic Riebli <dominic...@gmail.com>
Subject: What USC Rugby Means to Me
What USC Rugby Means to Me
I’m not exactly sure what continually draws me to the game. Perhaps it’s the indescribable thrill of competition. Perhaps it’s the opportunity to represent the best university in the world on the pitch. Perhaps it’s the near unbreakable bond of brotherhood forged through hundreds of rucks, tackles, scrums and sprints and is solidified through dozens of triumphant victories and heartbreaking losses.
The decision to play rugby at USC and continually play it was a rather easy one for me. There simply was no other option. I couldn’t imagine a time at USC where I wasn’t part of this team. No matter how many distractions were thrown my way throughout these last four years, I found myself constantly coming back to the game despite what it demanded. Physically. Emotionally. Personally. And boy, did it demand a lot. There is a sense of solitude that is founded whenever I commit myself wholly to the game, whenever I or my teammates make sacrifices for something they know is greater than themselves. The times where I wavered from this commitment, the times where I did not give the game what it demanded of me, those were the times I felt most lost. But rugby was always there, ready to welcome me back indiscriminately.
Perhaps one of the most important parts of USC rugby is that it has granted me the opportunity to be involved in something much larger than myself. It lies on decades of tradition and is rooted in thousands upon thousand of hours of sacrifice and commitment. And it will be here long after I or any of my teammates are gone. It was, is, and will be the responsibility of each member of this program, regardless of its incarnation, to leave it in a state better than they found it. I play and strive to be a better player because I owe it not just to my teammates but to those that have come before me and those that will inevitably come after.
As my time here at USC comes to a close, I grow increasingly more grateful that I was able to be part of a program that has meant so much me. Every tackle I make draws me one step closer to the final tackle I’ll ever make as a USC rugby player. I plan to make everyone count.
Best,
Oliver Dabao