Football Fever!

If you are travelling in Australia and you want to experience a truly authentic, integral part of Australian culture then you can’t go past Aussie Rules Football.  The AFL (Australian Football League) has 16 teams and they play each other every weekend from March through September in every capital city of Australia.  The game is fast, atheletic, highly skilled, high-scoring (a goal is 6 points and a “behind” is 1 point) and almost NEVER ends in a draw.  If you like Rugby or even soccer make sure you treat yourself to a live game of AFL – and try and find a local who can explain the rules to you beforehand or even during the game - you will no doubt get swept up in the excitement and drama of what I consider to be the best team sport in the world!

We decided that the Essendon Vs West Coast Eagles game on Sunday 2nd August was the one we wanted to go to: two great teams with a really strong rivalry.  The AFL is very democratic: the tickets at Subiaco Oval, where the games are played in Perth, range from $25.60 to above $50.00 there are sections of the best seats (right on the field in the “pocket”) designated as Public Reserve.  This means that if you are organized and can plan ahead you can get the best seats for the cheapest price and be able to enjoy the best game from the best vantage point without feeling the pinch in your wallet.  This is what we did – but be warned these tickets do sell out very fast, especially late in the season so you have to be quick and grab them as soon as they are released for sale – 2 weeks before the game.  Visit AFL or drop into a Ticketmaster outlet.  In Perth this is the news agency at the corner of Murray Street and Barrack Street.  Also be aware that there is a limit of 6 tickets per transaction.

On the day we were all reved up with excitement because for most of us it was the first AFL experience.  Our group of 5 consisted of 2 English lads and 1 German – all soccer mad, a tough Irish lass who is a boxer back home in Ireland and me, a rabid one-eyed Essendon “Bombers” supporter for nearly 20 years now.

We caught the train from Perth Station (about 5 minutes walk from Britannia) at about 2PM.  The great thing about the AFL is that the tickets are valid for public transport also!  How cool is that?!  And West Leederville Station (on the Fremantle Line, which is actually closer to Subiaco Oval than Subiaco Station) is only 2 stops away.  The train was packed with supporters for both teams.  You could feel the excitement in the air as we disembarked and joined the throngs pouring into the stadium.  Grab a program from the vendors outside the gate if you want to know who the players are and have all the extra information because you won’t be able to buy one after the game if you decide you want a memento.

We stopped at one of the many bars to buy some beers which you can take to the seats with you and then found our seats.  Before long the countdown to the game started and the roar of the crowd sent chills down our spines as the teams burst out onto the field, ran through the banners at either end of the field as per tradition and then kicked a few practice goals.

At precisely 2:40PM the siren blew and it was game on.  The atmosphere was electric because although the Bombers were hot favourites to win, Eagles fans are a fiercely loyal bunch and had the advantage of the fact that the Bombers have not beaten them at Subiaco for 7 years!  Also the Bombers were missing their star captain Matthew Lloyd due to an ankle injury.  Suffice to say it was a riveting game.  There were plenty of spills and thrills, the crowd roaring their disapproval when a free kick was given against the Eagles; the Bombers fans screaming at the top of their lungs when they sensed an advantage.  The four quarters, each 30 minutes long, seemed to whiz by in a blur of action. Our seats being right next to the goals, in the second row, at times we felt like we were part of the game and not just there to watch it!

But alas all good things must come to an end and on this Sunday afternoon the Bombers were never a good thing… at the end of the fourth quarter they trailed a dismal 68 to the Eagles’ 95 points.  It was heartbreaking to feel the game slipping away from them but the stadium full of West Coast fans was positively jubilant with their glory.  All the Essendon fans could retaliate with was that we still have a slim chance of making the finals play-offs in September (played by the top 8 teams in the lead-up to the Grand Final – always played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground) whereas even if West Coast win every single game they play for the rest of the season they are still so far down the ladder that they have no chance of making it.

But in the moment it seemed like a weak response to the blue white and gold hordes roaring of the Eagles' club anthem.  We promptly removed ourselves to the pub to drown our sorrows with a pint or two and discuss what could have been and how and why Essendon didn’t manage to clinch the victory that really should have been theirs!  All I can say is “That’s football!”.  It was surely an afternoon that will be remembered by us all as simply superb, despite the result!