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Footy Match

I fell in love with the AFL -- Australian Football League. Sorta a cross between soccer and rugby, the AFL is to Australia what the NHL is to Canada. It is played on a cricket pitch -- the fields are HUGE and is really easy to get into / pick up.

These seats were the equivalent of sitting at the very front of the second section in Rexall Place to watch the Oilers. This gives you a great perspective of how large the field is.

Kick it through the middle uprights is a "goal" and counts as 6 points. Miss the middle, but still get it through the shorter uprights is 1 point. You literally punt the ball through the uprights -- and some of the players can kick it easily 45 - 50 yards for a goal.

The home team enters onto the field.

The home team scores a goal and the (small) crowd goes crazy.

Here is a pretty good YouTube Video that shows hightlights of an AFL game. It's worth a look for sure. Some of the "marks" are amazing. A Mark is where the ball is kicked and you catch it in the air. Doing so means that the opposition has to give you space (i.e. can't tackle you) up to the point where you caught the ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s25elPRdK1M

posted by Team Shawn Michaels @ 8:00 p.m.