Footy in Sydney

Since I didn't have any solid plans for today, I joined Tash for the train ride out to ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park for the Sydney v. St Kilda footy match.  I'm a bit embarrassed that this was my first footy game of the year (and not even an Essendon one).  Before it started though there was an AFL International Cup match between South Africa and the USA, which the USA won!

Tash's friend Belinda joined us for the Sydney match.  We were quite amused throughout the game as the big screens were used to explain the footy rules to the crowd as things happened on the field.  I know rugby is the preferred sport outside of Victoria, but this was a bit ridiculous.  The game was close, and although St Kilda led for most of the afternoon, Sydney won in the end (despite their inaccurate kicking). 

Final Score
Sydney Swans: 10.23 (83)
St Kilda Saints: 10.8 (68)

After the game we headed back into the city for a bit before catching the train out to the airport for our flight home.  We spotted a few of the St Kilda players at the airport at Krispy Kreme of all places.  We flew Tiger Airways back to Melbourne and I thought Tash was joking when she said their terminal was in a shed.  Sadly she was telling the truth- it was comical.  You even have to walk back to the main terminal to catch a taxi!  In any case, it was a fun little weekend trip away and a brief preparation for my much longer flights to the States in a couple weeks time.

The Footy Is Back!

These are very exciting times for sports fans in Melbourne because Australian Rules Football is finally back. It's the preseason at the moment, which means the NAB Cup is on. I joined Michelle and her extended family for tonight's semi-final match between Essendon and St. Kilda at Telstra Dome. Michelle's parents saved us some seats near the goal at the bottom of Level 2. We had a great view of the field and the game. It was a tight match with some pathetic umpiring decisions that resulted in St. Kilda winning by 3 points on a questionable free kick at goal with less than a minute to play. However, the Bombers have been very impressive over the last few weeks. New coach Matthew Knights has introduced a fast and entertaining style of play, and all of the younger players have been fantastic. It looks to be a promising season, which will kick off on Easter weekend.