Rugby World Cup: Australia vs. New Zealand

Last Sunday I went to a local pub to watch the Australia vs. New Zealand Rugby World Cup game. The bar had the game largely projected on one wall, and had a giant TV broadcasting the game on the opposite wall. We got there two hours early to get good seats and the bar was still packed with people. By the time the game started there was barely any standing room left! I thought that it was a great representation of how important sport is here in Australia. The game was not so great, mostly because New Zealand crushed us, but I really enjoyed the intense atmosphere of all of the fans. I was, however, extremely surprised at the number of New Zealand fans in the bar; I would say they made up almost half of the people there. The bar also got pretty rowdy at times when the Australian and New Zealand fans started arguing and cheering for their respective teams. I could barely hear myself think! It was definitely an experience and it encourages me to go to bars to watch football games when I get back to the United States; it seems to make the game much more fun.