It’s been a little while since we posted, but contrary to popular belief we've both been pretty busy at work and haven't had the chance for any weekend getaways this past month. However, we did manage to get out and experience our first Australian sporting event. Sports are a huge part of Australian culture. And football is by far the most popular sport amongst the Aussies, followed closely by cricket, golf, tennis, and soccer (which confusingly is also called football by anyone of European decent). However, the term "football" has a different meaning depending who you are talking to in Australia.If you asked a Melbourne resident, or anyone from any part of Victoria for example, they would tell you that "footy" is Australian Rules Football. Known as "Aussie rules", Australian Rules Football is played with an oval ball on a large oval shaped cricket field. The aim of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball between the middle two posts of the opposing goal.
If you asked someone from say Brisbane or Sydney, particularly someone of a more upper class background, they would probably tell you that football means Rugby Union. "Union" is played internationally, most famously in England, and is known for its scrums. Scrums are a means of restarting play and involve players from each team binding together in rows. The ball is then fed into the gap between the two packs and they both compete for possession. While "Union" is popular in all parts of Australia it is mostly played in Queensland and New South Wales.
The most popular form of football amongst the working class of Sydney is Rugby League. Originating in England, it has become massively popular in Sydney. In fact of the 16 teams in the Australian Rugby League, ten are in New South Wales. One of the more famous teams, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, are owned by the most famous of all current Sydneysiders, Russell Crowe. We were lucky enough to score two box seats to a recent Rabbitohs game (thanks Hazel!). And since we don't own any Rabbitoh shirts, we thought the next best thing would be to sport our Penn State gear.
Unfortunately, Russell wasn't at the game and even more unfortunately, the Rabbitohs got crushed by the St. George Dragons. Despite the beating, we still had a great time at the game. One of the highlights was watching the local Aussie kids showing their football skills during a halftime youth game.
We can now proudly say we've attended our first Australian football game. Next up we will be cheering on the Sydney Swans (Australian Rules Football) and the New South Wales Warritahs (Rugby Union). After that we'll have experienced the trifecta of football in Australia.
