It was a very strange day Sunday.
The Intramural Field was overrun by men and women speaking in
strange tongues; many had trouble pronouncing their
“˜r.’ Otherwise, sane people were seen punching, kicking
and running into each other going full tilt. And last year’s
champion lost.
Sunday, the Kangaroos from North Melbourne, Australia, defeated
the 2005 Australian Football League Premier Champion the Sydney
Swans with a score of 86 to 38.
The exhibition game concluded Australia Week, also called
“G’Day LA,” a government-sponsored bonanza that
celebrated all things Australian. The hype generated by the event
packed the IM field.
“This is our first year coming over to the U.S. to
play,” said Swans General Manager Andrew Ireland. “It
was a very big week.”
For those who didn’t manage to glimpse some of the action
since the tickets sold out very quickly, Australian Rules Football
is a game similar in pace to soccer, but extraordinarily more
violent and dangerous. It’s played full-contact with no pads,
and the object is to punt the ball through the opposing
team’s central goal posts, getting 6 points, without getting
clocked by one of the 18 people on the other team, each of whom are
allowed to hit the ball carrier as hard as they can from the neck
down.
The ball is punted or punched (called a “handball”)
down the field, and catching the ball is called a
“mark” or “speckie,” depending on how
spectacular it was. Even after making the toughest
“speckie,” the players never slow down. In fact, there
is a penalty for deliberately interfering with the game play in
this way.
Despite the seeming appearance of chaos on the field, the game
is very well regulated by the “white maggots,” or
umpires. Tripping and fighting are serious offenses, which are
taken to a suspension tribunal. However, the game does have several
strange rules and allowances. One is the jump and punch.
“If you can grab a guy’s collar, you can bring your
fist up and get him in the jaw,” said a friendly and
enthusiastic Aussie who introduced himself as Stewart.
Stewart was one of many spectators who hailed from various parts
of the globe; many came from Australia, while others came from
within the states.
Robyn Sidewell, an Australian who made the trip from her home in
Detroit, was very excited to be at the game.
“This is the first one I’ve seen in the U.S,”
she said. “Usually, I have to watch them on TV.”
The bleachers all around the IM field were packed, giving
evidence of the sport’s popularity. Ireland said that the
draws are even larger in Australia.
“We’ll frequently get 70,000-80,000 people per
game,” he said.
But the most distinguishing aspect of the sport isn’t the
massive crowds, the intense and physical game play or the crazy
jargon. No, it’s the signal scoring a goal. The umpire, after
watching the ball pass through the posts above him, pulls his hands
to his side in a manner similar to that of a cowboy drawing his
six-shooter.
The teams have left Westwood to return to their native land to
prepare for the 22-game season that starts in one month.
With reports from Muriel Cantryn, Bruin sports
contributor.