For the second night in a row I have enjoyed watching Aussie Footy.
They just started up this weekend.
Weird to see 36 players and 9 umpires not practicing distancing and yet two game media types standing on the field talking at half time, 6 feet apart.
Last night I had the pleasure of watching Melbourne win.
Although I am a many gen Canadian, I happened to be born near Melbourne and spent most of my first 4 years there. I wonder if I had never left, would I have played this game.
I ran fast enough, which was faster than most
I was good at catching
I was great at kicking, specially directional.
Also great at kicking on the run.
I had good instincts for sport IQ of most games I played.
However
Before I got fat, I spent my core years a 5'8" 135lbs to 145lbs toothpick.
I would have had a tough time jumping for the ball.
I doubt I would have been tough enough.
Man, what they get away with. Holding, tripping, punching, extreme roughing.
Each time I turned the game on just to check it out, I couldnt turn it off.
...I didn’t know you were born Aussie, that’s cool...do you hold dual citizenship? My daughter is in AU right now, since last Nov., tree planting from the fires now...
...also, how are you watching these games? Are they on a network or are you streaming this?
Indeed and if so, one sure would have to pull them a long way plus there has to be a whole chapter of penalties devoted to the strict rules and vast penalties I figure.
I enjoy it too. Was lucky enough to go to a game at the famed Melbourne Cricket Grounds on one of my trips to Australia about 20 years ago. Something like 70,000 there for a game between Collingwood and Carlton.
OK - going back 20 years on this but what I do remember of that day is that we were at a pub with a bunch of Carlton fans before the game and everybody was pretty sauced. I’d say 2/3 of the crowd was cheering for Collingwood and their fans seemed a little more rabid. Definitely a boisterous crowd.
They did serve beer in the stadium and concessions similar to stadiums and arenas here. Although I remember that yes there were hot dogs the most popular food item was a meat pie type thing. (I remember that because Collingwood’s nicknames was Magpies - the ‘Pies’ and Carlton fans would crack lame jokes about devouring the Pies as they wolfed down the meat pies.
Before the game the team’s fan seemed to get along fine - not sure if that continued as they were leaving because we had to bail early to get to the closing event of the travel conference I was attending. Conveniently it was being held almost right next door at Melbourne Park - home to the Aussie Open tennis
Oh shoot! That must be why last night the channel guide was wrong for this match that was supposed to be on FS1. Instead we got a replay of some Friday Night Smackdown BS.
Later I did catch the second match on ESPN2 though. What a fun sport to watch though I still don’t understand all the strategy but do understand the scoring and objective.
I think the referees let them get away with some cheap shots too and wish the camera work were better with a higher and wider angle.
They zoom in too much, and I don’t need a close-up of some dude’s short shorts and the like!
I think I am figuring out some of the core rules of Aussie Rules too whether written or not.
So long as the ball is in the air, all strikes and blows are fair game but for eye-gouges, strikes to the groin, and kicks to the shins.
It's football as played originally by convicts and ex-convicts exiled to an island continent, before the formation of the FA or International Rugby Board and so forth in London, and the action to include spinning elbows preceded UFC by about 150 years!
