This weekend I had a hard time deciphering if I were in the real world or a fantasy-land I created in my mind. It was in my mind, and only there, where such a wonderful venue had ever existed in Colorado, or the United States of America - a rugby stadium, with high-level rugby and rugby fans filling the stands.

I never thought I would be fortunate enough to go to a place like that. This weekend I did, as I bought tickets for the senior men's club rugby championships at Infinity Park in Glendale - a small city within the Denver metro area.

As a longtime player currently dying slowly without being able to play the game, it was if I were being brought back to life by my environment.

I got to watch a game being played on a field without lines every 10 yards. It was marked just for rugby.

There was an announcer calling the game, as well as an ESPN Classic broadcast team that aired the Super League Championship (the highest level of club rugby in the U.S., where the Gentlemen of Aspen used to reign supreme) live on Saturday night.

The concession stand is called Grubbers (a kind of kick in rugby) Grill and the retail stand is called The Shopping Maul (a maul is a way of moving the ball with a group of players when the ball and players have not been tackled to the ground).

I saw New York Athletic Club crowned as the Super League champs after coming out on top in a double-overtime, sudden-death thriller with some of the best plays I have been fortunate enough to see without the help of a TV screen.

Everything was about rugby, and not by default or for one day, but because that is the main purpose of Infinity Park.

The only drawback, other than seeing the hometown Glendale Raptors fall in the Division I championships, was the slightly-less-comfortable-than-a-Lazy Boy concrete step seating.

With all of the sports to choose from in this country, I know rugby doesn't rank at the top of most fans' lists. It's not mainstream, and it's damn-near impossible to compete with the NFL, but I saw a glimpse of what rugby could be, what it should be.

Rugby may have a small niche now, but it has the potential to grow, and I saw it on Saturday and Sunday. I saw a community gathered to watch rugby, and it was cheering on its home team - with knowledge of the rules, even.

The Glendale rugby facility is home to a men's team and a women's team. The Glendale Raptors even have youth rugby for all ages.

It's a monumental step forward for a sport that draws people together and creates indestructible bonds through the highest form of sportsmanship and teamwork; it's like no other game I have seen.

I encourage everyone to check out a match at Infinity Park. After all, maybe someday your kids or grandkids will be playing rugby like kids play soccer or little league now. Who knows?

I can always hope.

Contact Joelle Milholm: 384-9124

jmilholm@postindependent.com