Just in case you didn't know, the NRL is the National Rugby League in Australia. It should also be noted that I am an American, and have never been to a single rugby match in my life. I maybe reluctantly watched a few games on TV because of friends or because it happened to be on in the pub i was in.
Some would argue that this ticket was wasted on me but hey man, it's a supply and demand kind of world and my pals had extra tickets. The NRL final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the St. something Dragons (who are from Sydney, I think).
I'm not knocking the sport, don't get me wrong. I am just unfamiliar with it. I know basically how it operates and the rules and what not and despite the fact that i was raised on American Football, i can appreciate other sports. I once watched an entire cricket match just to prove this point.
The best part of being at this match was that my pals had club-level seats. WE had a private entrance, an entire part of the stadium that is marked off for us (and everyone else who is a club member) and unlimited food and booze for free. My group really took advantage of the last thing.
So once the match started we go to our seats and i have to admit that a few things about this event really surprised me. The home team doesn't get any preferential treatment as far as celebration is concerned. The music is played and the fireworks go off whenever EITHER team scores. The same amount of enthusiasm is shown by the announcers on the sound-system.
I found this very bizarre because in the USA , Thailand, and Korea (countries i have experience in) the opposing team is shown NONE of these things. It is supposed to be hostile territory, but you know, no injuries or throwing things at the players or anything. My Australian pals said this is normal for all teams and it is against the rules to make the opposing team or their fans feel bad. Wow Australia, you have taken PC culture to a new level. Ok, when in Rome. Moving on.
I knew nothing about the opposing teams but was supposed to be cheering for the Broncos, and I as perfectly ok with that. Unfortunately the Broncos seemed to dominate the first 10 minutes or so of each of the halves and then "gassed out" because they lost the game quite badly. There was no taunting by the opposing fans for this loss, presumably because you get arrested or at least fined for being mean to someone else.
Despite not being a real fan, I really enjoyed this. I encourage everyone out there that has a chance to go to a live version of any sport you either don't understand or are judgemental of. I always found rugby boring but when you are there watching, with 45,000 other people, the vibe changes really fast. This should be done by anyone who decides to be critical of American Football, or baseball, or whatever - because when you are there, surrounded by the energy of the fans, it is very difficult to not enjoy yourself.
I know i had a great time and later my friends invited me to go to a corporate box for the State of Origin match next year. I'm hoping i can make it. :)
