I’ve been published! A few months back I submitted an article to a local South African magazine (Sabona) and it has now been published. The magazine is also available online at http://www.sabona.com.au/magazine.ews and the article is on page 52. The photos are mine too! If you prefer, below is the original, unedited piece that I submitted.

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I arrived in Australia in August 2007 and the first question everyone asked me was “Who do you support?” Being a World Cup year, my reply was always the same – The Boks! I was usually given the evil eye and I just assumed it was because I hadn’t picked the Wallabies. It soon became apparent I had no idea what they were on about.
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I’d seen a few games on TV or the big screen down the pub in London but the game had no attraction. Until I went to a live game! 90 000 people to watch two club teams chase a leather ball around an oval – now that’s atmosphere! I was soon hooked and spending weekends at the stadium with friends and family. At $20 a ticket, you can’t really go wrong. Most weekends I was going for free, thanks to unused season tickets or freebies.
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By the end of my first season, I was a Bombers fan. Not that I had much choice – my Australian wife is an Essendon supporter as is my mother-in-law. The end of season indicated free weekends and football free newspaper pages. But it wasn’t too long before it all started again in February. By now I had learned some of the rules, some of the players and the best way to eat a Four-and-twenty Pie! My team were disappointing again, but thanks to a new coach they had performed a little better than the previous year. I went to more games including my first ever game at Etihad Stadium.  And to top off the perfect year, I was given tickets to the Grand Final between Geelong’s Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks. What a day!
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The MCG was packed to capacity – 100 012 spectators! We watched the pre-game entertainment and the passing parade of retiring players and medal winners. We saw a Qantas Boeing do a fly-by. We listened to Powderfinger play a few songs.
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And then the teams ran out and we heard the roar of the crowd! The atmosphere was spine-tingling to say the least. We didn’t support either team, but this made the game even more enjoyable. The dry, sunny conditions allowed a fast-paced, running game. By the end, the players were exhausted, the fans were hoarse and Hawthorn had won the game by 26 points. It was a day that I will never forget.
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So, some advice for all you rugby fans out there who refuse to watch AFL: Don’t watch it on TV. Get out and see a live game. You’ll be amazed at how much better it is. Oh and “Go Bombers!”