The Game that Made Australia

Saturday is AFL final day at the MCG here in the City of Melbourne which means that the hostels are full to overflowing with footy nuts and I have been evicted from The Nunnery along with the other semi-permanent residents. That's okay, I have decided to treat myself to a hotel room for the duration as I would rather get some sleep if there is a likelihood that the footy will be followed by either a wake or a celebration. Win or lose the subsequent knees-up will likely go on through the night.

For the first time in ten years the two clubs competing in the final are local to Melbourne. Usually it is a Melbourne team and one from somewhere else, Brisbane, Newcastle, that sort of thing. It was 1977, I'm told by a very knowledgeable AFL supporting florist outside the Town Hall, when two local teams last battled it out for the final. Then it was North Melbourne and Collingwood. My local florist was obviously the right person to talk to when gathering AFL info.

So I decide as a foreigner, to test how footy mad this town is by spot quizzing people on the street to see if they can name the two teams playing and the animals they represent. Oh dear Mum, your wayward daughter is off talking to strangers again. What would you do with her?

The correct answer I am looking for to my footy question is the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks. I am asked on one occasion what the prize for getting it right is and the answer is a friendly smile. I survey twenty people, ten women and ten men of all age groups. My selection is random except for two common criteria. One is that the person has to be stationary as I am not going so far into the footy spirit as to tackle them on the street. This means that they tend to fit the other demograph which is that they are mostly smokers, enjoying a quiet puff outside on the street. As Melbourne seems to be full of smokers this provides me with ample prospects.

Of the twenty, fifteen were local Melburnians or at least Australians as two of my female subjects had come down from the Gold Coast specially for the game. “You count then as local supporters,” I assured them. The other five were from overseas and had no idea what I was talking about if they even understood English. The fifteen locals all came through with flying colours getting the answer correct. The City Embassador quizzed as one of the fifteen claimed that every true blue Aussie would know. City Embassadors I should add here are volunteers dressed in red jackets and fedoras wandering around the city to answer tourist questions. They are a lovely bunch of people.

One chap surveyed was a small boy wearing a Hawks shirt. When I asked him which team he supported he answered the Cats. “But, but the shirt?” I pointed out with confusion. His dad tells me that they have only been following the footy for half the season and junior's allegiance is as changeable as the Melbourne weather.

“Are you going to play footy when you get bigger then?” I asked. “And be an AFL star?”

That produced a smile as bright as a crescent moon and a vigorous nod.

“We'll see,” murmured Pop giving me a look that indicated that junior's ball handling skills were more appropriate to spreading on toast than holding onto a rugby ball.

So of the survey score so far? Aussie home team fifteen correct answers, visitors nil. And who is picked to win the final? Hands down the support goes to the Cats because as my little Hawks jersey wearing friend claims, “The Cats rock. They are the best team ever!” Dad shakes his proud head and smiles. The general consensus on the score is that Geelong (pronounced G'long by the way), will take the win by three goals. We shall see on Saturday then.