When you think of sports in Australia, what do you think of, if anything? (Yes, snarky Jack is in the house!) Now, I conferred with my authoritative (?) source "Bitter" Shawn for background information. According to him, the NRL (like the rugby version of NFL) is the most popular sport in the country. There is also Australian Rules Football, popular mainly in the Victoria region of the country. Then, there is rugby union, often referred to as "ping pong". Whatever.
Cricket. The country is crazy for it. Use the word "crazy" in whatever context you wish. There are 3 versions of the game. There is the traditional 5-day "Test" version, a much more popular 1-day version, and now, 20/20!! 20/20 is a made-for-the-MTV-generation. In short, in baseball terms, each team gets 120 pitches to score as many runs as possible. Shawn and I went the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds. Cricket has been played at the site since 1848. The oldest still-standing structure dates to 1886 (at first the members' pavilion, now for the ladies). The current members' pavilion dates to 1883. The two stands combined might hold a couple thousand people, at the very most. The modified stadium holds about 44,000. It is really cool (if you're a sports/history geek like me) to see the old kept within the new.
I bought a general admission ticket to see the undefeated Sydney Sixers host the defending champion Perth Scorchers. Given my fashion sense, it is a bit surprising to some that I did not buy Sixers gear, predominantly fluorescent pink (they say magenta - I disagree). I did, though, place a legal sports bet on-site. YES! 5 Australian dollars straight up on the home team! After the opposition did their thing and put up a very unimpressive score, Shawn informed me that my bet was a cinch. The Sixers did their very best to imitate their Philadelphia NBA brethren. Seriously. They put up a score that had Shawn earnestly looking up historic low totals for 20/20 matches. If you know anything about this version, Sydney was bowled out in 17 overs, scoring 99 runs. Really?!
I had the opportunity to teach some American football to my Aussie "nephew" Kaylan and his younger cousin Layla. This was a much more satisfying sports experience. We also enjoyed some quality time outdoors, including to the Royal Botanic Gardens down by the harbour (there's that pesky "u" again!)
My trek home begins later this afternoon. An all-photos, all-the-time diary entry will be coming in the near future. Hoops snakes, drop-bears and kangawallafoxes, oh my! G'day!!!
Cricket. The country is crazy for it. Use the word "crazy" in whatever context you wish. There are 3 versions of the game. There is the traditional 5-day "Test" version, a much more popular 1-day version, and now, 20/20!! 20/20 is a made-for-the-MTV-generation. In short, in baseball terms, each team gets 120 pitches to score as many runs as possible. Shawn and I went the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds. Cricket has been played at the site since 1848. The oldest still-standing structure dates to 1886 (at first the members' pavilion, now for the ladies). The current members' pavilion dates to 1883. The two stands combined might hold a couple thousand people, at the very most. The modified stadium holds about 44,000. It is really cool (if you're a sports/history geek like me) to see the old kept within the new.
I bought a general admission ticket to see the undefeated Sydney Sixers host the defending champion Perth Scorchers. Given my fashion sense, it is a bit surprising to some that I did not buy Sixers gear, predominantly fluorescent pink (they say magenta - I disagree). I did, though, place a legal sports bet on-site. YES! 5 Australian dollars straight up on the home team! After the opposition did their thing and put up a very unimpressive score, Shawn informed me that my bet was a cinch. The Sixers did their very best to imitate their Philadelphia NBA brethren. Seriously. They put up a score that had Shawn earnestly looking up historic low totals for 20/20 matches. If you know anything about this version, Sydney was bowled out in 17 overs, scoring 99 runs. Really?!
I had the opportunity to teach some American football to my Aussie "nephew" Kaylan and his younger cousin Layla. This was a much more satisfying sports experience. We also enjoyed some quality time outdoors, including to the Royal Botanic Gardens down by the harbour (there's that pesky "u" again!)
My trek home begins later this afternoon. An all-photos, all-the-time diary entry will be coming in the near future. Hoops snakes, drop-bears and kangawallafoxes, oh my! G'day!!!
It was fantastic to have you here! Give us a cooee (Aussie for a shout/ hello/ Oi!) to let us know when you're home safe. Xx
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