Giving It The Fingers
Following on from Friday's evening of classical culture at the Opera House, it was time for something completely different on Saturday.
It was time for Aussie Rules Football, or AFL - the battle of the tight vests, even tighter shorts and mulletts.
We went to the SCG to watch the AFL game between the Sydney Swans and the Richmond Tigers. Mikey had always wanted to go to a game and given the fact that me and H didn't go to their last home game (because we were nursing a hangover in Bondi-ville), this fixture was the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Personally, I was just as excited about seeing the fabulous SCG ("Yes Shane! Bowling Warney").
When we arrived (via the excellent Sydney match-day transport system) we went straight to the club shop. Mike had thought about getting one of the vests that they wear but left instead with a T-shirt, an old-school Swans scarf and two inflatable fingers. He looked the part.
The gates for the game opened more than three hours before kick-off, and we got in there nice and early to soak up the atmosphere. Given the size of the stadium it took ages to fill up, but the beer was flowing and the hands were being waved around like they just didn't care.
It also meant I had time to look around the stadium, from up high.
So after a warm-up game between the two reserve sides, which Sydney easily won, the main event started. Both Mike and I had watched some AFL on the TV back in the UK sometime and although we didn't know the rules, we knew that there wasn't much to it. Just lots of punching, kicking, elbowing, and hair-pulling. Only last weekend we'd caught the end of the Swans game on TV, which they'd lost by two points in the last minute. We were hoping for a close game on Saturday.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case and Sydney thrashed the Tigers by 48 points. Considering each game consists of four quarters of thirty minutes I thought I may lose interest after a while. But AFL is most definitely a game you can dip in and out of. You know that you wont miss much if you go and queue for a beer, as the goals come thick and fast.
In fact, the referees often provided us with the most amusement (given the photos captured here you can see why).
The local butcher!
Throw-in!
A Behind!
The Scorecard!
and finally, GIVING IT THE FINGERS!
The end of the game and a Sydney victory meant for much tomfoolery with the inflatable hands.....
And randoms.....
So all in all we had a great night out, drinking beer, playing with inflatables and watching the AFL. I look forward to going back to the SCG in the summer to watch the cricket. We may buy Mike a Swanny's vest for Christmas so he can wear it to the beach and look like a real man.
It was time for Aussie Rules Football, or AFL - the battle of the tight vests, even tighter shorts and mulletts.
We went to the SCG to watch the AFL game between the Sydney Swans and the Richmond Tigers. Mikey had always wanted to go to a game and given the fact that me and H didn't go to their last home game (because we were nursing a hangover in Bondi-ville), this fixture was the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Personally, I was just as excited about seeing the fabulous SCG ("Yes Shane! Bowling Warney").
When we arrived (via the excellent Sydney match-day transport system) we went straight to the club shop. Mike had thought about getting one of the vests that they wear but left instead with a T-shirt, an old-school Swans scarf and two inflatable fingers. He looked the part.
The gates for the game opened more than three hours before kick-off, and we got in there nice and early to soak up the atmosphere. Given the size of the stadium it took ages to fill up, but the beer was flowing and the hands were being waved around like they just didn't care.
It also meant I had time to look around the stadium, from up high.
So after a warm-up game between the two reserve sides, which Sydney easily won, the main event started. Both Mike and I had watched some AFL on the TV back in the UK sometime and although we didn't know the rules, we knew that there wasn't much to it. Just lots of punching, kicking, elbowing, and hair-pulling. Only last weekend we'd caught the end of the Swans game on TV, which they'd lost by two points in the last minute. We were hoping for a close game on Saturday.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case and Sydney thrashed the Tigers by 48 points. Considering each game consists of four quarters of thirty minutes I thought I may lose interest after a while. But AFL is most definitely a game you can dip in and out of. You know that you wont miss much if you go and queue for a beer, as the goals come thick and fast.
In fact, the referees often provided us with the most amusement (given the photos captured here you can see why).
The local butcher!
Throw-in!
A Behind!
The Scorecard!
and finally, GIVING IT THE FINGERS!
The end of the game and a Sydney victory meant for much tomfoolery with the inflatable hands.....
And randoms.....
So all in all we had a great night out, drinking beer, playing with inflatables and watching the AFL. I look forward to going back to the SCG in the summer to watch the cricket. We may buy Mike a Swanny's vest for Christmas so he can wear it to the beach and look like a real man.
posted by Jonny @ 5:03 PM
3 Comments:
At 24/7/06 1:39 PM,
Andy said…
I love the way you get there hours early to 'soak up the atmosphere'. What kind of atmosphere is there in an empty stadium, exactly?
Mind you, it looks like you were having fun none-the-less.
At 24/7/06 11:01 PM,
Jonny said…
There isn't much atmosphere in an empty stadium, that's for sure. But we did wonder why they opened the gates more than three hours before kick-off. It was because they showed the reserves game first.
Now I know not to get there too early.
But you are right, we did have a lot of fun with the hands. It's amazing how quickly time went!
At 11/8/06 12:19 PM,
Anonymous said…
Keep up the good work. thnx!
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