Subject: Ritual

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script: Terzo tempo / Third Half. When the host team cooks a meal for the visiting team and both teams enjoy a meal together. It creates positive relationships between enemy teams. Although there is an innate rivalry in the sport, the players all come together and get to know each other through this celebration.

Background information by informant: Rugby games have two halves. In Italy, there is a celebration called “Terzo tempo” which means Third Half.
Context of performance: The tradition of the third half is that the hosting team will provide food and beer for both teams and they all come together to share a meal.

Thoughts: A ritual such as this one creates powerful relationships between people that would otherwise dislike each other simply because of a sport. This celebration allows traditional enemies to come together and bond as individual human beings.