A League Madness!

Posted by Zee

Autumn has arrived and I swear that it's already colder than usual. Then again it could just be my imagination after the slightly warmer conditions the past few days.

Johnny finally appeared in the city yesterday, having taken the train to Melbourne Central. On a lark, we tried some touristy stuff. And did I mention I walked a lot yesterday? No? Well you'll see in a bit. We had lunch and then I took him on a tour through the slightly empty campus (Apparently he only has 3 buildings at his University... and a shopping mall in the village. Poor thing.) and then we headed down to Lygon Street. Gelato was on the menu but the store only opened at 12.30 and we were there on the dot so we wandered down some side streets and after venturing closer to what we thought was a uge rubix cube like structure, ended up at the Melbourne Museum. So that's like crossing through half the city. Since Swanston Street is the city centre and the Museum is on the East side, I've walked half the length of the city (and back since we had to head back anyway). Admission was free due to student's concession. The Dinosaur exhibit they were setting up in December was still not ready yet so there wasn't anything new.

Then after Johnny had headed home, it was time for the A League Grand Final at Telstra Dome. For the uninitiated out there, it's football (or soccer if you insist) and the Australian League's finale to what was a topsy turvy system for Melbourne's home team. The single ticket cost a cool AU$25 and that was already half price with student concession.

There was some disturbance blocking the trams along LaTrobe at around 6pm so I ended up trekking all the way to the stadium. Telstra Dome is located just behind Southern Cross train station on the West Side of the city so technically, I've traversed the length of the city at least twice in a single day. How 'bout that?

Level 3. Row C. That may seem pretty high up but trust me, I was closer to the pitch than I've ever been in Singapore. The temperature was a cool 19 degrees celcius and the stadium was packed to full capacity. Unlike Singapore once more. Oh and the Melbourne Victory fans outnumbered the visitors like 10 to 1. Check out the huge parade to the stadium by supporters before the match. They were chanting all the way and the noise was deafening. The crowd was roaring them on to once they reached the steps to the station.

More pics here on my way to the stadium. Oh anyway, even though the ticket reads Telstra Dome, apparently their sponsorship ran out and some Middle Eastern airline bought the naming rights so it's now an ugly sounding Etihad Stadium. Yuck.

And inside the stadium.

A capacity crowd, lots of cautions, 2 red cards, and a single goal seperating the two teams. Brilliant stuff and definitely worth the trip. I'm a newly minted Victory fan now. Yepp yepp.