Collingwood delivers my first AFL game

Thank goodness Collingwood beat Richmond Saturday night because it would not have been as good a first AFL game for me otherwise.

In Miami, going to a sporting event can be a real headache. The latest news in Miami’s sports scene is around the new baseball park, a “gauche waste of public funds and taxpayer money” for the Miami Marlins, a losing team. The Sun Sentinel reminds fans how difficult, not to mention expensive, it is to go to a game.

With limited parking — the 37,000-seat stadium has fewer than 6,000 on-site spots and those are reserved — mass transit may appear to be the better option. That’ll work for afternoon games, but not for night games because Tri-Rail’s last train leaves its southernmost station in Hialeah at 9:40 p.m.

In contrast, going to an footy game was easy and affordable. We walked to the train station just a couple of blocks down the road and hopped on for a 20-minute ride to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). We paid $21.30 each for general admission tickets, $14 for two beers, and made our way to the rafters. Ok, so it’s not like sitting behind the goal posts. I couldn’t make out faces, but I could see jersey guernsey numbers and overall enjoyed the terrific view.

On the train headed to the footy game.

Outside the MCG.

AFL footy game.

Footy game.

Footy game.

The Pies have a young, new coach, new players, and they were sloppy at times. The first half was not the most exciting, but they brought it in the third quarter and cruised to a 12.13 (85) to 8.16 (64) victory.

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