Our footy-mad Aussie mate Michael arrived last Saturday evening. This past weekend was the opening round of the 2013 AFL season and his team played Sunday afternoon. As such, we found a bar in Shanghai that had the game live and tossed back a few fermented beverages while enjoying the spectacle. As we watched his team pull away near the end of the third quarter, a large bloke approached and introduced himself. Turns out he plays for the Shanghai Tigers, the local Shanghai AFL team, and wanted to know if we'd like to join the team.
Tuesday at 8:00pm, Michael joined me for my first AFL practice. Despite similarity in ball shape, there is a very different technique to kicking an Australian Rules football than an American football. Arriving slightly late due to unfamiliarity with the practice location, I took my first kick of the footy during drills. It wasn't pretty, but I essentially accomplished the objective. Combining an AFL-style ball drop with a NFL-style punt finish, I booted a low liner with a spiral that was in the vicinity of my target. Pretty sure everybody knew I was American at that point as the footy is supposed to have a reverse end-over-end spin to it. Despite one major flub, I think I held my own amongst the 25 guys that showed for practice. Michael boosted my confidence by confirming I "wasn't the worst" on the grounds. He reckons he was the best kick.
I'm not sure what will come of this. It's a fun game. I think I'll head out for another practice solo and see how it goes. It seems to be more of a pick-up league than anything too serious. I think they play mostly intrasquad, but I have seen past results with matches against Beijing, Hong Kong, and some Asian AFL championship thing in Cambodia. Might need a few more handballs and kicks under my belt before heading off to Cambodia.
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| From www.shanghaiaussierules.com |
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