Grand final weekend

It was one of those special weekends in Sydney when the sun seemed to shine especially for us. We had Monday off for Labour Day and that gave everyone the opportunity to enjoy their barbecues in a more relaxed fashion, i.e. get a bit looser than usual. It was also grand final weekend, with the AFL on Saturday and the rugby league on Sunday. The rugby union world cup is on at the moment too, so it was pretty much a football lover's dream.

Here in Sydney, we're fond of confusing visitors with all our different codes of football, and in my wife's case, the effort is quite unnecessary. I keep promising myself that I'll teach her a bit about the games (lucky woman eh?). She has been to one AFL match and we have tickets to see the cricket in the summer. But blame it on the male inability to multitask, I just can't seem to watch football, drink beer and explain what's going on all at the same time.

The other thing we like to point out to visitors and 'new Australians' is the intense body contact. "They don't wear any protection," we boast, as if that makes it more worth watching. It's also another way of Yank-bashing by insinuating that American Football is played by a big bunch of girls' blouses. There was one moment of spectacular brutality in the rugby league grand final, when Manly fullback Brett Stewart was 'tackled' after taking a high ball.

It was not illegal, nor malicious, but it was ugly. It's a grand final, so we need to find a way to smooth things over. Enter the referee who ruled that Stewart was held with the ball. In fact he was knocked senseless with the ball, which made it hard for him to hang onto it. To audible sighs of relief he walked to the sideline, a team mate played the ball and it was game on again. Pass me another beer.

And while we're on the subject of heavy tackles (and, at a stretch, American Football), here's one of ex-AFL player Sav Rocca taking his first punt after moving to the NFL.

Now the boys have a few months to get over their concussions while we enjoy the cricket ...