Melbourne Day 5: Parade of Nations

Friday we beat an inexperienced but relentless China team 114-0. The boys from San Diego went well with Brandon "Brando" Blankenship helping himself to three goals and making the most of his time in the forward line. Brett "Viking" Ullman and Donnie Lucero played as solid as expected with Viking always running through the ball and Donnie taking marks from Center Half Back. In the second half Donnie snuck forward and had a snap at goal that looked to be headed through before Brando hopped in to take the mark and kick the goal.

Saturday we had a light training in the morning to get some of the soreness out of our legs. We then had the afternoon to ourselves before the parade of nations at halftime of the Hawthorne vs. Carlton game at Telstra Dome. The game had an electric atmosphere with the potential for two players to kick 100 goals (what Aussies refer to as "the ton"). It had been nearly 10 years since this has happened. The closest metaphor that I could think of would be for an NFL player to score 30 touchdowns in a season. We were treated to Buddy Franklin kicking his 99th and 100th goals in the first quarter and thousands of fans storming the field. It was quite a spectacle, and it was definitely a nice feeling to be a part of AFL history. Fevola the other player needed 8 goals to kick "the ton," but he fell agonizingly short at 99.

The parade of nations was really cool. During halftime we lined up by country and got to walk around the side of the ground and meet a lot of the fans and get some great photos. Probably not surprising we were the only country to get booed when we were announced. Of course I'm sure the fans in attendance were booing our foreign policies more than they were booing us as teams. It was a great experience anyways.

I am writing the second part of this blog from the train to Warrnambool on Sunday morning. The train is supposed to take about three hours from Melbourne. Our next two rounds will be played there. Our next match is Monday against South Africa, and this match decides who will win our pool and advance to the Semi-Finals. Apparently someone with a sense of humor decided to assign us to sitting in the same train car as South Africa.

It should certainly be an interesting game of footy tomorrow with two very contrasting styles. The South Africans are very small and apparently very quick while we are much taller and stronger. It should be noted that the AFL has been pumping funds into AFL South Africa to develop their football. I am hopeful that our experience, size, and strength will carry us through. I hope to be reporting a win for the U.S. soon.

Courtesy of USFootyNews.com

- Justin Valley
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