Yapadapaduuu

Footy is for Aussies same as bread or air for me.  People here are absolutely fanatic of Australian football.  One of the weekends we went to watch a match between Saint Kilda against Melbourne, an authentic Aussie program.

GO SAINTS GO!!!!!  The shouts were coming down from the stands, a thronging mass were shouting from everywhere, although the stadium is for 105.000 spectators, only a third were enjoying the match like gladiators in the modern Arena…

We went to the MCG Stadium, one of the most known stadiums in Melbourne, we went with Debbie & Vaughn and one of Debbie´s friend had free tickets so we entry for free.   People there are all mixed in the stands, at first I thought they have their hearts frozen , but after a couple of minutes, I realized I was wrong.  It`s incredible how fan of different teams can be together without argue.

The Australian football is a game of 4 times, 20 minutes each plus time on.   It`s a mixture of of rugby and soccer.   Personally, I found it more similar to our rugby in Argentina, it has the same oval ball and you can hand-pass the ball forward.  The tackle is valid between the knees and the shoulders and never is so violent as in rugby.   The field is oval too and each team is integrated by 18 players, so 1 match has 36 players in the field, a lot!!!.    There are 4 umpires an 2 “runners” who are the connexion between the coach and the players.  These runners take a “voice message” to players, very funny because they run like they´re in the 100 metres Olympic Games!!!

The best teams in the league are Saint Kilda and Geelong, obviously the waters are divided in Vaughn & Debbie`s house, so it`s very gripping to listen about arguments of wich of these teams will win the premiership at the grand final.

Finally, after the game we return back home with ours minds full of new sports, ours hearts warm, and ours eyes delighted.

Posted by JuanX Petracchi (a sport poet)