Footy

On my last night in Melbourne, it was decided that we'd all go see a game of Australian Rules Football or 'Footy' as it's known locally.  I'm not sure how the game originated, if it was born out of soccer/rugby, like American Football was, or if it originated in some other way.  In any event, it's a pretty crazy game.

It used to be called the Victorian Football League, but is now the Australian Football League.  Since the genesis of the sport is in Victoria, as you can imagine from being called the Victorian Football League, many of the teams and their central fan bases are all in the Melbourne area.  Some ridiculous majority of the teams are in the Melbourne area, a new team for different parts of the city.  So if DC had footy teams, it would be like teams from Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Northwest, etc.  Chicago has the Cubs and the White Sox, but imagine if there were like 9 more teams, all in the Chicago area.  It creates an interesting sporting atmosphere when pretty much every game is like a home game.

The point of the game is to kick a ball through two freestanding posts, like a field goal, which gives a team 6 points.  There are two more posts on either side of those (so the arrangement is like i I I i), so if you miss wide (but still within the outer posts), you still get a point.  Not sure why, maybe its like a consolation prize, as if someone says "well, I get what you were trying to do, so here's a point."  Other than that, the game is almost a free-for-all.  If the ball rolls out of bounds, the ref stands with his back to the field and hurls the ball over his head.  A huge scrappy fight then ensues over the ball.  It's wild to see and it seems like a really fun game.

The game, St. Kilda v. Geelong, was very exciting and came right down to the wire (Geelong was the underdog, but ended up ahead by 1 point with seconds left).  By the end of the match I could understand enough of the game to get into it and appreciate what a slugfest it was.

Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG) where the game was held.  Also the location of the Ashes Test Match Cricket

As you can see, the stadium and the field are enormous...though still not as big as the Big House...

Ryan and I at the game.  He was a good sport in making sure I got to see an AFL game, because neither Geelong nor St. Kilda are his team

*Note: At the game, I got to enjoy one of the very special meat pies (which I assume is like a hotdog at a stadium out there, because everyone got one)

After the game we wandered around Melbourne a bit more, enjoyed hanging out at a few bars, and later on crashed back at Ryan's house.  The next day I hopped on a plane and flew to Sydney.  All in all, my time in Melbourne was fantastic.  I had a great time.  Melbourne is a great city--highly livable and lots of fun. Special thanks to Ryan and his two beautiful roommates (both girls, no jokes from the peanut gallery) for letting me crash behind their couch for a week.  You guys helped make my stay in Melbourne that much better.

Stories from Sydney coming soon...