Monday, May 17, 2010

AFL = Amazing Footy League!




Not actually, it stands for Australian Football League. But it is quite the sport to watch and play! Everyone in Melbourne follows footy, whether they want to or not (much like hockey in Canada).

On Sunday May 16th, I went to a footy game at the 'G (Melbourne Cricket Grounds or MCG) to see the Richmond Tigers vs. the Hawthorn Hawks. The stadium itself holds 100, 000 people, it was HUGE! The game that I went to see was of the 2 bottom teams in the league at the moment, so it wasn't full, but even so I would say that at least 50 000 people were there. Even though the footy technique quality was not the best, the game was so much fun to watch. The game itself is a mix of rugby, american football, soccer and basketball. There are no "specialized" players on the team, all of them need to be able to tackle, kick, throw, etc... The fans are crazy, everyone in the crowd is wearing their teams scarf/hat/jersey/beanie (tuque) to support their team. In the area of Melbourne, there are suburbs that have their own AFL team. Richmond and Hawthorn are in actuality suburbs quite close to each other. (Other teams are that are from the Greater Melboune area are: Collingwood, Carlton, St. Kilda, Essendon, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Fremantle, so lots of teams that you could barrack for.)

Once the game is finished, the winning team's song is played over the loud speaker and all the fans sing along.

And now at school, every play lunch and lunch I go out and the students are teaching me footy skills (so that I can go back to Canada and teach Canadians how to play). It is heaps of fun!

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