For all of you sports fans back at home, I’d like to report that I’ve been to 2 Australian sporting events so far. Both games took place at the impressive ANZ (pronounced ANZed) stadium at Olympic Park in Sydney. On Friday the 20th of March (they’re starting to rub of one me, this is how they say the dates in Australia) we all got dressed in our red and green outfits to cheer on the popular South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby team as they battled the Pirtek Parramatta Eels. I even decided to buy a team shirt to support the Rabbitohs in this exciting game. Now let me remind you that I have never watched a rugby game and don’t know a single rule; this was going to be interesting! The stadium was very cool though and as we got off the train all we could see was tons of fans dressed as if it were Christmas along with the bright blue lights that stood tall at the entrance to the stadium. We shuffled through the crowd to find or seats, in what we found to be pretty decent (considering we had anticipated the worst nosebleeds available). The game was starting off just as we entered (not sure if they begin with a kickoff or what) and I was quickly lost by all the commotion on the field. All I knew was that these guys didn’t wear any pads and they smashed into each other frequently and with great force. The clock and play never seemed to stop, which made it even harder to catch up and understand what was going on. I also can’t tell you anything about points or scoring – I probably should have done a little research before blindly attending a game I knew nothing about. Instead I grabbed a beer and spent my time asking Luke a million questions, which I’m sure he really appreciated. The game went by pretty quick and before I knew it we were on the train heading home. I think the Rabbitohs lost – clearly this was a big concern of mine, o well! I might not be the best person to recap the games events, but I still had a great time. After the game we went to Landsdowne, a nearby bar, for some drinks. Still dressed in our Rabbitohs gear, we attracted some interesting die-hard fans, quick to question our loyalty to the rabbits. One in particular even decided to make himself welcome at our table (I blame Luke for buying a real jersey and looking like a real fan). This guy was hilarious but also slightly creepy and annoying, particularly when he crammed his cell phone into my ear to listen to the dumb fight song (I got him harassing Luke, see below!). We listened to him ramble on a bit longer but took the chance to leave when he got up to get a beer. While we were amused and entertained, it had been a long day and I didn’t really feel like dealing with him anymore.
Not 2 weeks later I found myself on the train again headed towards Olympic Park, this time for a much bigger sporting event. Tonight the train was packed with eager Socceroos fan as they were on their way to watch them play Uzbekistan in the 2010 National World Cup qualifiers. This time our seats were much higher in the stadium, but I was grateful that we were high and away from the rain that drenched the field and lower seats. I saw below me heaps of fans scrambling in the downpour as they looked for shelter. The enormous 83,500-seat stadium was packed tonight with an estimated 57,292 people in attendance. Once the game started, I found it easier to pay attention and get involved since I am somewhat familiar with soccer and its’ rules. The first half went by slow, but it picked in the 2nd half when Australia scored 2 goals (one regular and one penalty shot) with less than 2 minutes to go! After the excitement and cheers died down, we thought it might be good idea to leave early, beating the insane crowds that were destined to pour out in excitement when the game ended. When Lauren called us ten minutes later to meet up out front, we were more than surprised to hear of the excitement that we had missed. Apparently we missed a last minute goal on the Uzbekistan side (which wouldn’t even end up counting anyways), which was shadowed by the fire that started down below by some of the fans. I figured Lauren was mad at us for leaving and trying to make us feel like we had missed something. We didn’t even believe it until we saw the video and pictures of the billowing smoke and scrambling fans. The goal didn’t count and The Socceroos came out winning anyways, but this will teach me not to leave a game early next time! After all the fuss and commotion, we made our way back to the train, battling the crowds and vicious rain the whole way. All these sporting events are a lot of fun, but they make me miss home. I can’t wait to go to a Giant’s game this summer!
No comments:
Post a Comment