ANZAC DAY FOOTBALL IN MELBOURNE

On ANZAC Day, Tony woke me up at 4:45 am !!

Yes, 4:45 am !!
That's about 2 hours earlier than I usually get up.
The reason for this early morning madness was a one day trip to Melbourne to attend the Anzac Day Football.
........

Now, before we go any further, I need to give those of you who live overseas a little background about "football" in Australia.

Firstly, the term "football" in Australia does not refer to Soccer.

In Australia Soccer is always called Soccer
 and "football" refers to Rugby League, Rugby Union or Aussie Rules.

If  you are male and come from Queensland, the ACT or New South Wales and went to a Private (fee paying) school then chances are you play Rugby Union.

If you went to a state run school you probably play Rugby League ......

and if you come from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia or the Northern Territory you probably play Australian Rules Football (AFL)

........

Now, where was I ? Oh yes, we set off from home at around 5:30am to drive to the Gold Coast to pick up Sally. That's about 55 miles away ( approx one hour's drive along what is usually a very busy highway ).



I took this photo quickly through the windscreen as we drove along. It was just getting light and the day was cloudy but warm.
From Sally's place we drove to the Coolangatta Airport ( about 45 minutes ) to catch our flight to Melbourne.( a distance of about 1000 miles or 1700km ).
We had time to snatch breakfast before our 8:30 am flight which took about 2 and a half hours.

We arrived in Melbourne to 12 degrees C and showers accompanied by a brisk breeze.
( That's my kind of temperature ! )

 

On this occasion I can only give you a brief glimpse of Melbourne.

Because it is so far south they experience the seasons down there and Autumn is well under way.

Transport options are trams, trolley buses and trains.

After catching a bus from the airport ( the usual ripoff cost of $28 return ) we set out to walk towards the centre of the city along wet roads but no rain was actually falling.

The ANZAC Day parade had just finished and there were lots of football supporters going where we were headed.
These two friends who supported opposing teams were walking in front of us.

black and white for Collingwood - the Magpies ( or The Pies )
and red and black for Essendon - the Bombers.                       

We passed Flinders Street Station ( the old yellow building) and headed into Federation Square
with the cathedral in the background. 

Federation Square is a very modern construction

with the surrounding buildings covered in geometric shapes

 

We pressed on towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground - the MCG- walking along the banks of the Yarra River that winds through the centre of Melbourne.

 

In the distance you can just see the MCG.

We were joined by more and more people as we got closer to the MCG and when we turned around we were amazed to see how many. 

Most were decked out in the colours of their teams

Look closely at the photo below.
Can you see the MCG on the left and on the right at the top the Rod Laver Tennis Centre where the Australian Open is played in January every year?(click for a larger picture)

Here it is as we get closer.
The outside courts are all blue with Centre Court inside the stadium with its closing roof at the top of the photo.

Finally, after quite a long walk we were there.

Then it began to rain again and the glamorous rainwear came out !

We quickly went inside to find our seats were NOT under cover but we had about an hour till the proceedings started so we had a meat pie under cover and waited for the rain to stop.

On went the yellow ponchos and we were ready!

 

The ground gradually began to fill up and soon the ANZAC part of the day began.

Veterans of WWII and Vietnam were driven round the ground and were received with cheers and clapping as they made their way past the crowd who rose to their feet in a unanimous show of respect.

They looked like they were enjoying themselves very much.

Next came the playing of the Last Post and a minute's silence as we all remembered the fallen soldiers.

86 000 people stood completely silent.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Then it was time for the game to start.

Usually each team runs through their own teambanner but on this special day they run onto the field together through the same ANZAC banner.

Let the game begin!

In the end our team ( Collingwood ) won by ONE point !

We had a great time

then we walked back along the same route back into the city.

By then it was about 6:00pm so we walked back to the airport shuttle depot, ate a nice pizza at the airport for tea before catching an 8:30 flight back to the Gold Coast.

Eventually, our car pulled into our garage at home at 1:30 AM !

Needless to say we are both a bit weary today.

 I think we're getting old !!!

Cheers.