Dr. Gary Sabin was a professor of mathematics. If you want Pythagorus’s theory or Euler’s rule explained to you, just ask him. He taught at Memorial University of Newfoundland and other post secondary institutions. Right now, he’s enjoying retirement although he still teaches part time. Gary joined the Twilighters in 2007 and roamed the pitch as a winger when he played. Prior to joining the Twilighters he sported colours for West Vancouver RFC, Windsor RFC, St John RFC, and the original SFU team.
One of the most exciting events that happened to him occurred during a Legends vs Twilighter match in 2009 at Connaught Park. The match was played under sunny skies and the score was dead even. Gary, wearing his red shorts, received the ball in the middle of the line and saw the end zone beckoning. Before Dr. Sabin could turn on the jets, he was bowled over by the Legend’s most famous celebrity, Chris Gailus. (Yes, the popular Global News Anchorman that you can see every weekday evening.) He blindsided Gary from the right side just as he started to make his move. Gary was swept off his feet and to make matters worse, Chris landed on top of him. Instead of seeing glory in the end zone, Dr. Sabin was seeing stars. His Twit teammates rushed to Gary’s aid and vociferously reminded Chris and the Legends that he was wearing red shorts. Just as Anchorman Gailus was getting up, our very own Harvey Johnston jumped to Gary’s rescue. Harvey leaped onto Chris and proceeded to remind him of the red short rules by punching him mercilessly. After a few seconds of stunned silence, all the players separated Harvey from his victim. Gary was able to limp off the field and the game continued. Gary was well enough to attend the hosting after the match. To his credit, Chris did apologize to Gary and muttered that he didn’t see the red shorts. Nevertheless, photos were taken of the two shaking hands. Unfortunately, Dr. Sabin never received a copy of the photo even though he requested it. On the way home, Gary’s wife accompanied him to Ridge Meadows hospital. The x-ray showed a fractured rib. Being the warrior that he is, Dr. Sabin took the rest of the season off but continued his rugby career the following season. As for Anchorman Gailus, he showed up on Global News the following day with his finger in a splint. He sheepishly confessed to his viewers that he broke it during a rugby game.
Moral of the story: It’s great when your teammates got your back and don’t pick on our red/yellow shorts.
Sadly, Gary passed away in 2023.