FOOTY!!!

     To celebrate my 1 month in Australia I went to the footy (Australian football) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)!!! I went with Daniel, Michelle, Gab (the uncle, Daniel's brother), and Coco (Gab's daughter). We were going to see the Carltons (Daniel's team) play against Essention (Gab's team). When I walked out into the seating area of the stadium I literally just stood there with my mouth open. The grandness is impossible to grasp until you actually see it in person. The stadium was at about half capacity (59,000), so I can only imagine what it is like at a sold out game (100,000).

     From the beginning of the game I knew this sport would be more interesting and exciting than any American sport (basketball is a close second). Footy is extremely fast paced and never boring. Someone is always tackling, running, kicking, or throwing and the umpires/refs are super quick at getting the ball back in play. Footy is played in 4 quarters that last 25 minutes each with additional time tacked on to each quarter for every second the ball is out of play during that quarter. No one except the umpires/refs knows exactly how many minutes/seconds are left. Players get penalties for holding too high (above the shoulders) and for pushing other players from behind. When this happens all the players have to walk a certain number of meters towards the other team's goal. They are however allowed to jump on top of each other, tackle each other, etc. One aim on the field is to make a clean catch of the ball when it is kicked because then you get to either continue play from there or everyone has to stop and you get to kick the ball from where you caught it. Most times this opportunity is used to kick the ball between the two middle goal posts to score a goal and gain 6 points. If the ball is kicked between an end post and a middle post they get 1 point. The ball is allowed to be kicked or handballed (held in one hand and punched with the fist of the other hand). When a player is tackled they must dispose of the ball in 3 seconds or they will be penalized.

     I spent some time watching, taking photos, taking video, snacking, and of course... shopping. Daniel and Gab treated me to a Carltons (against Gab's better judgement) scarf (picture below). Later I went shopping on my own and purchased a couple post cards, an MCG bag, and an MCG hoodie (which I love!!! picture below). Daniel and Gab also treated me to some chips/fries. And did I mention Daniel and Jenny also paid for my ticket to go? Yeah, they are pretty amazing. =] A huge fight broke out right after the siren that signaled the end of the first quarter. At one point there were 4 different fights going on (if you want pictures of this, you'll have to look on facebook). The final score was quite unheard of - 60 (Essenton) to 159 (Carlton). A win by that many points is very uncommon. I was glad though because technically that is the team I was supporting. Plus, it meant the person I had to go home with was in a good mood.

     Footy is quite addictive and in fact, after we came home and had dinner I wanted to go back and watch another game. I woke up the next morning wishing I could go right then and watch again. Luckily, the finals are coming up which means I can at least watch footy on TV on Friday nights. I might even get to go back to the MCG this coming weekend with some of the girls from church to watch a game! This is for sure one thing I will miss when I come back to the States.