Now, I consider myself a pretty loyal football fan. I will talk “smack” with the rest of ’em in honor of my Chicago Bears, without having any in-depth knowledge on any stats or players what-so-ever. And I will dress in Orange and Blue proudly, even when every worth while player has been injured and deemed out for the season. That being said, I have still yet to attend a game or even get as close as a tailgate session. The main reason for this is the steep ticket price that comes along with any major American sporting event. So because YOLAO (You only live in AUSTRALIA once), I figured I had to hit up a footy game here in Melbourne. And the fact that a ticket costs just 25 buckaroos, made it all the more doable.
And what better reason to attend my very first Australian Football League match then to celebrate turning the big 2-5. So as we rocked up with one American and 3 Canadians with obvious accents, dressed in absolutely no team memorabilia, our only saving grace was our two Australian mates who quietly explained to us the rules of the game.
Depending on who you asked and where their loyalty lies, this match between Richmond and Collingwood may not have been the best out there. But i’d say au contraire! Because we found ourself in the Richmond fan section, we quickly adopted the team as our own. And as the score flipped back and forth, we happily cheered on our black and yellow tigers as they secured the W in the last few moments.
And to top off the well played game, was a chance to kick a footy ourselves at the after-match kick-to-kick on the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) turf. I soon came to learn that this was an exciting opportunity as up until recently, they had stopped this practice for years due to lawsuits based on football related injuries.
What? People suing unnecessarily due to injuries they themselves were likely able to prevent? I have never heard of a country that does this?
All in all, I’d say that my first footy experience was a rousing success and a great way to kick off year number 25!
