NFL Road Trip 2013 - Redux

A few weeks ago, the NFL released its 2013 schedule. I was flying out to Phnom Penh that afternoon so I put together a very quick NFL road trip plan, which I do every year just for fun. It took about 30 minutes to prepare and wasn't very good, as I realized after I returned to Singapore.

The main flaw was starting in Denver and moving to the West Coast without including a visit to the Arizona Cardinals. That strategy forces a return trip to Phoenix which essentially means criss-crossing the country four times. I knew that there was a better plan, so I resorted to the old standby: the roadtrip matrix. Using a spreadsheet program such as Excel, you enter the dates along the left side and the teams along the top, in roughly the order you would visit them while driving. Then you fill in the matrix when a team has a home game on that date. The entire season is thus visible at a glance. As an example, check out a portion of the full matrix below:

       Den Ind Cin Cle Pit Buf Was Bal Phil NE
5-Sep  Bal         
8-Sep      Oak     Mia Ten NE    
9-Sep                          Phi   
12-Sep                                      NYJ
15-Sep     Mia             Car     Cle SD 
16-Sep         Pit       
19-Sep                                 KC 
22-Sep         GB      Chi     Det Hou      TB

This shows home games for ten cities for the first three weeks of the campaign. For example, Baltimore plays in Denver on September 5th, Indianapolis hosts Oakland on the 8th, and so on. You can quickly see what the possibilities are for a trip that would allow for at least two games per week for those three weeks (one possibility: Denver, Pittsburgh, Washington in Week 1, New England, Buffalo, Cincinnati in Week 2, and Philadelphia and Baltimore in Week 3).

When looking at all 32 teams over 17 weeks though, it becomes a bit more difficult to immediately see a possible route. The next step is then to group geographically proximate locations together, highlighting a series of games that can be seen. For example, you’d want to see the Chiefs and Rams around the same time, the three Florida teams, the two New York teams, the five clubs on the West Coast, etc. When you do this, the path that you would have to take becomes a lot clearer

The Thursday and Monday night games are also key considerations. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to realize that achieving 32 stadium visits in 17 weeks means two games per week most of the time. Assuming you see a game every Sunday, you’d then need to see either the Thursday or Monday game in 15 out of the 16 weeks (there are no non-Sunday games in the final week). This really limits your choices. It might be nice to see a game in Kansas City on one Sunday and St. Louis the following week, but if that means missing the Monday and Thursday games in between, it really hampers the overall trip. So you are looking for weeks where a team with a night game is close to a team with a Sunday game. You also want to avoid seeing a team on a Sunday if it happens to have a suitable night game later in the year.

Keeping all this in mind, I was able to put together the following trip, beginning with the season opener in Denver and ending in Seattle. Note that this trip is different than the one first posted - I moved St. Louis and Kansas City earlier in the year (better opponents) and then Detroit and Buffalo after New York, with the Miami and Carolina games moved a bit later in the trip to the Southeast.

Thu Sep 5    Baltimore at Denver 6:30
Sun Sep 8    Oakland at Indianapolis 1:00
Mon Sep 9    Philadelphia at Washington 7:10
Thu Sep 12   NY Jets at New England 8:25
Sun Sep 15   Cleveland at Baltimore 1:00
Mon Sep 16   Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 8:40
Thu Sep 19   Kansas City at Philadelphia 8:25
Sun Sep 22   Chicago at Pittsburgh 8:30
Thu Sep 26   San Francisco at St. Louis 7:25
Sun Sep 29   NY Giants at Kansas City 12:00
Thu Oct 3    Buffalo at Cleveland 8:25
Sun Oct 6    Detroit at Green Bay 12:00
Thu Oct 10   NY Giants at Chicago 7:25
Sun Oct 13   Carolina at Minnesota 12:00
Sun Oct 20   New England at NY Jets 1:00
Mon Oct 21   Minnesota at NY Giants 8:40
Sun Oct 27   Dallas at Detroit 1:00 
Sun Nov  3   Kansas City at Buffalo 1:00
Sun Nov 10   Dallas at New Orleans 7:30
Mon Nov 11   Miami at Tampa Bay 8:40
Thu Nov 14   Indianapolis at Tennessee 7:25
Sun Nov 17   Arizona at Jacksonville 1:00
Mon Nov 18   New England at Carolina 8:40
Thu Nov 21   New Orleans at Atlanta 8:25
Sun Nov 24   Carolina at Miami 1:00
Thu Nov 28   Oakland at Dallas 3:30
Sun Dec 1    New England at Houston 3:25
Sun Dec 8    St. Louis at Arizona 1:25
Sun Dec 15   Kansas City at Oakland 1:05
Sun Dec 22   Oakland at San Diego 1:25
Mon Dec 23   Atlanta at San Francisco 5:40
Sun Dec 29   St. Louis at Seattle 1:25

There is only the one west coast trip at the end, so you are looking at just over 21,000 highway miles starting and ending in Denver. There are a couple of tough Sunday/Monday combos, particularly going from the Sunday night game in New Orleans to the one in Tampa on Monday. As well, most of the cold-weather cities would be dealt with in September and October. There are three Thursday-Sunday-Monday trifectas but two of them are in the first two weeks, which helps keep the latter part of the schedule more spaced out for relaxation and less driving.

The trip would last for 118 days and there are several good games on the slate. The Raiders and Chiefs are seen as the road team 3 times, and there is one home-and-home (Jets-Patriots). It is the best trip I've put together in the seven years I've been doing this. Most trips are 24,000 miles or more, so this is the most economical one. In fact, this is so intriguing that I am actually thinking of doing it!

Without getting into details, my personal life will be undergoing some changes and I might have a few free months at the end of the year. Why not complete the holy grail of sports road trips? I've already booked a rental car and am beginning to look at the logistics and overall cost. The final decision will be given in early July.

Update: It's July and I'm going on the trip, but not this one. I altered the schedule a bit and leave for Denver on September 4th on my NFL Stadium Journey!

Best,

Sean

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Singapore Slingers 39 at Indonesia Warriors 64 (ASEAN Basketball League) - May 10, 2013

When the ASEAN Basketball League schedule was released back in January, I thought it would be cool to see a game on the road. There are six teams in the league, all based in large cities throughout the region, with the Singapore Slingers my "home" team. Among the other five cities, I've been to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur, which made Jakarta the logical choice for a roadtrip as it was the only place I had yet to visit. So before the season even started, I booked a weekend trip in May, when the Slingers would be taking on the Indonesia Warriors in the penultimate game of the season. Big mistake.



When the Slingers opened the season here a week later, I went to see them play and was disappointed at the low-quality of basketball. I wasn't expecting NBA-caliber play, but what I saw was just ugly. I shelved any plans about returning to the Singapore Indoor Stadium to see the Slingers, and considered ignoring the game in Jakarta as well. However, the scheduling gods did not see fit to have an Indonesian Super League fixture while I was in Jakarta, and since I am obsessed with counting the number of countries in which I have seen sporting events (now at 19), it was the ABL after all.



The Warriors play at BritAma Arena Sports Mall at Mahaka Square. This is not really a sports venue, rather it is a small shopping mall with a basketball court. Getting there is painful as Jakarta's rush hour traffic is brutal, particularly on the highway. Coupled with a taxi driver who didn't know where he was going (or was ripping me off), I ended up about 30 minutes late, causing me to miss the first quarter and a bit. Turned out the taxi driver was doing me a favour, as when I arrived the score was just 23-16 for the home team - yet the second quarter was nearly half over! Another ugly game was in progress.



The ticket was 100,000 rupiah (about $10) for an unreserved seat behind the basket. But with no ushers and no reserved seating, I just sat at the first available spot facing one of the foul lines. The court has two levels and can hold up to 4,000 fans, but the upper deck was closed off today (you can see the black tarp in the shot below) so the fans were crowded into the lower section.



Barely ten minutes after I sat down it was halftime (Warriors leading 30-16) so I took the opportunity to tour the mall. Most of the stores were closed but there was a full-service supermarket open which had everything that you would expect, including fruits and vegetables. Turns out the neighbourhood is largely residential and there were more people doing their weekend shopping than watching the game!



I returned to my seat for the second half and the Warriors quickly went on a 9-3 run to make it 39-19 and end the suspense. There would be no epic comeback like the Bruins managed over some hapless, unnamed NHL team; instead the rest of the game was just back and forth basketball with the home team eventually winning 64-39. Considering the game is 40 minutes long, the Slingers managed to score less than a point per minute, unheard of in pro basketball. Did I mention it was ugly? Even the scoreboard was acting up, giving the Warriors players a total of 114 points.

After the game I managed to flag a cab down on the street. The return trip was much easier as there was less traffic and the route was direct. Still, if you are ever thinking of seeing a game here, allow a couple of hours to get to the mall from central Jakarta.

Notes

The owner of the Warriors, Erick Thohir, also owns a small part of the Philadelphia 76ers and there was a banner from the team. Interestingly, the Golden State Warriors used to play in Philadelphia from 1946-62.

One of the Warriors is Jerick Cañada, who has a great name even though it is pronounced Can-Yada.



Next Up

June and July are going to be quiet months as I prepare for another move, this time back to North America. Details are being worked out, but the good news is that I can finally do some serious sports road tripping. Check back soon for some big news in that regard.

Best,

Sean

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Europa League Should Be Known as Losers' League

The Champions League final is set and will feature two German sides for the first time as current Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will take on two-time defending champs Borussia Dortmund. The match will be held on May 25th at Wembley Stadium. Bayern are looking to avenge last year's loss to Chelsea, which took place at their home ground, Allianz Arena.

This year, Chelsea were nowhere to be seen when the knockout stages began, having finished third in their group*. But fear not, the defending champions were still alive in the chase for another continental cup. That's because if you finish third in the CL group stage, you are rewarded with a berth in the knockout stages of the Europa League, UEFA's second-tier cup competition. The Europa League is in much the same format as the Champions League, but featuring clubs that place slightly lower in their domestic tables. In England for example, teams that finish 5th and 6th in the EPL as well as the League Cup winner are invited to the Europa League, which used to be known as the UEFA Cup.

The Europa League completes its group stage with 24 teams still alive. They are then joined by the 8 clubs who finish third in their respective Champions League groups. Naturally these CL washouts are generally better than the Europa League sides and they often go on to dominate the competition. That is exactly what happened this year as the Europa League final will see Chelsea take on Benfica of Portugal, another club who couldn't quite cut it in the Champions League.

What is the point of the Europa League if those slightly weaker teams have to face superior clubs just as the going gets tough. Chelsea have had a terrible year and should not be given a chance for redemption, especially when fellow EPL sides Tottenham** and Newcastle United were still in the running. It is simply not fair to those other clubs who are never going to contend for the Champions League (such as Rubin Kazan of Russia who were the quarterfinal victims of Chelsea) to suddenly have these giants thrust into their midst. The financial advantages already given to these teams aren't enough, now they get a second shot at a European trophy.

It boggles the mind that UEFA allows this to happen. It makes a mockery of the Europa League, ruining the purity of the competition. Interestingly, another London team was the victim of this stupid rule just three years ago. Fulham, a perennial mid-table finisher since their promotion to the EPL in 2001, went on a dream run to the Europa League final, only to be stopped by Atletico Madrid, who were Champions League dropouts. I guess what goes around comes around and now England will benefit from UEFA's Europa League largesse.

Even then, I think this is beyond stupid, and it is time to stop rewarding teams that lose in the Champions League. Instead, let's have a true second-tier competition and give other clubs and their fans a real chance at continental glory.

Best,

Sean


*Another stupid UEFA rule actually cost Chelsea their deserved 2nd-place finish. Teams that finish tied in group play usually have the tie broken by total goal differential. In this case, Chelsea had scored 6 more than they had allowed while Shakhtar Donetsk was +4. However, the stupid UEFA rule stipulates that ties be broken in head-to-head competition first, ignoring games involving the other two clubs in the group - but if those games matter in the standings, why don't they matter in the tiebreaker?! Anyway, each team won by a goal in their home match, but Chelsea allowed Shakhtar to score 2 goals at Stamford Bridge while they could only muster one on the road. Thus Shakhtar moved on (where they were dispatched by Borussia Dortmund) while Chelsea was given the easier path to a European Cup. UEFA is run by idiots.

**There is some irony here. Chelsea finished 6th in the EPL last season (good for the Europa League), and were only afforded entry into the Champions League as titleholders. This pushed Tottenham, who finished 4th and should have been in the CL, down into the Europa League as there is a maximum of four teams per federation in the Champions League. Now Tottenham are at home while Chelsea are in the Europa League final.

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100 Leagues and Counting

I've been yammering on about how many venues I've been to (420 now) and also mentioning the Quest for 400 as I begin to plan a move back to North America, where I can finally go on a couple of really extended trips. This sort of self-indulgent scorekeeping is something that most stadium travelers do in some form or other, whether it is the number of games, venues, or some combination thereof. One aspect that I haven't seen mentioned though is the number of leagues and competitions that have been witnessed. When I counted this for myself last week, I came up with the grand total of 98, which meant that my Super Rugby visit in Perth would be my 100th league or competition. Does reaching such a milestone deserve a post? Probably not, but when has that stopped me before.

First, the rules about what counts and what doesn't. Essentially any separate league or association in which teams compete against one another can be counted only once, regardless of the location, whether it is the regular season or post-season (pre-season games never count except in baseball, where the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues are special entities), or the league changes its name.

So if I see the Leafs in Toronto one year, then an NHL game in Europe the next, and a Stanley Cup Final after that, that just counts as one league. Of course, the AHL, ECHL, CHL, OHL, WHL, QMJHL, etc are all separate leagues. The World Junior Hockey Championship would count once, as would any special competition such as the Spengler Cup.

Major League Baseball is one entity, so no double counting the American and National Leagues, but each minor and independent league counts once.

NCAA sports may have separate conferences but they are meaningless. If you see an NCAA football game in the Big Ten and the SEC during the season and then the Sugar Bowl, that's still only one competition. Similar with NCAA basketball and March Madness, and any other college sport.

Soccer competitions get their own special rules. I may see an English Premier League game, an FA Cup match, and a League Cup fixture and that counts as 3 leagues, because each is managed by a different entity and each features different teams. International soccer counts both the World Cup and Confederations Cup, as they are distinct events.

International cricket has 3 varieties (test, one-day, 20/20), each of which can be counted once. Domestic competitions such as the IPL and County Cricket are naturally separate.

High school and non-pro sports should be ignored, even those that are well-covered. If you want to count the Little League World Series, go ahead, but I will not. Horse racing and other events that depend mostly on the performance of animals are also not up for consideration.

Got it? Good. Here are the 102 leagues I have seen:

The Leagues

Hockey (16)
National Hockey League
American Hockey League
ECHL
Central Hockey League
Southern Professional Hockey League
Ontario Hockey League
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Western Hockey League
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Alberta Junior Hockey League
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
World Cup of Hockey
World Junior Hockey Championship
Asia League Ice Hockey

Central Ontario Junior B Hockey League (defunct)Japan Hockey League (defunct)

Baseball (25)
Major League Baseball
Cactus League
International League
Pacific Coast League
Eastern League
Southern League
Texas League
California League
Carolina League
Florida State League
South Atlantic League
Midwest League
New York Penn League
Northwest League
Arizona Fall League
American Association
Frontier League
Can-Am League
Northern League
NCAA
Nippon Professional Baseball
Nippon Professional Baseball Minor Leagues
Japanese Industrial League
Japanese University
Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan)

Football (7)
National Football League
Canadian Football League
NCAA
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Arena Football League
Australian Football League*
West Australalian Football League*

Basketball (10)
National Basketball Association
National Basketball Development League
NCAA
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Women's National Basketball Assocation
EuroLeague
bjLeague
Asean Basketball League
Philippine Basketball Association
Philippine Basketball League

Soccer (17)
World Cup
Confederations Cup
Major League Soccer
Professional Development League
English Premier League
Ligue 1
Eredivisie
Coppa Italia
Championnat National
J League
J2
Emperors Cup
Japanese Football League
S League
V-League
Malaysia Super League
Malaysia Cup

Rugby (6)
World Rugby Junior Championship
Super Rugby
National Rugby League
Shute Shield
Japan Top League
Rugby 7s

Cricket (4)
International Test
International ODI
International 20/20
English County Cricket

Racing (4)
Formula 1
A1
GP2
Indy Car

Racquet Sports (3)

ATP Tour
NCAA Tennis
World Table Tennis Championship



Golf (2)
NCAA Women's
EPGA

Fighting (2)

One FC
Muy Thai

Volleyball (2)
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
World Volleyball Championship

Others (4)
National Lacrosse League
Winter Olympics
Japan Sumo Association
Asian Swimming Championships

*I'm including Aussie Rules in Football for simplicity.

There are a few other leagues I'd like to add to the list, mostly based in Europe, but I doubt this number will increase much over time. I'll update it here on occasion.


Best,

Sean

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NFL Road Trip 2013 - The First Draft

The NFL released its schedule a couple of hours ago, so here is the annual road trip that involves all 32 home teams. Of course, I never do these but it is great fun to figure out if it is possible.

Thu, Sep 5   Baltimore at Denver         6:30
Sun, Sep 8   Green Bay at San Francisco  1:25
Mon, Sep 9   Houston at San Diego        7:15
Sun, Sep 15  Jacksonville at Oakland     1:25
Sun, Sep 22  Jacksonville at Seattle     1:25
Thu, Sep 26  San Francisco at St. Louis  7:25
Sun, Sep 29  NY Giants at Kansas City   12:00
Mon, Sep 30  Miami at New Orleans        7:30
Thu, Oct 3   Buffalo at Cleveland        8:25
Sun, Oct 6   New England at Cincinnati   1:00
Mon, Oct 7   NY Jets at Atlanta          8:30
Thu, Oct 10  NY Giants at Chicago        7:25
Sun, Oct 13  Carolina at Minnesota      12:00
Sun, Oct 20  New England at NY Jets      1:00
Mon, Oct 21  Minnesota at NY Giants      8:30
Thu, Oct 24  Carolina at Tampa Bay       8:25
Sun, Oct 27  SF at Jacksonville          1:00
Thu, Oct 31  Cincinnati at Miami         8:25
Mon, Nov 4   Chicago at Green Bay        7:25
Sun, Nov 10  Houston at Arizona          1:25
Thu, Nov 14  Indianapolis at Tennessee   8:25
Sun, Nov 17  NY Jets at Buffalo          1:00
Mon, Nov 18  New England at Carolina     8:30
Sun, Nov 24  NY Jets at Baltimore        1:00
Mon, Nov 25  San Francisco at Washington 8:30
Thu, Nov 28  Oakland at Dallas           4:30
Sun, Dec 1   New England at Houston      3:25
Sun, Dec 8   Cleveland at New England    1:00
Sun, Dec 15  Houston at Indianapolis    12:00
Mon, Dec 16  Baltimore at Detroit        8:30
Sun, Dec 22  Chicago at Philadelphia     1:00
Sun, Dec 29  Cleveland at Pittsburgh     1:00

A few long drives (22 of 500 miles or more of which 8 are over 600 miles) but overall seems quite possible at first glance.

Update: Wrong! This trip was 27,500 highway miles. I played around and found a trip under 20,000 miles, and that one I am taking, starting September 4th.

Best,

Sean

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East Fremantle Sharks 15.18 (108) at Perth Demons 16.10 (106) (Western Australian Football League) - April 14, 2013

When I planned this short trip to Perth, it was to see the AFL and Super Rugby matches. Sunday afternoon was empty, which just wouldn't do. With my return flight not until midnight, I had to find something to watch. After much searching online, I discovered the wonderfully named WAFL, which stands for the West Australian Football League. This is a semi-pro league with 9 teams based in and around Perth. It might be considered the equivalent of Independent League baseball, with some players moving on to the AFL and others coming back at the tail end of their careers, but with no direct affiliation to the larger league.



The WAFL plays four games every weekend and thankfully there was a game on Sunday afternoon at Brownes Stadium, home of the Perth Demons. Located just a few minutes from the Victoria Park rail station, it was convenient to where I was staying and therefore a no-brainer to pay a visit and add the 101st league to my list (more on that in a future post).



The stadium was originally known as Laithlan Oval, named for the suburb in which it is located. In 2009, local dairy concern Brownes has owned the sponsorship rights, hence the new name.



All WAFL games are $15 for adults with unreserved seating. Ovals are quite large, so choosing a good seat is important. Most fans choose to sit in the upper rows of the covered section near midfield (visible beyond the posts above) but there are also benches right at field level that provide a unique view (below).



The canteen here was great, with $4 toasties my choice (a toastie is just a sandwich grilled in a press). Beer was only $6/can although you had to remain within the licensed part near the bar.

There isn’t much else to talk about here. These places can hold up to 20,000 but there were perhaps 2,500 at the game I attended, so it was easy to move around and take pictures from different spots. The weather was perfect, not too hot, a nice breeze, perfect for fall football. If you are in Perth between April and July, check out the WAFL schedule and see a game if you can; much like minor league baseball it will give you a sense of the community and be pretty entertaining as well.

The Game

If you missed my recap of the AFL game I saw at the Subiaco Oval, read that for a brief explanation of the rules of the game.

The East Fremantle Sharks were visiting, and with both teams coming in at 2-0, I had hopes for a good game and was not disappointed. Both squads were able to move the ball fairly easily and there was a lot of scoring, but neither club could build a big lead.

The scoreboard after each quarter was as follows:

East Fremantle 4.3 (27) 8.9 (57) 9.15 (67) 
Perth          5.4 (34) 8.4 (52) 11.8 (74)

Note all those behinds that East Fremantle scored in the second and third quarters, indicating that they were getting possession but their kicking was a bit inaccurate.



In the final frame, the teams battled for the lead, but it looked like Perth (in black, kicking above) had taken it with two goals as the clock neared 30 minutes (remember that quarters are just 20 minutes long but there are no clock stoppages for the fans, so the actual end of the game is a mystery).



Down by 4 points, the Sharks managed to block a Perth kick, take possession, and move the ball down the field with a couple of excellent kicks. The final kick was received in the center of the 50-meter area by Sean Henson who was paid the mark despite the Perth player also seeming to gain possession. The mark forced the defenders off Henson, who calmly slotted home to give East Fremantle a thrilling 15.18 (108) to 16.10 (106) victory. Those behinds in the middle two stanzas ended up being the difference. It is not common for a team to win scoring less goals, but that is what happened here.



Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the game was the hand-operated scoreboard. With 59 scores in the 80 minutes of action, the operators were certainly busy.

Best,

Sean

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Crusaders 14 at Western Force 16 (Super 15 Rugby) - April 13, 2013

Super Rugby began in 1996 with 12 teams based in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2006 it added 2 teams and became known as the Super 14. During that year, I was involved in a Super 14 tipping competition (known as a sports pool in North America) with colleagues from countries that actually played a lot of rugby. There were about 25 participants, and I was the ignorant Canuck, while the Poms, Kiwis, and Aussies all were confident of their chances.

We had to pick winners on a weekly basis, with points awarded for the correct result and closeness of the score. Having limited knowledge of the teams forced me to rely on public odds, which turned out to be a smart approach, as the other punters eschewed such help, preferring to use their expertise. Naturally, their expertise was only self-regarded and I found myself winning the competition and $500 as well. The money was quickly spent at a post-season celebration where I was repeatedly told of my beginner’s luck, but the satisfaction of having bested my colleagues still remains. From that time, I have followed Super Rugby, but had yet to attend a game, due to the season being relatively short and Japan being quite far from the countries in which the matches are played.

Now that I live in Singapore, I am just five hours from Perth, which is home to the Western Force, the first of those expansion teams. I arrived too late last year to visit, but this season there was no excuse. With the Australian Football League (AFL) and other sports in the area, a trip to Perth was a must and I finally got to go last weekend.

nib Stadium



The Force began play in 2006 at the venerable Subiaco Oval, which is usually an AFL ground and which I had visited the previous evening. The larger oval field at Subiaco was not suitable for rugby and the team moved into the Perth Oval, which is actually a rectangular field despite its name.



Having first opened in 1904 (the Book Stand was added in 1956 as you can see above), the stadium was in dire need of improvements and an extensive renovation program was started in 2012. The open-air seating has been replaced by new covered stands on the east and south sides, while the field itself was revamped. The north end, which is known as the Shed (below) and is mostly a standing area, was left untouched, maintaining a historical feel and a nice contrast to the newer sections.



I visited nib Stadium (named after health insurance provider nib and pronounced n.i.b.) during the final stages of these renovations. Construction is scheduled to finish at the end of June so it was a bit messy at parts, but overall I was quite impressed. I was again lucky to receive a free ticket as part of a Stadium Journey review and was given a tour of the facility by Sam Burling, one of the stadium’s marketing staff.



The stadium is located in the City of Vincent, about a 15-minute walk from Perth’s CBD. If you are coming from farther afield, Claisebrook is the closest rail station, about five minutes away from Gate 4. If you have your ticket with you, the train is free before and after the game. If you wish to drive, there seemed to be plenty of street parking in the area.



Gate 3 is the main entry point and you will emerge onto a large opening where a few food and drink options can be found. Food is fairly typical but reasonably priced. The Kiwi Kar had some meals for $12 but I would recommend the Bratwursts behind the south stand where there were 3 varieties at $8.50 each.



The most expensive tickets are $75, which is a bit dear for this sort of event. The cheapest seats are not even seats at all, but the standing area in the Shed. There are also tickets for $65 and $55, so not that many options – for me the extra dollars for the best seats are worth it here. There are only seven home games per season, so it is obviously necessary for the team to get as much revenue as possible, but for the length of the game (less than 2 hours), it can be a bit much to those of us used to similar prices for much longer matches.



The most noticeable feature here is the colour of the seats in the newly-added sections. They start with dark green seats at the bottom of the section and gradually lighten as you make your way to the top. This is to symbolize the journey from the bright green field to the blue sky and is quite an arresting sight when the stadium is empty. When the fans begin to fill those seats, their light blue jerseys add to the overall experience.



In fact, I was highly impressed with the crowd who showed up in numbers, most wearing the blue jersey of the Force. Several visiting fans came with face paint and other paraphernalia but all were welcomed. Unfortunately, there were a few bad apples who marred the experience for all. First, there was a streaker at halftime, which is somewhat acceptable as it doesn’t really impact the game. The rather portly gentleman was cheered on by the fans as he made his way from one end zone to the other unmolested. Security finally got hold of him and took him away and all was forgotten when the game resumed. Unfortunately, his antics inspired some other idiots who decided that their 15 minutes of fame had to come with five minutes left in a tense game. Security was caught napping again as four others (partly clothed at least) ran from the north end onto the pitch. One visiting player knocked down one of the intruders and eventually order was restored, but it definitely changed the flow of the game, which turned out to be one of the better sporting events I have seen.

The Game

Rugby is a fast sport with each half taking just over 40 minutes. It is not a game that lends itself to constant loud noise or distractions because the action on the field can be quite fascinating. I had been given a seat right near midfield and was amazed by the speed and strength of these guys. Many of the tackles left the recipient audibly gasping, and the brute physicality of the game was apparent from the first whistle.



The visitors were the Crusaders from Christchurch, the most successful team in the history of the competition with seven titles, although their 3-3 start was not promising this season. The Force had never finished higher than 7th and were off to a terrible 1-6 start so expectations were for a blowout.

Surprisingly though, the Force scored first when Sam Norton-Knight broke four tackles and stretched his arm just under the posts to ground the ball just four minutes in. The perfect location for the try allowed Jayden Hayward an easy conversion and it was 7-0 for the home team.

The teams traded penalties (in rugby, a penalty is a kick that is given after a team commits an offense – successfully booting the ball through the posts is worth 3 points) over the next quarter-hour before Luke Romano capped off a long Crusaders possession with a try at the left corner.

Conversions are kicked from a point parallel from where the ball is grounded so scoring in the corner makes the kick very difficult and Tyler Bleyendaal couldn't find the right angle. The ball sailed wide, allowing the Force to maintain the lead, 10-8.



It appeared as if Romano crossed the line in the 36th minute but it was disallowed after a video review showed that a forward pass had been committed earlier in the play. Yes, other leagues make intelligent use of video replay to ensure that bad officials don’t ruin the game. Yet MLB and the NBA still allow 55-year-old men to decide the outcome of events being played by athletes less than half their age. But I digress.

The Force added two more penalties to end the half up 16-8, but the Crusaders got those back early in the second stanza to again move within two points. After that, it was defense that ruled the pitch.



For the last 25 minutes, it was the Crusaders who played like their name, wave upon wave hammering the bulwarks of the Force defense. Romano crashed home for another apparent try but the video review showed that he did not ground the ball properly. Still undaunted, the Crusaders continued to push but a number of drops and other handling errors doomed their chances. As the siren sounded, they were moving within penalty range and the fans were clearly concerned, but a hard hit knocked the ball loose and the Force recovered, kicking it out of bounds to end the game and preserve the hard-fought victory.



It was really a great defensive battle and the best rugby match I have ever seen. I hope to do a Super 15 tour sometime, but that requires a lot of time and money, things that are in short supply right now.

Finally, a big thanks to Sam Burling and all the nib Stadium crew for their assistance in showing me their wonderful venue.

Best,

Sean

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