In Australia, as we are learning, a lot of people follow Australian Rules Football. The premier league in Australia is the AFL or Australian Football League. The AFL season is getting ready to fire up in March and we hope to take in a game (or is it called match?). From what I have read (one place to start to get an appreciation of the importance of "footy" in Australia is here), Aussie football is as popular in Australia as the NFL in America - and perhaps even more so in terms of the percentage of its people following the sport.
The area around Melbourne hosts 9 of the 18 teams in the AFL. Imagine 1/2 of the NFL located in New York City or Los Angeles! That's how important the AFL is in Melbourne. So, KW and I are trying to take in a match in Melbourne and "barrack for" (versus "root for" as we say here in America) one of the local favorites.
Obtaining tickets has been a bit difficult and complex. We are looking to try to attend the March 24, 2014 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Essendon Bombers. However, either tickets are already sold out or not available yet - we can't quite tell which. If you are familiar with Australia and the AFL, tell us what is the best way to grab a pair of tickets. The AFL and Australian Ticketmaster site don't appear to offer any tickets to the game.
If we are not able to attend a match of the premier league (the AFL), are there other levels of match that we can and should explore?
If you are a fan of the game, tell us what we should look out for if/when we are able to attend a match. What are the local customs and traditions associated with Aussie football, and what faux pas should we be aware of and avoid?
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