I love it, I love it!! Australian Rules Football rocks!!! I got to see my first live game in Kansas City this past weekend, May 18-19, 2002. (No, that's not me in the picture above.) Here's how it came to be:

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a football freak...er...I mean fan! I watch the NFL's Seattle Seahawks from August to December and the AFL's Richmond Tigers in the NFL off-season! Wa hoo! Football year round! Life is indeed good!

WELL...a while back I discovered the US Footy website and found the Seattle Cats footy team -- an Australian Rules Football club in the US. A bit of correspondence led me to a team closer to home, the Kansas City Power. I went to their website and saw that they were having a tournament in May, jotted it in my planner and pretty much forgot about it. In early May as I was planning my month, I saw the note, went to the website, decided it would be worth checking into and jotted an e-mail message to the tournament organizer, Kirk Kirkpatrick. Little did I know that Kirk would respond with so much enthusiasm that there's no way I could pass up the opportunity!! He is a salesman and a half!! (Thank you so much, Kirk! You're SO good for this sport and it was such a pleasure not only to meet you but to watch you play!! You're AWESOME!)

I bribed my oldest daughter, Mika, into coming to the footy with me and we made a weekend of it! We left Salina right after school on Friday night, drove to Kansas City where we stayed at the Westin Crown Center (the official hotel sponsor of the KC Power), and went to the footy on Saturday and Sunday! We had THE best time!! If you have any interest whatsoever in Australian Rules, GO TO THE GAMES!!! They're fun, they're action packed, and for now they're free!!! If you've never seen or heard of Aussie Rules football, GO GO GO GO GO GO!!!! It's terrific fun!!! I promise!!!

And when you go, I hope you'll have the opportunity to try some Australian food, namely a meat pie!!! I'll warn you now that I haven't figured out a way to eat one gracefully (Mika told me that I ruin the structural integrity of the pie when I pick at it!!) but you won't care because it tastes SO good.

Want to see what a game of Aussie Rules is all about? Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view of the game I've come to love! And for heaven's sake, e-mail me if you have questions! I love talking footy!!! Gooooo Power!!!

There you have it! My weekend at the footy!! If you get a chance to see a game, I hope you'll take the time to do it. It really is loads of fun! I'm planning on going back to KC for the Nationals in October! See you there!!!