Tonight we have been to the AFL. AFL: Aussie Football League, to an outsider it appears to be a mixture of rugby, American football, netball and basketball. All conducted on a cricket pitch with what looks suspiciously similar to Quidditch poles minus the hoops at the end. Luckily for Phil and I, this was our second trip to see an AFL match. The first time round we went with some Australian friends who were able to explain the guidelines of Aussie Rules. I refer to them as guidelines as the pace is fast and there is an expectation that the players will get on with it. Shockingly, there seems to be no time for the players to roll around on the fall clutching an imaginary injury as I often see in the England football/soccer team.
Other aspects of Aussie Rules that makes it pretty unique include:
1) the bouncing of the ball at the start of the match to see which team will grab it first.
2) when a ball goes out it is quickly thrown in backwards by an official – again quickening the pace of play.
3) four quarters of roughly twenty-eight minutes each.
4) small fights regularly break out between players and they are largely ignored.
5) very large pom poms are waved by the teams behind the goals each time a six is scored.
We had the added bonus of watching all this chaos from the corporate area today as Phil got some free tickets through his work. Therefore, we supported Essendon (they did give us the tickets!) and they won 99-60. North Melbourne do have the superior mascot however – a grey kangaroo.
I have surprised myself with my ability to watch AFL and actually enjoy watching it. Although the free tickets definitely helped! Notice that my photos rarely relate to any actual play…
H and P's Adventure 