Steve McHale

On the heels of Gunner’s long and successful run as Lions captain, the Lions have a new man in the role: #4 Steve McHale. The Dubliner has played rugby throughout much of the world, from Barcelona to Boston and ultimately to New York. An architect, McHale (31) will call on the captaining skills he picked up in college; he captained his Emmanuel College side while at Cambridge University.

Coach Shay seeks those skills helping the Lions get to the next level. “Steve brings passion and leadership each time he plays,” Shay comments. “He's a motivator through words and actions and will be an excellent captain for the Village Lions.

Living in upper Manhattan with his American-born girlfriend, McHale sat for a few bottles of Czech beer at the Washington Square Hotel to talk about his plans for the Lions – and for the Lion King on Broadway.

A PINT WITH: How big an adjustment was it when you first started playing in New York?
STEVE MCHALE: I played for a year in Boston with MIT – we changed on the side of the pitch too, though at least MIT had showers. So it wasn’t too big an adjustment, really. Lights are nice at night, though.

APW: The first time you came down to the Lower East Side for training, what was going through your head?
SM: I thought I’d been stood up. It was end of February last year, and four or five inches of snow had fallen since 4 o’clock that afternoon. I didn’t know how long it would take me to get there, so I ended up getting there about half an hour early. So I started wandering, in the snow, in the middle of East River Park. Shay pulled out a bunch of hurdles and gets us jumping over them. I was absolutely super-keen to show off my first day, and couldn’t walk for two days after.

APW: Were you surprised by the number of guys that turn out for the Lions?
SM: Yeah. I never sat down and counted, but it seems like the foreigners are in the minority. I expected it to be the other way around.

APW: Did you do anything interesting for St. Patrick’s Day?
SM: I had a game the next day! I had a pint of Guinness at lunch time, and that was it. I’ve already got the passport, so I don’t have to go out and get drunk and fight people to prove to anybody that I’m Irish.

APW: Is it a turnoff to see the green plastic hats and people who’ve never been to Ireland puking in the name of—
SM: --in the name of their great great grandfather once having met an Irish person! It’s quite amusing, actually. I went to the parade last year, and was taking aback by just how seriously some people take it. But it’s been a while since I’ve gone out on the lash on Patty’s Day.

APW: What kind of buildings do you design?
SM: At the moment I’m working on the Lion King [laughs]. They’re moving theaters, and we’re helping them start up the new one on Broadway. Normally I do university projects, educational projects, student housing, that kind of thing. I’ve worked on a seminary in Chelsea and a school of law at Queens College.

APW: Is architecture something you wanted to do as a kid? I know kids like drawing houses, but most eventually move away from that...
SM: I never grew out of Legos. I was like 11 when I decided that would be a cool thing to do, and never changed my mind.

APW: What lessons did you learn as a captain in college?
SM: Don’t beat up on people – there’s no point going around berating your team so you piss them off entirely and they don’t want to play for you.

APW: Looking at the Lions, what are the strengths?
SM: We know each other pretty well. I realize when I came into the side, much of the team had been playing together for awhile. I notice when we play some of the other teams, such as Montclair, they’ve been playing together for about ten years. Here you’re afraid there might be a lot of churn for a team like the Lions, but it seems to have settled, with a core to build around. There’s a good spread of talent in the team as well, and a good deal of enthusiasm. And it’s quite nice that there are always a bunch of young lads coming in, so there’s always some pace handy.

APW: How’s living in Washington Heights?
SM: It sucks! [laughs]

APW: How come?
SM: Because it’s Washington Heights! It’s inconvenient, and I don’t like rice and beans. Our street is mostly people that are studying or working at the hospital [Columbia Presbyterian]. There are plenty of times I’ll be walking around, and everybody’s barbecuing, salsa music out on the street, unscrewing the fire hydrants, screaming kids and what not. And I’m thinking, This is NOT Dublin!

APW: Have you found a pub that reminds you of Ireland?
SM: Milano’s on Houston I like. It’s dirty and Irish and shitty and crap, without all the fake shamrocks. I spent my 21st birthday there when I had a student visa for the summer 10 years ago.

APW: Anything crazy happen that night?
SM: The guy I shared an apartment with and I got there around 1 in the morning, and there was one fella at the bar who got talking to us, and kept going on about how he was from kind of the South Bronx of Dublin, whereas I was from Dublin’s Westchester County. He’d been there since about 6 o’clock, paying for beers out of the pile of his week’s wages, the pile getting smaller and smaller. Just when we were about to leave, he told us, “I got my car – do you want a lift home?” The pair of us nearly fell off our stools.

Quick Facts:

• Birthplace? Dublin
• Favorite Beer? Smithwick's
• Favorite Lions memory? Getting back from injury in the fall in time to end the season with an excellent win against Princeton.
  
• Most Valuable Teammate? Very loathe to answer this one (it is a team game), but there are definitely a couple of guys who never fail to bring an infectious enthusiasm with them to every match, and that's worth a hell of a lot.
• The Quiet Man or The Commitments? Father Ted