March 14, 2024

Day 23 : Footy 


Thursday was our last day in Ballarat and Melbourne. We spent the morning and early afternoon getting ready to depart from Ballarat. We needed to do some laundry and do a  bit of clean up before we made our way to Melbourne for the big "footy" game in Melbourne.

It was wonderful to get to spend some time in Ballarat. It is a very interesting city. For a city of approximately 120,000, it boasts some wonderful sights to see. A few of my favourites have been Lake Wendouree, The Ballarat Art Gallery, the Botanical Gardens and Sovereign Hill. The city still maintains some of its Victorian charm. And while we visited Ballarat to see family, the city itself proved to be a real revelation and I am glad we got a chance to explore it.

We made our way to Melbourne in the afternoon to who watch Carlton versus Richmond in Australian Rules Football , or "footy as it is affectionately known. I won't endeavour to explain all the rules to footy, however it is a fast paced game that combines elements of soccer and rugby. I am a semi-regular fan of footy, as we get some games on our local sports channel back in Canada. Tonight, I would get a chance to see my first game live at the MCG or Melbourne Cricket Ground. 




The MCCG is the biggest stadium in Australia with a capacity of over 100,000 people. It is located just outside the CBD ( Central Business District). As you approach the stadium on match day , you join thousands of fans , most adorned in their teams colours. The stadium itself is a must see visit. On my last visit, I was lucky enough to see the Boxing Day Test Match in cricket , but it also has hosted the 1956 Olympics and most recently Taylor Swift. 


As with other sports, footy fans are very loyal to their sides. As I was with Carlton fans this evening, it was natural for me to root for this side. The MCG was not filled to capacity but there were in excess of 83,000 fans in the stadium this evening. The game starts with the "bounce". The umpire bounces the ball in the centre circle, like the tip off to a basketball game. Each side tries to score a goal by kicking the ball through the inner two uprights. An attempt at goal that misses the two inner uprights but passes through the outer , smaller uprights counts for a single. The game consists of four 20 minute quarters. The clock runs without stopping, though the true time is kept by an official on the pitch. A siren signals the end of each quarter. 









Tonights game was a very close affair. The game went back and forth with each team controlling play for short stretches. Perhaps the most fun was listening to the continuous commentary amongst the fans regarding umpire decisions and the action on the pitch. Fans from both sides sit intermingled in the stands which adds to the atmosphere.







In the end, Carlton won a close fought affair, with Richmond searching for a winning goal up until the final siren. Having watched footy only on TV, this was a completely different experience. While I still am unsure of what constitutes a foul, and some other intricacies of the game, this experience only heightened my interest in the game. It was another real highlight of my trip to Australia.









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