Perth - Aussie Rules Football: strange but awesome

GO EAGLES GO!!!
On Sunday at 1pm it was time to board (together with lots of other passionate fans) one of the special express buses from the Curtin University Bus Station to the Padersons Stadium: Home of Football to the West Coast Eagles! I had booked tickets for this game against the Sydney Giants for Erin, Maria and me.

I just HAD to take a picture with the mascot of the West Coast Eagles. The guy in this costum seriously must love his job. He hugged everyone very firmly and for a little bit longer than is considered appropriate...

Funny enough we met a girl who went surfing with us just one week ago. She had been surfing this morning as well and told me that the waves were much higher. Then we three made our way to our Block 144.

Awesome picture, right? :-))) Let the game start!

And this is the view we had from our seats which were the cheapest we could get from Ticketmaster. Actually Erin and Maria got concession tickets as students but nobody checked that. I should have gone on a concession ticket as well...

These are the players of the Sydney Giants. They look really in form, don't they? (I know you girls are looking at that bum right there!)

 

Finally the players of the West Coast Eagles arrived and warmed up for the game ahead. It was luckily a very nice day, much warmer than expected, especially after the last few days full of rain there was no big cloud in sight for today.

This guy went around the ground with this HUGE eagle. How fantastic is that? Did the Sydneysider have a real giant with them? You bet they didn't!

No football game without a beer. Even if it is a fairly expensive beer but anyway. This Carlton Cold wasn't that bad. PROST!

You might have noticed that our view despite being so close to the goal post is undistracted by any fences or nets. That's why you have to watch out for footballs flying your way. Even the net that has been hang up during the warm-up has been taken away for the game. SERIOULSY? You are taking AWAY the SAFETY net just BEHIND THE GOAL POSTS??? Australians are truly relaxed. Also, you are not allowed to keep a football that you might catch. Ohhh...

Shortly before the start of the game the eagle flew half a round through the stadium!!! How f***ing cool is that???

They even put up the names of people who celebrate their birthday on this day. That is just great. Oh by the way, it was also Mother's Day and some mum's have been invited to the ground.

Both teams put up huge flyers through which the players ran onto the field. I couldn't really read what it said on both flyers. Well, our seats are really that cheap... Nice idea anyway.

Here are the line-ups of both teams. YES, there are really that many players on the field. I am not completely sure what the letters in front mean but everyone was allowed to run throughout the field anyway, so it doesn't really matter if they are in the front or back or whatever.

Finally it was time for the ball-up and the start of the game! How exciting! Luckily I had informed myself upfront a bit on the internet (worship the internet!) about the main rules. So I knew that there are four quarters to play, each quarter the side would be changed. Everyone was allowed in every part of the field at any time (even at the start).

There are four goal posts on each side. Getting the ball through the middle two posts scores 6 points and through the sides (so between posts 1 and 2 or the posts 3 and 4) scores 1 point. Running with the ball for more than 15 meters is not allowed (unless the ball touches the ground in between) and throwing the ball to another player (like in American Football) is not allowed. You have to kick the ball by hand or foot.

Tackling in any way (but not in the face or in the back) is allowed all the time, unless someone "marks" the ball and decides to kick it instead of playing on. Which means if he catches the ball which has flown more than 15 meters before it touches the ground you are allowed to kick it. During the preparation to this kick and during the kick the player is not allowed to be tackled. After the first quarter the eagles had a total score of 32 (5 times 6 points plus 2 times 1 point) and the giants had only 8 points (1 times 6 points plus 2 times 1 points). Easy, right?

What I found amazing and probably impossible in Europe is that home fans and away fans were sitting right next to each other throughout the stadium. I didn't see a specific area for the away fans. When I saw two games of Manchester United there was always extra security at the gate for the away fans. And that area was even fenced, so they couldn't throw things and be thrown at. But in Australia people are much more laid-back. Even though some would shout mean things at the other team, they still know it is just a sport and wouldn't attack each other.

By the end of the first quarter the stadium was really full. I didn't expect that but apparently it was an important game for the West Coast Eagles.

During halftime I wandered a bit around and took pictures of the halftime entertainment, the other stand and what else I found interesting enough to take a picture of (I know, I take way too many pictures but whatever, it's fun).

Every player is allowed to take possession of the ball at any stage except during a kick of a marked ball. The tackles sometimes ended in a big pile of players like you would see on American Football, just without all the safety equipment and helmets. Who needs THAT?

If after a tackle the possession of the ball is uncertain one of the field assistance would throw in the ball from the sideline. But he would have his back to the field, so he wouldn't see where he throws it.

After the third quarter it was a total score of 131 for the eagles (YEAH!) and only 57 for the Giants. It seemed like the winner was decided.

Behind the other goal posts there were some fans with really huge pom-poms. I first thought they were cheerleaders :-)

Shortly before the end of the game at about 5pm the sun has gone down enough to not shine into the stadium anymore which was good as we didn't have to shade our faces with our hands. The sky was actually quite beautiful.

Well, the giants couldn't catch up with the eagles. The end score was 188 for the eagles and only 77 for the giants. A difference of 111 points. Like that number play :-)

There was a brilliant atmosphere in the stadium but we headed straight for the express bus back to Curtin University. We ate some more Fantales on the way which are truly Australian. Every piece is wrapped with a short biography of an Australian or a famous movie. On one of my pieces I had Baz Luhrman (Film Director) and Hugh Jackman (Actor). I watched the Movie "Australia" where Baz Luhrman was the director and Hugh Jackman one of the main characters (next to Nicole Kidman, I hope I get a piece with her short biography as well).

I really enjoyed this game and was glad the Eagles played so well and scored so many goals. It was also great to have two friends with me to share this experience. You should see a Aussie Rules Football game for yourself. It is AWESOME :-)
Yours Footy-watching Stefanie