First year Gryphon football player, John Rush, Captained Team World as they defeated Team USA in the 2012 International Bowl in Austin, Texas.

The International Bowl is a football game conducted yearly between a team from the United States and a team that is comprised of players from around the world, or simply, Team World. All players in the game are under twenty years old.

However, first-year Gryphon John Rush didn’t know any of this prior to the few short months before the game was played.

“I didn’t even know it existed until I got invited,” said Rush. Honoured by the opportunity to play with and against some of football’s future stars, Rush’s natural leadership skills rose to the top and he served as a captain of Team World.

The unique opportunity allowed for some interesting moments for Rush and his teammates, most notably the World Team’s victory over Team USA by a score of 35-29.

“The feeling we got from [beating Team USA) was so unexplainable, it was great,” said Rush. “We got a chance to say, ‘you’re not the best, and other people can play too.’”

The placement of the game in Austin, Texas was another eye-opening experience for Rush. “It was insane,” he said in response to the football culture of Texas. The stadium they practiced in was twice the size of Guelph’s, and the fan turnout was equally impressive – such is the status of football in the lone star state.

Rush relished in his captaincy role, but acknowledged the peculiarity of playing with teammates from other countries.

“You meet guys from Austria and Japan, and they’re good at football and fun to hang out with,” said Rush. He also identified some of the strategic difficulties involved in passing information to players that may not have been taught football in English.

“It’s going to be a big year for us, we’re going to show the OUA that we’re here to stay,” said Rush.

Rush will look to employ the leadership skills he honed with the international players in the coming years as Guelph looks to cement itself as one of the OUA elite.

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