I may not be drinking, but you can bet I’ll have the Braylon Edwards jersey on and ready – probably the only one in the city (other than Sara) with the orange No. 17.
...On a side note, walking through the local mall on Monday afternoon, I saw a Saints jersey donning the number 17 and the name “Berger” across the nameplate. Definitely Mitch Berger, the recently released punter. A Mitch Berger jersey in Adelaide, Australia. “Wow” was my only thought…
Now to the previously advertised section on Aussie Rules Football, a sport that’s really not seen anywhere outside of the western portion of Australia. I must say first and foremost that I really like this sport. There are so many intriguing things about it – things that make me think some guys were in the pub on a warm afternoon watching rugby and just coming up with ridiculous things they saw “wrong” with that sport. They put them together and became the forefathers of the AFL. That’s my theory anyway.
While in Sydney, we watched rugby because that was the dominant sport that was going on. Here in Adelaide, there isn’t a television newscast (or even newscast promo) that goes without telling viewers about Aussie Rules Football players who were suspended, fined or injured due to occurrences during the past weekend’s games (or “fixtures” as they’re called). I find it great that people care so much about the sports in their area.
My first experience with watching “footy” came with “Friday Night Football” on channel 7 (recent TV ratings champion), before the doubleheader Saturday on channel 9 (long-time ratings champ, like since the ‘80s). The ball can be advanced forward by a few different means: kicking (most likely), punching (less likely) or running (least likely).
When a player kicks (punts) it to a teammate and that player catches the ball on the fly, it’s called a “mark” and he cannot be tackled at that spot unless he advances forward. So it’s advantageous to move down the field quickly by earning mark after mark. The catches can be contested, however, so it’s not just a “punt in the park.” I call the second option “punching” because the way of forward passing is basically just an underhand volleyball serve. If this option (along with running) is chosen, the opposition can tackle the ball carrier and recipient at any time.
Running is not a very likely option because 1) it takes a long time for one man to run the field, 2) the defense is usually a man-to-man type style and 3) the runner has to touch the ball to the ground every so many meters (I’m not quite sure exactly how the rule in enforced, but they all do it IF they’re running with the ball). Just know the main action of this sport involves one player in possession of the ball while all the others are running around in a mad pattern.
There is a method to the madness, however, because commentators are always talking about the teams’ set plays. I’ll just take their word for it. There are four 20-minute periods with a running clock (except for after scores and penalties). The tackles are vicious and there are no pads, which I love. It’s rugby with another dimension – reminds me of going from number lines to the x-y coordinate plane in algebra. Or imagine Emeril cooking up some rugby and going “BAM,” adding some zest to it and making Aussie Rules Football. Anyway…
To score in this game, the ball must be kicked. From where it does not matter, as long as it leaves a foot and travels in between the “flagpoles” located at the opposition’s end of the field. I have no better word for them than flagpoles. See exhibit A…
Kick the ball between the two middle poles and your team is awarded a goal – 6 points – and the ball is returned to midfield for a restart. This is the ultimate prize and players always seem pretty ashamed if they miss a goal and instead earn a “behind” – a 1-point score awarded when the ball goes between an end pole and the next pole in the line. If the ball hits a pole, it’s also just one point. If one point is awarded, the team which gave up the score gets the ball and takes possession looking to go the length of the field for their own score.
OK, so that’s a lot of the technical side to it. There’s a lot more, but if you have any kind of a mind for figuring sports out, it’d probably only take you a couple whole games to see more or less what is going on. The best parts of the games aren’t even really part of them.
First of all, the field is elliptical in shape – or for the non-Math majors, an oval. It acts as a boundary just like any other sport, yes, but how many other sports have a rounded field of play?? Golf doesn’t really count because there isn’t really a standard.
I’ve already noted a second great part, no pads worn. Only a funkily-designed tank top that acts as the jersey, a pair of shorts and a seeming chip on each player’s shoulder. All these guys are crazy if you’re asking me. When a player jumps to grab an airborne kick, there are usually 2 or 3 other players flying right beside him to knock him over and knock the ball away (making it up for grabs by anyone). Tackles are ridiculous, but never end up being the bell ringers often seen in the National Football League in America – these are clean hits right in the chest area. Penalties can be assessed for high or low tackles. Terrific viewing.
The best part of the game has to be the score callers, for lack of a better term. There are actual officials governing the rules of the game, but at both ends of the field, usually right down the middle of the flagpole goals, there is a man that reminds me of Colonel Sanders sans the bucket of famous recipe chicken. These guys are dressed in white shirts (and sometimes all-white suits), wear white hats and make the rulings of whether the kick went through for a behind (1 point) or a goal (6 points).
That’s plain and simple. It’s the WAY they show it that’s terrific. If there is a goal, the score caller pulls two “guns” out of their holsters and points them to the middle of the field. They’re not actually guns, just his fingers – but they’re whipped out so fast that it’s hard to explain the hilarity of it. If the ball crosses for a behind, only one “gun” is drawn, and the ball is handed to the team to advance it. Simply put, when points are scored, it looks as if these guys dressed completely in white are practicing their technique of dueling. And the TV camera shows it basically every time a point is scored.
And after each goal, the program goes almost immediately to commercial break…for one commercial. The game is pretty fast-paced, so there really isn’t time during play to just go to a break except for the bit of time after a goal is scored. The winner of the fixtures usually put up at least 100 points. It’s a performance-enhanced combination of rugby and the NFL. And it’s great to watch until Sara and I return to the U.S. for NFL week 13 (the Browns play at Arizona, 4:15).
This is a great sport, though I know the Adelaide Crows (my randomly-acquired “favorite” team) will never replace the Cleveland Browns. In fact, I’m pretty sure nothing will replace the Brownies as long as I live – unless Aussie Rules Football really takes hold in the U.S. and finds a home in Cleveland. If it does, you can bet I’ll be the voice you hear on-the-air, bringing you all the action. Until that day comes, I’ll be classifying this trip as vacation/tourism more than a learning experience.
So that was my stab at giving you an overview of Aussie Rules Football. You can leave a comment with any questions you might have and I’ll try to address those as best I can. You can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be betting on the AFL before too long. Adelaide is good in the rain (just beat a team by 70 points while playing at home in dismal conditions), while Geelong sits atop the standings (called “the ladder”), holding a 9-fixture win streak. I guess it all depends on the betting line.
My next blog will surely include some new experiences that come with our orientation...meeting and hanging out with new people, figuring out the campus and, what is likely to be the best of the stories, figuring out the bus system. If there’s a bad ticket to be handed out, you can bet it has my name on it. But as Sara says, if you can get a good story out of it, it’s all worth it.
Love you all in the states, check back again.
From the other side of the globe, I’m Kevin Hunt.
If you want to see me soon, start digging.
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