First Time at the Footy

Gaz and I went to the footy on Saturday night! It was a first for me. Australia is famous for a couple of things, among them is the footy. Footy, or Australian Rules is played using a rugby ball with 18 players on each team. The main objective for these spandex shorts clads is to kick the ball through one of the four posts at each end of the field. A ball kicked in between the longest two poles scores 6 while a ball through the other two shorter poles scores 1 point.

Look at those spandex shorts!

Gazza is a Richmond Tigers supporter, and I was happy to adopt his team for the night. The game was held in the MCG, a famous outdoor stadium near the city. We were part of about 60,000 supporters of Essendon (the other team) and Richmond Tigers present. The temperature dropped below 10 degs at night during the match but the adrenalin of the game and hot food gave us the warmth we needed.

I was amused at seeing the lads chasing after a very slippery ball, awed by some players' skills and excited by the chase up of the other team in the third quarter. Not everyone was as excited as I was though, there were plenty of foul words ringing around, uttered by Essendon supporters who were unhappy with the outcome.

Overall, my first time at the footy was a very good one. It was a terrific experience eating the traditional meat pie at the game, wearing my team's scarf like all the other supporters and being at the edge of my seat barracking for my team! And to think that watching sports is boring...!