AFL! Swans vs. Bulldogs

On Saturday night I attended my first ever professional football game outside the US. The atmosphere was much like that which one often finds at games in the states, with certain fans more passionate or unruly than others. Almost all the swans fans could be see wearing at least one article of Swans gear, whether it be a red and white knit hat or a red and white scarf of similar material (giving a sort of "Where's Wally" look to the whole stadium).

I was very surprised to see just how many players each team has on the field at one time (I think I counted 18 each side!), how fast the game pace truly is, and thirdly, how high scoring of a game it is! Sydney ended up winning by 44 points with a score well into the triple digits.

When talking to some of my peers we all mentioned how crazy and interesting it is that Australia's version of football seems to combine elements from a wide, wide range of sports, rather than just seeming like a tweaked version of American football or rugby. Players have to dribble the ball after a certain number of steps (reminiscent of basketball), have to serve it to another player by punching it with one hand out of their other hand (reminiscent of volleyball) and can punt to one another (like soccer goalies).

fans' victory celebration after the final whistle

Most remarkably of all, though, is a difference we noticed having to do with the fans rather than with the sport itself. Unlike in the states, where if a game is clearly a blow-out and there is no chance of a comeback for one of the teams, fans start filing out as early as the very beginning of the third quarter. This was not true AT ALL of Australian fans, almost every single one of which stayed until the final whistle had blown. I believe this speaks loudly about their dedication to their team and love of the sport as well as their pride in their home team. I was pleased we chose to stay until the very end as well, because it was a great moment for Sydney, with a fanfare of music playing and everyone up on their feet cheering.

Astralian Rules Football

Fascinating fun facts:
> 14 percent of elite afl players are indigenous
> Austrlian rules football was the first style of football to be codified IN THE WORLD (May 1859)
> The sport it is most similar to is Gaelic football

At first glance AFL didn't look too different from rugby to me. The children we watched playig were older than those we had happened to watch playing rugby. The refferee was noticeably more intense and into the game.

I learned that parents actually prefer it to rugby because of how it is less violent and more of a cross between rugby and soccer. The sport only just caught on in sydney within the last 10 to 15 years. To me a characteristic difference is how they punt the ball quite far at several times. Another difference was how, if they start grappling for the ball, the ref promptly blows whistle. The players can only run ten paces, then must bounce it or touch it on the ground, otherwise must pass or kick. There are even specifics relating to tackling in that they must only tackle between the shoulder and the hip.The field upon which they played was way larger than the rugby field, although I'm not sure if that is a standard difference or if it is because the rugby players were in a younger age group.

One thing I found incredibly surprising is that girls were out there playing too!! Right alongside the boys. In the US boys and girls are almost always on separate teams in separate leagues in what can sometimes even be completely separate versions of the same sport, altered due to gender (for example men's vs. women's lacrosse). Other differences I noted in terms of the appearance of the players is that they wear shorter shorts and high socks. I hear that professional players are physically built differently too, in contrast to the stocky, thick-necked rugby players because they do so much running and are leaner and quicker. The game itself seems infinitely faster as well because the ball can go so far so quickly because of the added element of kicking.

Netball: compared and contrasted with basketball

We went to see several games of netball being played on a sports complex with many, many courts and tons of teams, players, and parents. All players were female, which led me to wonder whether netball is an exclusively female sport. I researched further and it does seem to be a primarily female sport (much like field hockey is for women in the US, though it is played by just as many -if not more- men in other countries) as I read that "Netball emerged from early versions of women's basketball, evolving with the increasing participation of women in sport."

The game that we watched the closest was actually a game that was being played between a young female team in uniform against their parents! I speculated that it must have been just an unused court before or after a real match, or perhaps their scheduled opponent did not turn up to the game. It was nice to see how Australian mothers as well as fathers could jump in and play with their kids, truly putting 100% into the game and having a laugh while doing so. The parents did end up scoring on the young girls many more times and seemed to be the real winners despite being older and less in-shape, though I think it was because height can give such an advantage in a game like netball.

The primary differences between netball and basketball that I found seem to be

1. in basketball you can take dribble with the ball up the court whereas in netball you can only take 2 steps at most and do not dribble

2. netball is played in thirds and basketball in halves

3. with netball you have 7 players on the court, but in basketball only 5

4. the hoop or ring does not have a net on it as it does in basketball (which is interesting considering the name begins with net-)

I personally think that netball is closest to the game handball, which is not played competitively but rather is only popular in middle school gym classes in the US or as a teamwork building activity that my soccer and lacrosse teams used to use from time to time. With handball, you cannot move with the ball and thus need to really work with your teammates and be very mindfull of positioning in order to reach your goal.

Youth Rugby Observations

Upon observing what I believe were the under-10's playing rugby on a saturday morning, I found the atmosphere and playing area to be very similar to that which I experienced during my childhood, playing recreational soccer or field hockey. The parents were very much a part of what made that experience seem so similar, the way they would cheer on their kids from the sidelines, the fathers enthusiastically yelling "drive boys!!" At half time one coach was heard asking "we got oranges somewhere, mum?" which was very reminiscent of the way it is customary for orange slices to be brought by parents in ziplock bags and doled out mid-game on sports fields all over the US.
One thing I found to be in stark contrast to youth sports in the US however was how rough the game of rugby is, particularly considering the children's age and size. There is rampant shirt-grabbing and flinging around, tackling, pushing each other down. One young boy was seen having to come off the field in tears after one particularly rough skirmish. Many wore mouthguards and protective headware, which is probably for the best. Apart from the one instance of tears, the young boys are surprisingly tough and aggressive for such small players, which is not at all seen with soccer in the US which is largely a non-contact sport. Youth sports in Australia seem to be way more physical, which would be a shock and frowned upon by many of spectating parents in America (which I have experience with as I used to be a referee for youth girls lacrosse and parents would be outraged at the first and most elementary sign of roughness).