Aaron here with a quick Friday (Day 12) update -
So Friday was another vocational day, so everyone had a chance to get some work done before a long, holiday weekend. My day revolved around sports and more sports (I know, how horrible!). After a brief meeting with Jeff Slattery Publications, which handles all publications for the AFL (Australian Football League), my host Ben DeBolfo and I squeezed in a tour of the Telstra Dome. This is a gorgeous facility and has been the host of the city’s greatest concerts. While most arenas and stadiums don’t vary too much, this had a movable roof and their media interview room was easily the best of the 20-30 stadiums I have seen. Very cool.
As has been the case, the weather was fantastic, so it was a perfect night for football (or footy as its called here – for future reference our footbal is called gridiron over here). The entire group met up for a preseason AFL match between Carlton and Western Australia. Carlton, the home team, won, but we didn’t really care, as it was fun just to see the action.
Even though it was just the final preseason game, it was a notable game that drew over 10,000 fans. Of historical significance, part of these grandstands are scheduled to be demolished within the coming weeks. This stadium holds a lot of special memories for the community, as it’s nearly 100 years old. The WA Bulldogs (the white team) also saw the debut of their top draft pick from a year ago.
As for our impressions of footy — I think the ladies in the group might be lobbying for an AFL expansion team in Nebraska…. It could have been the uniforms, more than the strategy, but I’m not sure.
We capped off the night with a dinner at one of the local hotels. Unlike America, hotels are basically restaurants over here which serve full menus. We all had incredible food – which is safe to say, because Jen and Christine sampled everybody’s plates, then we all shared desserts (you have to try them all don’t you?).
This was our last night with the Essendon Rotary Club, so we wrapped up kind of early (especially since we had stayed up late the night before).
