Memorable Experiences
This is a new section in ERR, and was included in response to the following item that I received from Adam Baldock. An interesting read, and I echo Adam's comment in the last paragraph.
Recently I was fortunate enough to have a chance to go to Canberra and watch the ACT Brumbies win their Super 12s Rugby Union semi final over the Waikato Chiefs in front of virtually a full house. It was the first time I'd watched top level Union in the flesh, and the experience got me thinking about the few opportunities I'd had to watch top level sport, even though I'm an admitted sports addict. Then again, writing them down makes me think again...I suspect I've been far more fortunate then I initially realised.
Now I admit immediately that as a young child growing up in Sydney I regularly attended Rugby League matches, however by the age of 12 we had moved to the rural NW of the New South Wales, and from then on my sports watching was done exclusively in my family's lounge room, at least until I was 17. That summer our PE teacher somehow found himself with a bunch of passes which allowed under 18s into the Sydney Cricket Ground for free for the summer, excluding One Day Internationals. So two mates and I began organising our trip to see the Australia/ South Africa test, in the first series between the two countries since South Africa had been welcomed back into international play. With cricket as my number 1 game, and the one I spent my entire life playing until recent years (not as impressive as it sounds, since I'm 27) to be able to go and see a test was beyond exciting. Even though my mates had had enough after two days, I went for all five, and was fortunate enough to see a classic match, won by the visitors by less than 10 runs. This remains the one and only cricket game I've attended at first class level.
With uni, and poverty, looming, their ended my live sports experience, unless you count university action, which I can assure you in Australia bares no resemblance to the college programs of the USA. Still everyone's pretty much welcome to participate, and I had the chance to play sports not offered in my little country town as a teenager. With our move two years ago to the SW of the state, we are now less than two hours away from Canberra, home of the Raiders (Rugby League) as well as the Brumbies. The Raiders play more games and generally have smaller crowds, so after a little prodding my girlfriend and/or friends and I have begun to attend their games semi-regularly, bringing back warm memories of my youth, albeit without the experience of rolling down the back of the hill and/or tobogganing on old beer cartons in the 2nd half, as we did at many grounds when I was a kid.
In closing, I suspect I'm not alone in my keenness to hear others most memorable live sports watching experiences (that's a mouthful), so fire away!