Australian Rules Football

I'm not sure if I'll have time to blog tomorrow, so I'll give you a quick overview of what's going down on Saturday afternoon.

It's SAINT KILDA VS COLLINGWOOD in the AFL Grand Final.

Basically, it's like our Superbowl but for Australian Rules Football. Here are some fun facts about AFL.

        *It's only played in Australia
        *People say it's like a combination of rugby and soccer
        *Nobody says Australian Rules Football. Call it Footy.
        *It's only popular in certain regions of the country! People in the southern and western part of the country love
          footy, everybody else loves rugby.
        *Adelaide has two teams. Perth (in Western Aus) has two teams. Sydney has one team. Queensland (northeast Aus) has
          one. Melbourne has ten. I bet you can guess the footy capital of Australia?
        * Our Adelaide teams play in the same arena. We have the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide. Go Crows!

St. Kilda and Collingwood are Melbourne teams. I want Collingwood to lose. I haven't liked them since they beat the Crows in the finals last year. Plus, their mascot is a magpie. Since I've been hit in the head multiple times by magpies, I just can't support a bunch of guys in black and white jerseys. So for your entertainment, I would like to share some jokes-all in good fun- from an e-mail I got at work today. People like to consider the Collingwood fans as feral people (e.g. urinating on opposing fans- it has happened before), although I know some classier ones.

I am a magpie and I like to swoop people in the head!

Q: Why did the Collingwood supporter cross the road?
A: To start a fight with a complete stranger, for no reason whatsoever
Q: What do you call a female Collingwood supporter in a white tracksuit?
A: The bride
Q: If you see a Collingwood supporter on a bike, why should you not try to hit him?
A: It might be your bike

I'm so excited that tomorrow is Friday! We're having a Grand Final barbeque at lunch tomorrow and will probably make fun of the Collingwood supporters. It seems that most of us are Saints fans.

Alastair and I are either going to somebody's house to watch the game, or we'll watch it at a pub with friends. Should be FUN!!! GO SAINTS!

I should also mention that St. Kilda is a gorgeous suburb of Melbourne. Al and I had a blast walking around the beach and shopping while we were there. Ok...actually only one of us had a blast shopping .

Expect some good words on St. Kilda when I post my Melbourne recap.

If I don't get the chance to post tomorrow, happy Friday to everybody!

Also, if you want to see what footy is all about, you can watch the game on Friday night! When Al and I were in Chicago together, we watched it at Timothy O'Toole's. Do a search for pubs that are playing the Grand Final. You'll find some. You'll like it- it's a very easy sport to get into!