Life was good for Rick Rubel.
Nattily attired in white from head to toe - with the exception of red suspenders and bow tie - the Crownsville resident stood on the manicured lawn of St. John's College in Annapolis yesterday and sipped champagne from a fluted glass. He chatted with friends and nibbled on caviar, crab dip finger sandwiches and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
A radio blared the broadcast of the lacrosse match between the U.S. Naval Academy and the Johns Hopkins University down the street at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Rubel, a graduate of the Naval Academy class of 1972, may have come to St. John's for the annual croquet match that pits the small liberal arts college against the might of the Naval Academy, but the only game he really cared about was going on a mile away.
"That's the funny thing," Rubel said. "Nobody watches the croquet. It just happens to be going on here."
Not watching is part of the tradition of the Annapolis Cup - a 22-year, friendly-but-intense competition between the two colleges.
They're neighbors, but students at the two schools live in separate worlds.
St. John's students - known as "Johnnies" - live a life of the mind through a four-year immersion in a Great Books curriculum that includes study of the works of Plato, Jane Austen and Euclid. The 4,000 midshipmen at the Naval Academy endure grueling physical and academic programs in preparation for military careers and combat, with some seniors headed for Iraq.
Yet, the two schools meet every spring on a grass court at St. John's idyllic campus for a proper game of croquet. For many of the spectators - who attend the match in their best garden-party attire - the yearly event marks the season's official arrival in Annapolis.
"It's something that one tries to incorporate into one's springtime if possible," said Amanda Fegley.
She and her husband, Andrew Fegley, live nearby on Prince George Street, and have been attending the croquet match for more than two decades.
Yesterday, with friends, they enjoyed their picnic of fried chicken and turkey sandwiches with decorations of fake grapes and real flowers.
"It's like being at a steeplechase or a tailgating affair," said Eastport resident Anne Harrington.
Before the 1 p.m. start of the 22nd Annapolis Cup, Naval Academy player Brock Zimmerman, got in some last-minute practice shots. The first-year Mid hoped to make a dent in St. John's series advantage of 17 victories to the academy's 4.
