The final entry to Live Sports Abroad is the Australian Football League. We saw a match between the Melbourne Demons and the Gold Coast Suns at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Football? Is that soccer in Australia?
Nope, they have their own brand of football (commonly referred to as footy) that is not like soccer or American football. It involves lots of running and kicking of a very bouncy football shaped ball. It is the most popular sport in the country.
That looks like the biggest stadium yet. Is it?
It is. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG for short) is actually the largest stadium in the Southern hemisphere and holds just over 100,000 people. The game we went to only had about 27,000, but some teams draw more. The MCG was also the main stadium for the 1956 summer Olympics and the recent cricket world cup where Australia was victorious. Since it's so big we were able to get general admission tickets and still get really good seats.
Cool, tell me about the game.
The first you notice is that the field is really big and oval shaped. The you realize there are a lot of people on the field. Each team can have 18 players on the field and there are no offsides or rules about where they can be so everyone is running a rounded everywhere. One of the great moments is how play starts.
What's so special about that?
It's better viewed in person, but the person in yellow in the above shot is one of the referees Initiating a faceoff. He's bent over because he just bounced the ball off the ground up into the air for the players to jump after. You can see the ball at the top of the shot. It's a really fun way to start play. The ref fun doesn't stop there though.
It doesn't?
No, when the ball goes out of bounds the referee will throw it back in backwards over his head. Seems like a really random way to go about it but it's fun to watch.
So, what about actual gameplay?
It's frenetic. With 36 players on the field plus refs and the ball bouncing everywhere it is a very fast paced game. Also, the ball always has to be moving. There are basically three ways to move the ball. You can run with it but you have to ocassionally bounce the ball off the ground when you do this. I'm not sure of the actual frequency required. You can pass the ball by punching it out of your hand. You can't just throw it. You can kick it to another player. This is important because if you kick it a distance and a player on your team catches the ball, play stops and that player is awarded a free kick from where they caught the ball. All of this is hotly contested because it is a full contact sport. There are four quarters that are supposed to last twenty minutes, but the clock doesn't stop as in soccer so they add extra time and most quarters go five to ten minutes longer.
The way to score is to kick the ball between the goal posts. So, catching a kicked ball near the goal posts is a good play, because you have a free shot to score.
There are four goal posts?
Yes, if the ball is kicked between the middle goal posts it is a goal and worth 6 points. If it is kicked between the outside goal posts it is a behind and worth 1 point. Those are the only two ways to score points.
Way to screw up that picture, Jim.
I know, but this is the best example I have of a player making a free kick to try and score.
Any cool mascots or Jumbotron action or anything else happen during the game?
Nope, I didn't see a single mascot. The Jumbotron had stats and replays and that was about it. Some of the stats are good though. Clangers was my favorite. The Melbourne team song is to the tune of "You're a Grand Old Flag" so that's fun. It's funny, there was very little pomp and circumstance at the game for something that is wicked popular. The crowd is crazy into it though which is fun. We went to a quarter full game too. It's probably insane when the place is full. Here's the crowd after Melbourne scored.
Halftime show?
A bunch of little kids playing miniature footy.
How'd the game end up?
Melbourne held the lead most of the game. The Gold Coast got close a few times but every time they did, Melbourne would score to put it further away. Your final score: Melbourne 115 Gold Coast 89. The first two numbers are the number of goals and behinds for each team. 17 goals × 6 = 102 + 13 behinds = 115.
Anything else?
They had the same four beer deal as at the rugby match in Brisbane. Also, we had giant hot dogs from Don who apparently speaks like a caveman.
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