July 10th, Australia Day 139

The most interesting thing this week was on Wednesday when the New South Wales Blues faced off against the Queensland Maroons in the deciding match of the State of Origin series. The two teams faced off at SunCorp Stadium in Brisbane but the home team was soundly beaten. I went to the pub downtown where I usually play trivia to watch the game and it was pretty exciting. The final score was 32-10 in favour of the Blues and it marks only the second time that a team has come back from 1 game down to win the series 2 games to 1.

This Friday was an interesting day as it was the day I had to move out of my apartment. My lease was up on the 8th but luckily some friends offered me use of their spare room for as long as was necessary. I moved all of my stuff in several trips and I am now completely settled in.

This Saturday was another interesting day with footy and baseball. Although the last 2 games had been canceled due to inclement weather, this last baseball game went forward as planned. There was a 5-minute rain delay at one point but it cleared up quickly and the game was allowed to continue. A member of the opposing team hit a foul ball which broke the driver-side window of a parked car. During the rain delay I went to see the "crime scene" and it was quite amusing. The ball had made a hole through the window, causing radial fractures in all directions, there was a bit of glass on the inside, and the baseball was sitting comfortably in the passenger's seat. Our team continued its losing streak and we lost 10-5 but it was a good game nonetheless. It was an average game for me, personally, as I went 0-for-2 that game. My first at-bat, I struck out but the second time I was walked. Although my hitting average has gone down, my on base average remains elevated. Actually I didn't get very far as I got on base with 2 outs and the next batter hit a ground ball to the short-stop who promptly threw the ball to 2nd Base. I guess you can't win them all, but I'd be happy with just winning some.

Later that I day I went to see the Sydney Swans take on the Geelong Cats at the S.C.G. in a night game. The Cats were 3rd on the ladder and the Swans were about 6th after a heartbreaking 1 point loss to the Richmond Tigers the previous week. The Swans managed to pull off a great victory winning 105-51, having scored 9 goals in the 2nd Quarter. Geelong never really recovered from that blow and the Swans are now sitting in about 3rd or 4th place. So far, the Swans have not lost a single game of theirs I have been to but I don't know if I'll be able to attend any more games.

On the subject of AFL, this Thursday I had my first training day with the real umpires of the AFL. Many of those there were shocked that there was actually someone who wanted to become a goal umpire. During the Sydney-Geelong game, I found myself thinking that the umpires are the only team that is booed by both sides. In any event, I trained with the AFL umpires and it looks as though I'll be able to get some measure of work in the near future.

Also, I encourage everyone to look up AFL Canada on the web as there is a large footy league there. Although primarily centered around Toronto, there are teams out west in Calgary and Vancouver as well as a few other places. In August, I am planning on taking a trip to Melbourne to visit some family friends but also I hope to see the Canada Northwind AFL team play in the International Cup down there. There are teams from Ireland, Sweden, Spain as well as a few other far off lands. AFL is much more popular around the world than one would think and even many Aussies realize. If I ever get the chance, I will try to set up a footy team in Ottawa.

I think that perhaps I have been in Australia a bit too long as I am showing symptoms of Aussieness. A few days ago I called the man in Sydney responsible for AFL Goal Umpires and when he answered the phone, my first greeting to him was "G'Day". I think I tried to say "Good Day" but the words got slurred. Another symptom is that the game of cricket is finally beginning to make sense and is turning out to be entertaining. Canada is the only member of the Commonwealth that I can think of where cricket is essentially a non-sport; in every other country it is one of, if not the, dominant sport of the land (India, Pakistan, West Indies, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc). There was a Canadian cricket player who played with Australia some years ago and he was pretty good, so I'm told; I'll leave the explanation of the rules until the next post.

One more thing, before I go, I've noticed about Australians are not shy about voicing their displeasure at sporting events using, as Captain Kirk put it, colourful metaphors. It seems to be ingrained in the Aussie sense of humour that when the referee or the umpire makes a call that you are not satisfied with, you let them know it in the strongest possible terms. The same is true for players, plays and other aspects of the game. This also carries over into normal life and when displeased at someone or something, Australians make their feelings known using as many colourful metaphors as often and as colourfully as possible.