Australia Days

The perfect finish

Tim was way too fast for me to snap him in the 5K Run to the G.

Here he is savoring an all-chocolate, post-race breakfast of champions at a Federation Square café.

The finish line

I'll stick to the metaphors, but here's Tim approaching the real thing.

Bombers v. Magpies

Friends treated us to one of the ultimate Melbourne sport experiences: the ANZAC Day Essendon v. Collingwood football game. We joined 90,000 exuberant fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to immerse ourselves in the festivities -- although Tim and I chickened out of the infamous meat pies.

The pre-game included a touching ANZAC ceremony, and renditions of Australia's official (Advance Australia Fair) and unoffical (Waltzing Matilda) national anthems. 

In deference to our hosts and to the superior red and black color scheme, we pledged our allegiance to Essendon. Collingwood dominated after the first quarter and prevailed, but the day was delightful.

At the carnival

Today Tim's school put on its track and field events.

Here they call this kind of sports day a "carnival", which always has me hoping for a few carny folk or at very least some cotton candy. I settled for a more wholesome event, enhanced by beautiful weather and a few hard-earned ribbons.

Aussie Rules

Australian Rules Football season has begun. It's a rough, fast-paced game, full of whistles but few stops, and played by tall guys wearing old school, Bob Cousy-style shorts.

A friend of Tim's scored us tickets for the big game between the Collingwood Magpies and the Essendon Bombers on ANZAC Day, a holiday whose main associations for me have until now been agonizing slaughter and delicious cookies. We're honor bound to drink the beer, eat the mystery meat pies (served either scalding hot or ice cold), and cheer for Essendon alongside our hosts.

Hair of the dog

Melbourne has shaken off its hangover from the heady goodwill of the Commonwealth Games in time to greet the Australian Grand Prix. Seemingly overnight, the Games merchandise has disappeared and been replaced by all things Ferrari. The race takes place in suburban Albert Park, but the distant whine of the cars can be heard in the city center.

We don't know Formula 1 from NASCAR, so we'll give this one a miss. Better to spend the weekend sampling restaurants and ruing the end of the sunny, summer days.

Games over

Track and field events were held at the re-fitted Melbourne Cricket Ground. Among the events we saw were the men's steeplechase final, predictably swept by the Kenyans, the women's 100M hurdles, and the men's pole vault final.

While the Games have been the embarrassment of Australian medal riches predicted, they've also been a well-run advertisement for the understated cleanliness and efficiency of Melbourne. I've loved the related arts festival events, despite Tim and Allison's jaded response.

T minus seven

In one week the Commonwealth Games begin here in Melbourne.

The intellectuals despise the Games as an unnecessary show of force by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, who combined win virtually everything but the marathon. One friend even suggested a medal be awarded for Best Toleration of Nauseating Condescension, ideally to Belize, Malawi, or Nauru.

The workers in Melbourne don't seem happy because traffic promises to be a nightmare, and ticket prices are high. The overpriced merchandise is being flogged throughout the city to seemingly few takers.

The corporations largely shunned the tickets, and the bulk of the advertising seems to come from Telstra, the crumbling, old-economy telecom giant.

I, however, am embarrassingly keen. The flags! The athletes! The accompanying arts festival! The furious capital improvements! We'll miss the bulk of the show while in New Zealand, but be back to use our own overpriced seats for the track and field finals. I'll be the one in the Commonwealth Games T-shirt.

Hometown heroes

Tim was lucky enough to be invited to a Grand Final basketball game, featuring the Melbourne Tigers and the Sydney Kings. It's sort of like the NBA playoffs back home, except the winners don't declare themselves world champions.

Tim returned hoarse and jubilant, and proudly wearing a Melbourne Tigers singlet bought for him by his hosts. Luckily the Tigers won in overtime, and need just one more game to clinch the series.

Floating fish

Each country participating in the upcoming Commonwealth Games will be represented by a giant fish floating down the Yarra. I'm not clear on the symbolism here, but really, what's not to like about giant fish? Check out this eel by Federation Wharf.

We'll miss most of the hoopla while we're in NZ, but should be back in time to see some sporting events, and a few performances of Festival Melbourne2006.