This is likely of importance to very few people but it is something I think about every day. I am a fan of Australian rules football. It is my favorite sport. My fellow Americans are largely unaware that Australian rules football exists. It is neither American "grid iron" football, soccer, or rugby. It is a unique "code" of football. It is hugely popular in Australia where the sport has been played since the 1850s.
In 2013 my wife and I had a wonderful trip to Japan and Australia. Our youngest son and family were stationed in Japan in the U.S. Air Force for three years. We visited them for six days, then spent six days in Australia, then four more days in Japan before returning to the U.S.
While in Australia, we attended all five Australian Football League games held in Melbourne, Victoria, during the first weekend of August. Of the ten teams playing in Melbourne that round, nine of them are teams I like or at least respect. Those were among the happiest days of my life.
On Friday we took the guided tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the MCG), an outdoor stadium that seats one hundred thousand people. Aussie rules football is played during Winter and cricket during Summer, so stadiums like this nationwide are in use year round. Friday evening we saw the North Melbourne Kangaroos beat the Geelong Cats at the Docklands, a stadium with a retractable roof that seats 55,000 people. The coaches of both teams were twins!
On Saturday afternoon we saw the Richmond Tigers beat the Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG. Saturday evening we saw the Fremantle Dockers beat the Carlton Blues, again at the Docklands. The Dockers would play their first Grand Final (the Super Bowl equivalent) later that year.
See highlights of Carlton V Frementle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIyOLFEI-5I
On Sunday, back to the Docklands again, we saw the Sydney Swans (that year's champions, which Aussies call "Premieres") beat the Western (Melbourne) Bulldogs. Then a quick commuter train ride to the MCG again to see the Collingwood Magpies (my favorite team) beat the Essendon Bombers for the second time that year, mostly under the lights after sunset.
See highlights of Collingwood Magpies V Essendon Bombers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21zFG10ajDw
That week, the Hawthorn Hawks were number one on the ladder, and the Geelong Cats were number two. In spite of the fact that both teams lost, they retained their ladder positions. The Grand Final that year, played in late September, pitted the Hawthorn Hawks versus the Fremantle Dockers. It would be the first of three in a row Grand Final wins for Hawthorn (2013, 2014, & 2015).
The graphs seen here are screenshots from < www.australianfootball.com >, a superb website, perhaps the best online resource that documents the games of Australian rules football played in its home country. Here, one can see which team members played at each game and how well they performed. Click on individual charts to enlarge.
