When we last left off in recapping my sporting adventures in Oz, I had followed up BOTGs for GWS vs Sydney and RSA vs NED with another Women’s World Cup match and my first ever trip to the MCG. Which leaves (checks notes) another WWC match and one last AFL contest before I had to return to America.

So let’s start with a trip to a bar Litre used to work at in Melbourne:

Apparently the place has changed hands a few times since Litre manned the taps, it’s now owned by a dude from New Orleans with a great pup, and that dog was a very good boy.

Neither that bar nor the Carlton-Melbourne match that night were the biggest event of the day, though.  The whole country was amped about the Matildas taking on the Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys in the World Cup Quarterfinal. So much so that the AFL moved back the start of the Demons-Blues clash to hopefully allow everyone to watch the full football (soccer) match before the (aussie) footy.  In fact, they opened up the MCG early for people to watch the Matildas on the big screen with their fellow countrymen.  But it totally fucking backfired, when the Australia-France match went to extra time and they decided they couldn’t broadcast the game inside anymore.

But let’s focus on the positive for a minute. I had tickets in the AFL Members’ Reserve section (gratis thanks to the random dude I met at the GWS game), which meant when they took the World Cup Match off the big screen, I could watch it from the AFL Members Bar, which was in fact what I and a shitload of other fans did.

As the match went to penalty kicks, that meant I missed the entirety of the first quarter of the AFL match, and it was fucking worth it (not just because the game was scoreless until after the PKs were done). No one was paying any attention to the AFL match on the field as they were all glued to their phones or screens in the bars like me. The stadium went fucking nuts when the Matildas won their shootout, words can’t begin to describe how electric it all was. But I guess I’ll press on and try.  When the outcome was finally sealed, there was a wave of excitement–the AFL players said they were reacting to the fans’ cheers after each PK–and a swell of national pride (without the downsides). People were hugging, high fiving, bouncing up and down and screaming. It was magical and euphoric and amazing to be a part of, even with an outsider’s detachment in the middle of this 60,000 person crowd celebrating this unique and unexpected moment of Aussie sport triumph.

Which meant there was a high that had to be come back down from once attention shifted to the pitch offscreen.  Fortunately, seats were more than decent.

THESE PICTURES I CALL THEM THE OPPOSITE OF MY PERSONAL LIFE BECAUSE THERE’S TOO MUCH HEAD IN THEM

Anyway, given that this game was at the same arena as the previous footy game I recapped, there isn’t a whole lot of additional commentary needed.  It feels just about as loud with around 60,000 people as with 80,000 people.

This was pretty funny/a crowd favorite:

And I personally thought it was hilarious they had a ham animation after all these Carlton goals:

I absolutely should have taken more notes from this match, because now that it’s been over a month, I don’t remember much beyond it being close, exciting, and still taking a make seat to the elation from watching the Matildas triumph. Here’s the scoreworm for the game, with the Blues emerging on top 60-56:

If you want to go beyond stills, highlights from the match below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BaLSVFW5P0&list=PLp1BLU-3ZczyYyY99V5Whon9nBjv3IMu8&index=26

As it turned out, this ended up being a preview of a Finals matchup this past weekend, so if you want spoilers and highlights from that playoff fixture, click here.

For me, I left the stadium with the masses:

And then I found a whiskey bar:

Ok a) That wasn’t my Teeling, I ordered a cocktail, and b) I may or may not have gone to multiple bars after that, but eventually I got myself back to the hotel so I could wake up and fly back to Sydney. After all, I still had some more adventuring, a concert at the iconic Opera House, and one more sporting match to attend.

So if we fast forward to the following weekend, we’re heading back to Olympic Park for my Giants to host Rikki’s Essendon Bombers.  Spoiler alert: it did NOT end well for Rikki’s Bombers, but it was a very memorable night for me and my Giants.

Step 1) back on the ferry to Sydney Olympic Park

Step 2) COMMIT TO WALKING THROUGH THE PARK. I don’t know why I felt compelled to put it in all caps, and NOT walking through the park worked out well for me last time (free uber and free tickets) but I really wanted to see what was there and how big a PITA it was. Part of the walk were actually quite lovely and others were, let’s just say, concrete/shitty/not 100% safe. Some highlights:

After this, shit got interesting.  It went from hike/nature walk to “where the fuck am I?” even though it was a little cool. See this little bridge ahead?

One would think you were walking over a stream or a creek, right?  NOPE

This picture may not give it the sense of “oh shit I might fall over and die” scale I was feeling at the moment.  Long story short, this is a big hole in the ground known as the Brickpit Ring Walk. Exactly as it sounds, they used to mine bricks out of it, and they had big plans for the space for the Olympics, but they found an endangered frog in the hole, so this was the compromise. Preserve the habitat, put signs up about nature, and (in my case at least) walk briskly toward the stadium in the distance so you don’t think too hard about plummeting to your death.

Let’s just say I gained on the family ahead of me and got the hell out of that ring.

This dumped you out into a nature-y area

And then eventually to where people park. I’d probably been walking for like 30 minutes or so at this point and had another 10ish to go. I understood why people drove or ubered, but it was pretty. I was able to follow the sea of orange to make sure I was going in the right direction (and signs helped too):

But after that journey, I made it to my seats, which this time were GWS members tickets, meaning they weren’t assigned so much as I could pick whatever open seat I wanted in a number of designated sections. I thought about sitting here:

But ended up going right behind the goalpoasts:

Despite my pre-match hike, I still had plenty of time to walk around the oval, including to watch the refs practice their throw ins:

Something odd that appeared to be the footy equivalent of bull riding (and that I went ahead and assumed had a weight limit I would exceed in lbs or kgs):

See a VERY good bit of trolling on the Giants’ banner:

Once back in my seat, I also had a chance to witness….whatever warmup ritual this is

As you could tell, I was sitting very close to the official GWS Giants cheering section, which I got closer and closer to as I hastily moved seat to seat until (at some point in the second half) I was next to the flag wavers and would have to move slightly to not get conked in the head with one after a goal. Which, as a result of this particular game, meant I got in a bit of exercise.

It also meant I got very close to this GWS Giants Superfan, Seb Dell’Orefice:

I ended up chatting with him a bit after the match, really nice guy, and it was interesting that team officials came by during the game to chat with him and other fans. It may be a result of the fan base still being in its infancy, but it does seem like there is a genuinely authentic interest/connection between the franchise and the fans/members.

The end zone was a very different vantage point than the other three spots from which I’d been watching footy.  On the plus side, you have a GREAT view of everything right in front of goal/generally in the forward 50 at which you’re looking. Oh, and it gives you the chance to catch a sherrin, WHICH I DID! (Clear highlight of the game).  The enthusiasm from the cheering section is contagious, and even though at times visiting fans can seem like (or actually outnumber) attending Giants fans, you feel like you’re in it and part of something communal. And you notice stuff like the royal stands.

Cons: past midfield, you can’t see shit. The oval is MASSIVE, remember, so the ball is tiny as it gets 100 meters + away. Combine that with the lack of PA and jumbotron information and it’s a much harder way to REALLY watch the game.   But for a game like this one where the Giants spent so much time on offense (in the fourth quarter in particular) it fucking worked.

As for the match itself, it was by far the most fun bloodbath I’ve ever been to. Jesse Hogan kicked 9 goals (which is MASSIVE) en route to a 126 point victory by the good guys.  Official AFL highlights here:

And the ridiculous scoreworm to drive home the point:

Once the game was over, the cheering section packed up their flags and giant pom poms

And then the purest heartwarming form of chaos ensued as children (of all ages) descended upon the field to kick the sherrins they brought with them through the professional uprights.  All at the same time.

I can’t begin to describe the pandemonium beyond saying that it would be a US liability attorney’s wet dream.  Balls were flying everywhere, including into the stands. It’s a miracle multiple children weren’t immediately concussed and/or knocked unconscious. And everyone fucking loved it. Pure joy. Panning out for a wider view

By virtue of sitting with the cheering squad, they clued me into a fan event happening after the match, so I walked over to Giants HQ to check it out.

It was cool and all, but given that I was flying out the next am, I was eager to get back, pack, and go to my favorite bar in Sydney for one last cocktail. So I bought a little more swag and called an uber/didi. Little did I know that if I had waited like 20 minutes, the players showed up, including announcing a contract extension for Jake Riccardi, but c’est la vie.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the stadium and one last (fine three last) cocktail(s) in Sydney.

Obviously, this was all in all a fantastic fucking trip.  I cannot WAIT to get back to Australia, both to watch more sports and visit more bars parts of the country. If you, like 6 weeks ago me, have never been to Australia, it is worth the long ass flight. And I hope these BOTGs were worth your eyeball time as well.

Now, with the Preliminary Finals upon us tomorrow, beyond imploring you to back a team and get into this sport (or at least check Fox Sports 2 for your ability to access the matches this weekend), I also should call out that the DFO AFL tipping pool has been pretty much wrapped up for weeks with absolute dominance by SonofSpam.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that I was the only one in the pool that correctly picked BOTH games last weekend, ensconcing my showing ahead of balls and threatening Litre for 2nd if I can pick the remaining 3 matches correctly and he goes 0 for 3.  Here’s hoping, but I’ll trade all of it for another BIG ORANGE WIN!  Let’s Go Giants!