Hilary's Adventures Down Under: Australian Rules Football... otherwise known as 'footy'

Hello everyone,

[3 April 2009]

On Friday I had a normal day a usual - work and more work. WhichI definitely don't mind. I cranked out quite a few forms that day. Trev basically kicked us out of the office so Andrea drove me home and I got home about an hour and a half early. This was nice because it allowed me time to race the videos I had rented back to Video Ezy and get some new ones before I needed to catch a bus into the city to meet Jeremy for some Adelaide Crows footy. I ate a quick supper and brought some snacks with me.

E, M and I got off the bus and crossed the street to meet Jeremy and grab another bus... the footy express. That's right - footy gets it's own royal bus treatment to AAMI Stadium. Only I wouldn't say it's royal treatment by Buckingham Palace standards. There is even an express lane that is only for the bus going to the stadium. The bus ride was fun - I chatted with Jeremy, got made fun of for my semi-Australian accent and met some cute, drunk boys. The one (I don't remember his name) had just arrived back from 4 years in Ireland. He informed me that I looked Irish and I informed him that I am - via America. They picked up our accents right away. I hate that the American accent is a dead give away. Ugh. He then went into his dissertation on American politics - which mainly consisted of his hatred for George W. Bush. I kept informing him that I myself don't even like George. But whatever. He kept making statements like, "people in the south are just backwards aren't they?" "The north is where it's at isn't it?" And "the south voted Barack (only his accent made it sound like Brack) in man." I then turned to him and said, "Iowa, now that's my state, voted for Barack Obama in the primary caucus - which is the first primary in the country. That was HUGE for our country and people didn't expect that to happen. And that also means that people in the North voted for Barack, not just Southerners." Then he said something about how George W. Bush was the Devil and f'd up the world's economy. The bus arrived at the stadium at this time so I ignored his last comment and departed the bus. I was glad to get on with the footy match!

We found our seats and got the show rolling. Now I have no idea or concept about footy. They just run around and throw or kick the ball to each other. What about plays? Time outs? There is no protective gear used at all. The entire thing makes absolutely NO sense to me. Ellie and I just sat there and talked about how it's like a conglomeration of all these sports combined. Here's what we came up with:

horse racing
interpretive dance
sprinting
ribbon dancing (the flag man was hilarious to watch)
basketball
American football
soccer
hockey
ballet
boxing
gymnastics

There were many more, but that's all I can remember.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgnM9gNlMgk
Go to the link above to see the AFL commerical and to see how on El and I were with our assumptions!

Out of 41,189 people in attendance, I got stuck sitting next to these two little boys. They weren't bad until I asked what that the two sections of numbers in front of the score mean. They mean the goals and points. But after that the kid next to me would not shut up. He kept flirting with me and telling me about when he first started playing footy. I finally asked him what his name was and how old he was. I don't remember his name, but he said he was 14! There was NO way he was 14! He looked like he was 8. The girl in front of me kept turning around and giving me apologetic looks because he wouldn't shut up. I was even talking like, "uh huh, yeah, that's cool, oh man." You know, the things people say when they are not interested in what you have to say. I wanted to watch the footy man! I must add in here that the hot chips I paid $4.20 for were not good - they were cold and unsalty. Nasty.

After the match was over (Adelaide lost) we met Jess and wandered across the way to go to the Crow's Shed which is where fans can come and meet, drink more alcohol, buy more food and hear some of the players thoughts no the game. It was pretty good, I enjoyed the entertainment. Many of the people who go to the Shed are diehards and they were all upset about the umpires in this match. And the free kick count was Adelaide 11 and St. Kilda 30. So not even at all. After 4 players and 1 coach came out and talked, we left. I didn't think the players' or the coach's talk was anything special. Jess dropped us off at our house and I went and crashed in my bed. I've got a big day ahead with rugby tourney tomorrow!

Enjoy the photos!