This past weekend, I missed going to the Indigenous Rugby League Game because I was in Melbourne. Since I was missing a field trip, I wanted to make it up in Melbourne by doing something sports related or going to a sporting event. In a pamphlet I received upon arriving at my hostel in Melbourne, there was an advertisement for the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I thought this museum would be extremely interesting because after learning a lot already about Australian sports and culture in our class, it would have been a great experience seeing the greatest moments in Australian sport in a museum. The museum was a chance to relieve the story of Australian sports featuring different moments for athletic legends.
I decided to go on the last day we were there because it was raining that day and would be a good opportunity to get out of the rain since it was pouring all morning. As I walked up to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, I noticed a lot of cars were driving up and people were dressed wearing team jerseys of the same color. This is when it hit me that a AFL game was going on that afternoon with the Brisbane Lions against the Melbourne Football Club. I arrived at the stadium around 1:00 p.m., and the game started at 1:10 p.m. Trying to be optimistic about the museum being opened despite the game, I walked up and asked. They told me that the museum was closed and that I would have to come back the next day. Unfortunately, I left at 6 a.m. the next morning, and would have no chance to go back to the museum.
I went to the ticket booth and asked how much the tickets cost for the game, wanting to see AFL in real action. My friends thought the price was too much, so we decided not to go. I would have gone alone, but I realized that as a class we are going to see the Sydney Swans play against Hawthorne for an AFL game. This way, I would still get a chance to see Australian football!
Since the museum was closed and the ticket prices were a little too much, I decided to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground to see the stadium and observe the people coming to watch the game.
As I was walking, out of the corner of my eye I saw a plaque with the Olympic symbol on it.
I realized that the 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne! It was interesting to see this from so long ago and how 50 years later the Olympics were held in Sydney!
The people going to this AFL game seemed to not have as much energy as fans going to an American football game. In America, the fans would be blowing their horns and screaming out their team name upon arriving. Also, there was no tailgating before the game, which is very popular in America. The people walking up were taking their time getting to the stadium, even if they were 30 minutes late. I got a chance to peek my head inside for a second, and saw that the stadium was not even close to being completely full. At American football games, the stadiums are always packed with people and it is really hard to find tickets. I learned from this that even though Australians may be more competitive into their sports, Americans may at times be more passionate about their teams.
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