Today I went to see the footy. All Australians seem to like AFL and care about it more than their own kids. I like sports more than most things, so I am up for getting involved.
I went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known to locals as the MCG stadium to see a battle between the Hawthorne Hawks and the Melbourne Demons. Everything is abbreviated here, (even at work, documents are “docos”, registration is “rego”) so I wasn’t surprised that locals were cheering for the “Dees”. The stadium was nice. It was much more laid back than going to an NFL game at home. The stands were quiet and polite where I was sitting. Everything in the stadium seemed new and clean. Above are some pics of the stadium.

The game was fun and fast-paced. Alas, the home team fell to the evil Hawthorne Hawks, due to some errant kicking that left them gaining only 1 point instead of 6 too many times early on. I need someone from Australia to explain the rules to me. The timing seems to be random as some ‘quarters’ last several minutes longer than others.

I think the biggest concept I noted was the official membership. I think premiere league soccer does this as well (Ben?). Here fans aren’t just fans, they register and pay a membership fee. With this membership fee, comes certain privileges: sitting in the members section, going through the member gates (with shorter lines) and a scarf that shows how long you’ve been a member. (Hawthorne Hawks 10 Years). This is basically just another revenue source. I’m sure I would have become an Eagles member if I had the opportunity. I think members may get a program or some mailings as well. It seems like I good way to keep your fans involved and extract some additional money from them.

I haven’t settled on a team to go for (or barret) yet but fans of those teams should be offering me cash to pick someone else, with my sports luck. (See City of Philadelphia Sports Results from 1984-Present.) Right now I am leaning toward the St. Kilda Saints, the Melbourne Demons and the Richmond Tigers. Send in your votes.

In other sporting news, the Kentucky Wildcats have gone outside the fold to hire their new coach, trumpet great Dizzy Gillespie. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Gillespie) While a surprise choice, everyone can see how Gillespie will improve the harmony of the team, and their ability to improvise. Look for the Wildcat Band to improve as well, as a bonus.