Rob's Blog

My wife and I went to watch Australian versus England in the first one day match of the current series, played at the MCG. We thought we were lucky to find some of the last remaining seats amongst the crowd on the bottom level, hoping to enjoy a few rays of sunshine. Mistakenly, we had sat in the old Bay 13 section, where all rowdy supporters are seated. The first thing we noticed as a large security and police presence. On the scoreboard they listed unacceptable behaviour, but I did not read it as it was such a long list! I soon found out some of what was on the list, as people around us, one by one, were kicked out the ground for breaking the rules. One of the biggest problems was throwing beach balls. At first I thought that they were being a bit heavy handed – what damage can a beach ball do? After my wife was covered with spilt beer and such five times from guys jumping up to hit the balls, I joined the anti-beach ball club. We also saw around us people who had brought in alcohol, were smoking, and even one guy threw a tennis ball at a player fielding on the boundary, hitting him in the back. All these people were promptly sent home. To finish it off, in the last overs someone ran onto the field, not quite with all his gear off, and would have found himself given a $6000 fine. An expensive day at the cricket. All in all we heard that over 100 people were ejected from the stadium. What about the cricket? Well, after the break we moved to the quieter upper level, and were actually able to watch some of the game. Australia won as expected.

Related Pages: Cricket, MCG

My wife is expecting a baby in April next year, and one thought in my mind is whether to get he or she onto the waiting list for the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is an exclusive club - the waiting list is so long that it may take 20 years before you are offered a place. To get onto the waiting list, it currently costs a non-refundable $55. A lot can happen in 20 years. Once they offer you membership, if you don’t take it up you may forfeit your place. By then you may not even be interested in sport. If you do take up the offer of membership, it is going to cost you a small fortune to join and stay a member. The current entrance fee is $660.00 (which you pay in installments as you move through the various membership and age categories), and being a full member also cost $504 annually. If you are not at a stage to regularly go to matches or events at the ground, it is quite a bit to pay. In twenty years time, MCC membership will probably be very well sought after. My child can always so no, I see the $55 fee as a good price to pay to just give them the chance of membership.

Related Pages: Cricket, Aussie Rules, MCG

The end of the season is here, and my third favourite team had made it to the AFL Grand Final! The West Coast Eagles playing the Sydney Swans. Our seats were not too bad, on the top level above the pocket, and just under the scoreboard. We were early enough to catch all of the pre-game entertainment, though I would struggle to describe it as entertaining. They need to get some class acts and not just use mediocre performers that satisfy sponsors or the media. We have probably been spoiled with Olympic and Commonwealth Games opening ceremonies in recent years, where they go over the top with the displays. At half time the main entertainment was the sprint race, which for some unknown reason was handicapped this year, and the winner started well ahead of the others - it was a joke. The game was much more exciting, as it should be, it was the reason we were there. The Eagles got off to a good start, but such was the closeness in ability of these teams it was never a comfortable margin. The Swans crept up on the Eagles and the game finished with just a point between the teams. We finished the day of entertainment at the ‘after party’ at Punt Road Oval as did thousands of others. We were lucky to get in – they closed the gates not long after we passed through. We got a beer and watched Mark Seymour while waiting an hour or two for the victorious Eagles to show up - which they did for only a few minutes. We were satisfied, and ready for home.

Related Pages: AFL, MCG, Sydney Swans, West Coast Eagles

For the first time, I went into Melbourne city to watch the AFL grand final parade, where the grand final teams are presented to the people of Melbourne the day before the big game. We arrived in time to get a spot only one row back from the front with pretty good views of the street. We had another half hour to wait around for the parade to arrive. It all happened pretty quickly, the players passed by sitting in the back of cars, occasionally waving to the crowd. The players seem disinterested – maybe they had something else on their mind, like a game of footy? I am sure they all just itching to get out onto the MCG and play, as we were itching to see the game. It was a disappointment really. The crowd disappeared just as quickly as the players passed, leaving an empty street for us to walk along. The street blockade remained for a while, leaving us the chance to parade down the middle of the street too. That was the highlight for me!

Related Pages: AFL

As a famous sports commentator once said, “Too much sport is never enough”, though lately it must be a strain for some armchair sports fans. The other evening, you could have stayed up and watched on TV all the action of the World Cup Football, Wimbledon, the Tour de France, and AFL and Rugby League games. As many of these sporting events are broadcast throughout the night here in Australia, you would have to go without sleep to keep up with all the world sport action. No wonder there are quite a few people who have taken these weeks off work so they can watch sport. I like to watch sport like the best of them, though I don’t think I would use up my valuable holiday time to do it. If I was going to take holidays, I would travel and go and see some of the sport live.

Related Pages: AFL, World Cup Football, Wimbledon, Tour de France, Rugby League

One of the unexpected pleasures of moving to Melbourne, the self-proclaimed sports capital of Australia, is listening to the sports radio station (SEN). Nowhere else in Australia have I come across a radio station that is solely about sports. As expected, it has a high proportion of AFL content, but a 24/7 sports station still has plenty of time to cover other sports, and they do so in an entertaining and informed way.

Related Pages: AFL