Know Your Enemy: Ian Ruginski aka “Sandwich Junction”
The esteemed recipient of this year’s first “Know Your Enemy” profile is sophomore lock, Ian Ruginski. He was last year’s Rookie of the Year, and the owner of one of the more unusual nicknames to ever grace the VC rugby archives— Sandwich Junction.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “What? WTF kind of nickname is Sandwich Junction?! Wait, isn’t that the name of Dave Chase’s ska band?” And to answer your question, yes, it is in fact the name of Dave Chase’s ska band. Anyone with a Kazaa account should know that, but that’s neither here nor there.
The point is that the origins of this strange soubriquet, as they relate to Ian, are actually rooted firmly in VC rugby history: 2 years ago at the 2009 Beast of the East—the Iraq War of rugby tournaments—Ian and his family graciously hosted both the men and women’s teams for dinner at their Rhode Island restaurant, named… Sandwich Junction.
WHAM! BAM! PLOT TWIST! M. NIGHT SHAMALAN!
That’s right, y’all. He got his nickname from his family-owned restaurant. It just doesn’t get any more badass than that. And for the record, the food at Sandwich Junction was excellent, and Ian’s family members are truly wonderful people, not to mention die-hard VC rugby fans. To them we will always be indebted.
Also, it should be known that I actually used to be nicknamed after an establishment owned by my family, but the name never really stuck. Apparently, “Uncle Pete’s Discount Child Coffin Outlet” doesn’t have a good ring to it. But oh well. Different strokes.
SO LOOK AT HIM. LEARN HIM. LOVE HIM. HE IS YOUR ENEMY. COME APRIL 30TH, SANDWICH JUNCTION WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS. LOL.
