With Storied Past, Patriots’ Nate Ebner to Play U.S. Olympic Rugby
New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner will be playing rugby on the United States Olympic team this summer, but his love for rugby goes way deeper than just sports and competition.
In another step towards making the New England Patriots literally achieve worldwide domination, safety Nate Ebner announced that he’s taking a leave of absence from the team to start training for the U.S. Olympic rugby team. Ebner also just signed a brand-spanking-new two-year contract with the Patriots, so it’s a safe bet that the team was well aware that Nate wanted to rep the red, white, and blue playing rugby in the 2016 Olympics well before they reached a deal.
Nate Ebner’s statement, while short and sweet, might also have the side effect of making you want to run through a brick wall.
From ESPN Boston:
"“First and foremost, I want to thank the Patriots from top to bottom for giving me the opportunity to come back and play for a truly first-class organization.”“I also want to thank them and USA Rugby for giving me the opportunity to chase a dream I’ve had since I was a boy in a sport in which I’ve always had a passion. I can’t put into words how much this opportunity means to not only me, but my friends and family as well.”“I plan to represent the Patriots and our country to the best of my ability. Thanks again and Go Pats and go USA.”"
Most Patriots fans know that Nate was an All-American rugby player at Ohio State University before switching to football and getting drafted by New England in 2012.
What most Patriots fans might not know is how deep Ebner’s love of rugby goes, and why he treasures his chances to play the game so much – not to mention the chance to compete against the best players in the world.
In a revealing, gut-wrenching interview with CSNNE’s Tom Curran back in November of 2015, the special teams safety who, according to Curran “…showed no interest in being interviewed, ever,” finally opened up and told the story of the last conversation he had with his father, Jeff Ebner, before he was killed in a brutal murder at the family business.
Nate’s dad played his college rugby at the University of Minnesota and then kept playing on rugby club teams in Ohio. Nate got into the sport at the ripe old age of 6 years old:
“He didn’t push me,” said Nate in the interview with Curran. “He never made me do anything. He just played and enjoyed playing. And I enjoyed playing as a young kid. It was part of our culture because it was something he did. In the summer, I’d go work in the junkyard with him all day and then we’d go work out. That was probably at the age of 14 through high school. We’d work all day, work out in the afternoon and run hills. Tuesdays and Thursdays we’d drive to Columbus and go play rugby with the 7s team. He was still playing and the 7s was something we all did to run around and still play and stay in shape.”
By the time Ebner was in high school, he was playing on the US Rugby’s U19 team in the World Championships in Dubai, and his dad encouraged and pushed him every step of the way:
The last time Nate saw his dad, he told him about wanting to walk on to the Ohio State football team, and the two decided that if Nate had his sights set on the NFL, he should go for it. That was the fall of 2008, and Jeff Ebner died November 14, 2008.
After taking some time off from college, and sports, football helped Nate return to some semblance of normal life.
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Fast forward a few years, and Nate Ebner is a Super Bowl champion with the opportunity to play for the United States Olympic rugby team, and, like he said in the interview, “…represent the Patriots and my country to the best of my ability”.
Not too bad for a kid that started playing rugby with his pops in elementary school.