Cricket

Throughout my time in Australia so far, I have had a few experiences with the sport of cricket. The first time I came across it was when I was in Brisbane for the weekend and it was on in the hotel room. I tried to watch it for about an hour but struggled because I could not pick up the rules from the broadcasting. I camera kept following the ball after it was hit but it took me a while to understand how the players were getting runs. I eventually realized that if they hit the ball to a certain point they get either four or six runs automatically depending on how far they hit it. After I understood this I had an easier time watching it on television. Since then, I have seen it on TV a few times at the bars and a lot of people always seem to be watching it.

I also came across cricket when I was at the Sydney Olympic Park for a field trip. There was a lot of families out in the park because it was a nice day and many of them were playing cricket. It looked like with the little ones they had a plastic paddle and plastic ball because the ball was not going very far. It was nice to see the adults playing with the children because it really seemed like a fun social thing for families to do. I also noticed at the school that I have been teaching at that many of the boys play cricket during their lunch period. They organize the games themselves and seem to really enjoy it. I would like to try and hit a ball with a cricket paddle because I am curious how difficult it is to make it go far!

Roosters v. West Tigers

This Sunday I attended a rugby league game to watch the Roosters verse the West Tigers which are both teams out of Sydney. What an experience! I though American fans were wild, but they do not nearly compare to the fans in my section at the Roosters game. Everyone around me was covered in the Rooster's red, white, and blue and it seemed like every group of people had a giant flag with them that they pulled out every time the Roosters scored. I absolutely loved how fast pace the game was and that the clock never stopped because there was non-stop excitement in the crowd. I also could not believe that the players do not wear padding because it was an extremely physical game. There were also a ton of young kids at the game that seemed to be just as into it as the adults. The Roosters ended up killing the West Tigers so I was happy to be surrounded by the enthusiastic Rooster fans. The stadium reminded me of football stadiums in the US with all of the food vendors and people drinking beer. I found it funny that the "bullshit" chant is universal and was surprised by how frequently it was yelled throughout the game. Overall, it was a great experience and I would love to go back to enjoy another game!