One of the best aspects of Australian culture is their love of sport. Game days are huge in Melbourne and everyone gets involved by flocking to the MCG to watch whatever it is that's being played. It reminds me of the atmosphere during college football game season, minus the tailgating. Australian football (AFL, or 'footy') is a winter sport, and the season starts in March and ends in August. In July, my Melbourne family was nice enough to take me to a game and teach me about this wonderful sport!
All the teams that play are from different parts of Australia, but Melbourne itself has tons of teams which compete against each other. Each team represents a different area of Melbourne, like St. Kilda, Carlton, Geelong, Hawthorne, etc. The game I went to was between Hawthorne and Brisbane. Everyone dons their team's colors and these great striped Harry Potter scarves. Hawthorne's team colors are yellow and brown; something I didn't know when I was picking out my outfit that day...
When we arrived, one of the Hawthorne players happened to be walking by and I got a picture with him!
Winter in Melbourne is chilly! Good thing my Melbourne family had an extra scarf for me to wear. The weather here is so unpredictable. At first it looked like it was going to be nice and sunny, but then it started to drizzle. Luckily, I had a hood on my jacket! But the rain doesn't deter the fans or the players at all. The game goes on, and the fans don't ever mind getting a bit wet.
The rules of the game, as explained by my Melbourne family, are pretty simple: anything goes except shots to the head. Sounds like my kind of sport. The objective is to get the ball through the goals. If they get it in between the middle posts, it's worth 10 points. If the ball goes in between either of the two outer posts, it's worth 1 point.
The players have great uniforms: sleeveless tops and short shorts. Ladies should bring binoculars.
Hawthorne won the game that day, making my Melbourne family especially excited. Each team has their own fight song that everyone sings at the end, provided that they win, of course. I find this to be particularly impressive, as I don't even know all the words to my own alma mater's fight song.
Going to the footy was absolutely delightful, and I'm looking forward to next season. Overall, it's a fun game that's easy to follow and has a great atmosphere. Going to a game is definitely one of the most enjoyable things to do in Melbourne during the winter.
