American Championships

Two weekends ago, the United States Australian Rules Football league held their national championships in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida on October 15 and 16. Streamed live on YouTube, it was different watching games being played in what looked like rec fields on a university campus. Watching cars go by and everything, instead of crowds of 40,000+ at a major metropolitan oval where people are trying to sell me watches and insurance.

But it was still fun to watch. Obviously the skill level is different, since these are men and women with day jobs who are committing a lot of time to footy. 36 teams were separated by divisions and then again into pools. The side nearest me, the Atlanta Kookaburras, went 2-1 in pool play, beating teams from Denver and Tulsa, but losing to a squad from Des Moines. They ran six ovals (one for the women) for most of Saturday the 15th and part of Sunday the 16th, with the finals played in the afternoon on Sunday.

The Portland Sockeyes defeated Montreal to win the women's premiership, and congrats to the Division 4 men's champions Ohio Valley and to D3 champs Portland who beat North Carolina. The Division 2 premiers are from Calgary (also home of my favorite hockey team).

The Division 1 winners are the Austin Crows, for whom Nolan Cox plays. Nolan is the brother of Mason Cox, the Collingwood big man of whom we have spoken here. Austin is tied to the Adelaide Crows, and the big club even gave them a shout out on their web site.

What really weirded me out about that is that Mason the Magpie made it onto an opponent's web site:

Collingwood player Mason Cox, left, with his brother Nolan who plays
for the USAFL team in Austin, Texas. Picture taken from the Adelaide Crows site.

Play on!