I know there are other members of this forum, but this post is mainly for Robb, who shared some handy insights when I asked about a trip to Australia.
...so I made it. Currently sitting in Melbourne airport awaiting a flight to Sydney. Was working all week (and arguing with ShаtNav) but got to explore a bit in the evenings. Melbourne is very nice, and seems like a very liveable city. Great infrastructure, food, lots of scruffy mid-gentrification neighborhoods, very diverse and from my superficial impression feels very comfortable with this. Met quite a lot of relocated Brits and every single one of them had an air of 'best decision I ever made'.
I'll have slightly less than 24 hours in Sydney. Obviously nowhere near enough but I wanted a glimpse in case I never get another chance. Back in Melbourne I'm going to an AFL game at the MCG: the Dogs vs Melbourne. Other than that, I intend to hang out in St Kilda and try to find some suburban semi-wild space where I hope to spot (and, if possible, fight) a kangaroo.
Australia was never at the top of my places to visit but now I kind of want to live there.
Melbourne vs Sydney part 2
posted on 7/4/24
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
At the risk of being filtered by Robb, I was underwhelmed by Tim Tams. Consensus in the office was that the biscuit is better than a Penguin but the chocolate worse. Then again, if you're in the States, you're probably accustomed to sнitе chocolate.
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Yeah chocolate here is shocking. Thankfully good international stuff is readily available these days.
posted on 7/4/24
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 18 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by Robb Garnacho (U22716)
posted 9 hours, 3 minutes ago
It’s a shame I took my break at that time as I absolutely would have grabbed a beer with you. Maybe next time you swing by for longer we can catch up.
Shame about the footie, you’re right - night games at a full MCG are unrivalled but also next to impossible to get tickets for. Keep watching the games though - this weekend we had the ‘Gather Round’ where all the games were played in Adelaide in an attempt to get more fans involved in that part of the country and it’s been a roaring success.
And finally you’re very right about the comparisons between the US and Oz. The US is great in so many ways but in others there’s this strange sickness at the heart of it all. When I was younger, raised on films and TV from the US I wanted to live there, I even did the Green Card lottery for a few years but now you couldn’t pay me to live there. If the UK continues its own downward spiral which I sadly saw happening back when I left during Covid then you really should look into moving here. Unless you’re rich probably avoid Sydney. Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane are all great options. Let me know if one days that’s a serious option for you and I’ll do what I can to assist 🫸🏻
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Thanks Robb. I certainly hope to be back someday. Will message you well in advance in case you're doing another sabbatical/digital detox.
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👍
posted on 25/8/24
Robb, just wanted to check in as I watched the Dogs' first game of the season live and just watched their final one on TV. They've been on a bit of a journey since then. Were pretty awful against Melbourne back in the spring (autumn) but have now cruised into the post-season. Did you say you're a follower of Sydney Swans? We're coming for you!
posted on 25/8/24
Yeah they’re doing well. Was a bit of a crazy game for them yesterday as needed to win to confirm being in the finals but the game was played in Ballarat in insane winds as you saw. They very well could win the whole thing although Hawthorn with an exciting team of young fearless players (kinda like the blueprint you hope United under Ten Hag adopt ) are tearing up games. If you guys beat them you might just go all the way. Will be a sellout at the MCG so be sure to watch as AFL finals are hugely exciting one off games.
I guess that’s kind of why I like the finals system over the PL style league. Makes the end of the season more exciting and you can still win the whole thing even if you have a bad couple of months due to injuries or form - like it used to be in England before the advent of 100 point winning seasons.
posted on 26/8/24
And yeah, a Swans supporter but whilst we won the minor premiership (basically finished top) it’s gonna be hard to win the whole thing as teams have worked us out and we’re probably 7th out of 8 in terms of form going into it. We do have home ground advantage at least.
posted on 26/8/24
Robb
Interesting that it seems to be all about momentum. I guess, as with US sports, the league is set up to be competitive, so you wouldn't see the kind of financial dominance / sporting dominance feedback loop of our game. How often does the side finishing top of the ladder go on to win the whole thing?
posted on 26/8/24
I’m not sure how often they win but they do have advantages as how it works is this ..
Final top 8 this season
Sydney Swans
Port Adelaide Power
Geelong
GWS Giants
Brisbane Lions
Bulldogs
Hawthorn
Carlton
So 1st plays 4th at home
2nd plays 3rd at home
5th plays 8th at home
6th plays 7th at home
In the first two matches if any of the sides lose they get one more chance against the winners of the other two games. So conceivably Sydney could win the first match, get a bye in the second and then in the third play that at home too. Which means (and this is the unfair bit) they only have to play the final at the MCG. It would be more fair if the final could be played in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth etc but it always has to be the MCG due to the size of the place and is the home ground for a lot of the Melbourne sides to interstate teams always tend to struggle there.
posted on 26/8/24
And yeah, the league is very much set up to be competitive. Very rarely do sides win it a couple of times in a row and any side can beat any side. You’re right about momentum and even in games that’s a thing. No matter how good or bad the side is, I’ve seen a goal change a game many times. You could see a side be 30 points down in a game and if the opposition get a goal they suddenly get 3 or 4 and it’s like a tsunami of pressure. The more AFL I watch the harder it is to go back to watching football as it’s getting oh so predictable 😂
posted on 26/8/24
comment by Robb Raygun (U22716)
posted 31 minutes ago
And yeah, the league is very much set up to be competitive. Very rarely do sides win it a couple of times in a row and any side can beat any side. You’re right about momentum and even in games that’s a thing. No matter how good or bad the side is, I’ve seen a goal change a game many times. You could see a side be 30 points down in a game and if the opposition get a goal they suddenly get 3 or 4 and it’s like a tsunami of pressure. The more AFL I watch the harder it is to go back to watching football as it’s getting oh so predictable 😂
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I've still only watched a handful of games but have already observed those fluctuations of momentum in the course of a match. Yesterday even when the Dogs were up about 20 points in the 4th quarter I felt pretty nervous.
posted on 26/8/24
Try and watch as many finals matches as you can as that’s when the real fun starts. I’m just happy I’ve converted someone 🥲