Catching Up...again (I'm Sorry!)

To all of you who have been so kind enough to yell at me (via email and otherwise) lately about my lack of posts...I'm sorry. I'm a delinquent. I know.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Manly Sea Eagles Rugby League match against arch rival Paramatta Eels. Our friends, Paul and Amber are big Manly supporters (not "fans" - "supporters" here) and Paul told Clarice he was going with his mate who was a Eels supporter. We got tickets as well, and we all sat together on the "hill" side of Brookvale Oval - home of the Eagles and just down the main drag from our apartment. National Rugby League (NRL) is like the New South Wales equivalent of NFL football in the states - except that it is mainly confined to the states of NSW and Queensland. A few teams are located outside of NSW and Queensland, and more are planned, but the home of NRL is Sydney and Brisbane.

Anyway, I have pics, but they are on the camera so I'll have to add them later. We had a great time and Manly won going away. Paramatta scored first, but Manly are the better team and it showed mid-way through the second half with a series of impressive tries (touchdowns). If the Eagles make it, we are going to try and go to the Grand Final - the NRL SuperBowl.

Last weekend we went the other way with rugby going to the big Australia v New Zealand Rugby Union match. This is the big international match between the two nations. We saw them play Rugby League the day I arrived, but Rugby Union is much bigger in New Zealand and this is the versions they dominate. We packed into the ANZ Stadium (the Olympic Stadium) with 79,000 other screaming people, 20,000 of which were NZ supporters. It was a lot like and NFL game except there was no tailgating for hours outside the stadium and the match was over in 1 hour 45 minutes! Because rugby plays with 2 40 minute halves and the clock keeps rolling continuously, the game went much faster than I anticipated. AUSTRALIA WON!!! That brings them up to around a .333 winning percentage (I told you NZ usually dominates). People all over said that it was the best, most exciting match they have ever scene, and we really enjoyed it as well. Being sports fans in general, we are quick to pick up rules, tactics and nuances, and that continually surprises our Aussie friends. Every time we told someone we went to the match their first 2 questions were 1) did you like it? and 2) did you understand it? Yes to both, thank you very much.

Last part of this quick up date - I travelled thousands of miles to see my favorite music act of all time! Billy Joel is coming to Australia and we got tickets to see him in Sydney in December! How weird is that? He has not come to Australia in over a decade and then comes while I am living here. I tell you, the man loves me. Now if he would shock the world with a new rock album I could be really happy. Tickets cost an arm and a leg, apparently for any big name act, but it will be well worth it. I have not seen him live since the Storm Front tour when I was in high school. I'm pumped!

Ok, that should tide you over for a little. I have an new Livin' the Aussie Life to post on Friday, and I hope to have some recent pics up soon as well. Hope everyone is having as good a time where you are as we are here!

Jon