Today I watched the Sydney Swans play against Tasmania’s Hawthorn AFL club at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Compared to the rugby league games I have watched I found the AFL game much more exciting. It took me a little while to catch on to the rules, but once I did I was much more interested in the game than any other sports I have watched so far in Australia. Not only did I think that the game moved a lot faster than the rugby games and therefore better captivated my attention, I also thought that the atmosphere was much more energetic. Almost everyone in the crowd wore their team’s colors and continuously cheered their team on. Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were a lot of young children at the game as well. The kids sitting directly in front of me, all of whom looked under ten years of age, were very into the game and seemed to understand all of the rules. One of the boys got so excited when the Swans scored he started hitting himself on the head with his noisemaker. Watching these children and the rest of the fans, I was again reminded of how integral sports are in Australian culture. The rules of the AFL game were unlike any sports I have ever seen in America. As I watched, however, I was reminded of both football and of soccer. The fan-base reminded me a lot of watching the New England Patriots of the NFL but the incredible shape the players were in reminded me more of watching my high school soccer team. Out of all the sports I have seen in Australia, the NFL was definitely my favorite and I hope that I will be able to attend another one of the Swans’ games in the future!
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