On Saturday I watched my godbrother Tim's footy (rugby) final. It was the first footy match I’ve attended since being here, though I hope to go to many. Tim's dad, Shane, kindly explained some of the rules to me throughout the game.  I at least know that there are two kinds of rugby in Australia, league and union, an important distinction that Australians make when they are talking about footy.

Singing victory song

I felt right at home at the match, despite my ignorance of some of the rules, as the atmosphere of this club footy game was similar to that of a Bowdoin-Colby hockey game. The cheers were loud, sometimes lewd and dominated by indiscriminate yelling.  I half expected to hear someone (namely a certain brunette Canadian) to yell “Sir!” at the top of their lungs.  Tim's team was victorious and sang their hilarious team song.  I wish I had gotten it on video.  It was classically Australian and more like a drinking song than a sport song, quite different from the All Black's Haka. 

Me, Tim, Shane and Alex after the match