August 13th, Australia Day 173

This day was to be filled mostly with more footy. I made my way to Optus Oval in Carlton, just north of downtown Melbourne, to watch Canada play South Africa for 7th spot in the overall standings of the International Cup. I arrived just in time to catch half of the Canadian national anthem and then I remained standing for the South African one. Sure enough, as promised, I had my flag returned to me autographed by all of the players of the Canada Northwind, for which I thanked the woman profusely. I settled behind one the goal posts to which Canada was kicking and hung my flag on the fence to show my support and I anticipated an exciting game.

International Cup games are played a little differently with 15 minute quarters where the clock doesn't stop, so effectively, it's about half the length of a regular AFL quarter. Also, in place of the 50 meter penalty, there is a 25 meter penalty but all of the rules remain the same. I chose to switch the end in which I was sitting so that I would be sitting in the end to which Canada was kicking with my flag proudly waving on the fence. It was a close affair for most of the game but Canada managed to pull off a victory thus earning 7th spot, and South Africa 8th. The final score was Canada 4-5=29 for South Africa 2-6=18. Canada thus improved by 2 spots over its finish in the 2002 International Cup and I look forward to seeing Canada one day take the Cup. In other results that day, Japan beat Spain 11-7=73 to 2-1=13 for 9th spot, Samoa over the U.K. 3-9=27 for 2-3=15 for 5th spot and the U.S.A scored 10-5=65 to Ireland's 4-6=30 for 3rd place. After their game, Canada and South Africa came together in a huddle and celebrated sportsmanship by partaking in a traditional South African Zulu song and dance. I went onto the field just after the final siren to congratulate Canada and to thank them for signing my flag. I ended up watching the 1st half of the Japan-Spain game but then I decided to move on.

I quickly made my way to the nearest Ticketmaster office I could find to get tickets to the International Cup Grand Final. While all other games had been free of charge, for this one tickets were required as it was being held in the M.C.G. Not only that, the tickets that needed to be bought were for the Carlton-Collingwood game which was to follow the Grand Final. I got the required tickets and then proceeded to kill some time by wandering the city. I made my way to the legal district where I took photos of no fewer that 4 separate court buildings and the old mint, located close by. I then made my way to Flagstaff Hill which is where the new state of Victoria was proclaimed in 1850, I believe. After some time there, including a short nap, I made my way back to the M.C.G.

My hosts had been kind enough to give me a thermos of hot water and some Earl Grey tea. I had finished the tea by the time I reached the M.C.G. at just before 16:00, but the point is that the water was still warm after 8 hours of chilly weather. I sat down behind some goal posts and watched the Grand Final unfold. Before the game began, the New Zealand Falcons performed the haka to which the Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes responded with a war dance of their own, of which, I must confess, I am ignorant of the name. New Zealand quickly established control and seemed to have the Cup in the bag but PNG refused to be done in so easily. With most of the stadium barracking (cheering) for them, PNG managed to pull within 5 points of NZ after a brilliant running goal from 5 meters out by a PNG player. A similar type of goal attempt had been stuffed up by a Kiwi player when he released the ball too late, having already crossed the goal line, thus making it a behind. The crowd roared with approval every time PNG did well although perhaps not because of numbers or even a like of PNG, but just to irritate the Kiwis. I cheered whenever I saw either team do well. In the end, NZ proved the better team and at the final siren had secured the Cup with a 7-8=50 win over PNG's 5-2=32. It really was an excellent game.

Thinking to myself that it would be the only time I would get to see an AFL game at the M.C.G. for a while, I decided to stick around for the 1st quarter of the Carlton-Collingwood game. It was also the Heritage Round which meant that teams played in old uniforms and umpires wore traditional dress, with the goal umpires wearing white hats and "lab coats". The Carlton Blues really stuck it to the Collingwood Magpies in the 1st, scoring 7 goals as I recall. They went on to win the game I read the next morning in the paper. I returned to Glenroy after the conclusion of the 1st quarter very satisfied with how my day had transpired and I got as much sleep as I could knowing I had only 1 day left in the city.

Photos now available at: http://australiaday173.blogspot.com/