Tonight I got my first up-close look at Australian sports. I accompanied five other guys to a Sydney Bulldogs National Rugby League game at Telstra Stadium in Olympic Park. On a side note, I would love to do some walking around the Olympic Park, which contains all of the sports facilities used for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The game was pretty entertaining – although I cannot go far enough to say it was as exciting as an American sporting event. Rain showered us the entire two hours, leaving me drenched and freezing by midway through the second half. But you all know I love rain. If it was a little bit warmer, the weather would have been perfect.
The game is fast-paced and far from boring. The basic premise is that players can only throw the ball – sort of shaped like a football – backward and a team scores a “try,” worth four points, by advancing the ball into the other team’s end zone (I don’t know if that is the proper terminology). An additional two points is scored if a “goal,” where a player tries to kick the ball through a pair of goalposts from about 20 yards away, is made after the try. Players can also kick the ball to improve field position, or they can try a minor ground kick – kind of like an onside kick – where a teammate will attempt to recover it downfield. These “onside kicks” are usually tried near the end zone, where the defense is often stiff. The sport is far from halcyon. Players beat up on each other the entire 80 minutes – without pads. I was amazed that there wasn’t one injury during the contest. Ultimately, for $25, it was a satisfying experience. I might try to go to an Australian Rules football game – an entirely different sport – in a couple weeks.
JL
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