Also went to a rugby game on Thursday. We say the (Cape Town) Stormers and the Western Force of Perth, Australia. It was a game in the Super 14 league. Made up of teams from SA, New Zealand and Australia, this league can be compared to the NFL of rugby. It can be pretty much classified as the best club rugby in the world.
Having followed rugby the past few years, it’s pretty exciting to be in a place where it is probably the most followed sport. The Stellenbosch University team is even quite good and have a dedicated following.
Our tickets wern’t the best (very low, right on the end zone) so we didn’t have a great perspective on the game. But, it was still fun to see the game in person. To my surprise, the games are siginificantly less rowdy than football games. People did get excited during big plays and when there were scores, but remained fairly docile at all other times. Whereas even at the most tame of football games (read: Northwestern), there will be lots of shouting, yelling and gesturing all throughout the game. I can’t decide whether the fans at this game were just quiet, bored or sleepy.
Some Americans wern’t amused by the game either. (He was actually sleeping. Unbelievable.)
Update: He was actually sleeping before the game started. Once the game started, he was a aware and captivated member of the crowd.
The stadium was kind of weird place too. Here’s a quick capture of the surroundings: click
The place kinda felt like a prison inside. In the concourses, the restuarants and bathrooms felt like a cross between a high school locker room and mental hospital. When you sit in your seats, you can only see the sky. The stadium is built straight up like a box rather than the bowl-like features of American stadiums. Despite these institutional features, it was a great experience. Seeing a sport live in a foreign country is always a unique cultural experience.
