Last Saturday night was another new experience for us – Clive and I went to watch the Sydney Swans play against the Geelong 'Cats' in the AFL at the Olympic Stadium. Rebecca had been to several games with a friend, so Clive and I thought we ought to see what it was like for ourselves.
The Australian Football League ('Aussie Rules') is a cross between football and rugby and probably other ball games, but not being an expert, I won’t embarrass myself by mentioning any more! There are 18 players on each team, who have to advance a spherical ball towards the goal using any part of their body they wish, before kicking it between the inner goalposts (to score 6 points) or the outer ones (to score 1 point). Players are not allowed to throw the ball and they must bounce it every so often as they run with it – easier said than done, given its shape!
The pitch is a large oval, like a cricket pitch, and the stadium edges are reconfigured for this type of game to create a wider playing surface. The game is played in 4 quarters, each at least 30 minutes’ long.
I am not the slightest bit interested in football or rugby, so really didn’t know what to expect, but I had heard that AFL is the most popular spectator sport in Australia and a favourite for family outings. I was therefore not surprised to be surrounded by lots of large groups of several generations, all sporting items in their team colours, ranging from ‘T’ shirts and jumpers to scarves, caps and lovely knitted bobble hats their grandmothers would have been proud of! (Mind you, 'Grandma' was probably there too, so maybe that’s why they were worn!)
Having said that, there were plenty of smaller groups there too, many not wearing any team colours and therefore being able to travel incognito (like us) – not that that mattered though, as supporters intermingled in the stands and shared friendly banter throughout the game, which was great to see. It seemed to be popular with all ages and even with many young people there, we heard no bad language which was pleasantly surprising!
Clive didn’t enjoy the game as much as I did, because he was comparing it to football and thought it was too ‘messy’ at times, with lots of stopping and starting. I surprised myself by quite enjoying it, especially when the ball was passed skilfully from player to player and seemed to get from one end of the oval to the next in no time at all.
The home team wasn’t expected to win, which they illustrated in the first quarter, but their play improved to the point where we thought they’d have a chance to beat the opposition. Sadly, it was not to be, and the final score was Sydney 94, Geelong 133. Clive and I left 10 minutes before the end, to avoid the queue for the free bus which would take us back almost to our doorstep, a journey of around 40 minutes.
As we got on the bus, the cheerful driver said: “Let’s go then and get you guys home to your warm houses!” Lovely comforting words, had they been true – we got home at 11pm and huddled under a duvet on the sofa, clutching mugs of hot chocolate and brandies! Although the evening hadn’t been 'cold' by European standards, the last few weeks have been colder than usual here, so sitting on a plastic seat for almost 3 hours in temperatures of around 10 degrees was a little chilling, and I was frozen to the bone, despite wearing my ski jacket, gloves and scarf – maybe I need to invest in a bobble hat after all!