Note: On Aug. 8 Dori swam the channel from England to France in 11:45, it was her third time! Absolutely incredible! She started out at 4 a.m. in the morning so it was quite dark (I don't know if it's better or worse not to be able to see the sharks swimming alongside you) and cold since you're only allowed to wear a bathing suit (no skins, legs or arms on the suit).
As Dori's been doing the hard work training and actually doing the English Channel Swim, purchasing tons of raffle tickets at the fundraiser was by far the easier way to support Parkinson's Research. And surprise - I won a Rabbitohs jersey signed by the team - in the raffle.
Never heard of the Rabbitohs? Neither had I.
Well, I quickly learned that they are a South Sydney rugby league team owned by Russell Crowe - yes the famous actor. And here's something else you might not know - not only is he an actor, team owner but also a musician. In fact he plays in a band called "30 Odd Foots of Grunts" - anybody have any idea what this means?
Well, I quickly learned that they are a South Sydney rugby league team owned by Russell Crowe - yes the famous actor. And here's something else you might not know - not only is he an actor, team owner but also a musician. In fact he plays in a band called "30 Odd Foots of Grunts" - anybody have any idea what this means?
Here's what a Rabbitoh looks like (reminds me of those rabbit sponge cakes from Easter).
And of course having won this precious signed jersey, I had to check out a Rabbitoh's game. I went to see the Rabbitoh's play at Homebush Olympic Stadium against the Balmain Tigers (July 29) where the Rabbitoh's totally smashed the Tigers 32-6.
After the game, it was announced it was "Fans on the Field Day". That means that as soon as the players exit the field all the fans can rush on to the field and have about 20 minutes to toss around the ball and pretend to score goals. Here's me in the signed jersey in front of the goal posts on the field.
In a ripple effect, upon seeing my Facebook posting from the Rabbitoh's game another friend, Peter Ryan, said I had just had to check out an Australian Football League (AFL) game. For my American family and friends, AFL is not soccer nor is it football. It's a bit of both actually (see my post from the only other AFL game I've been to for a description).
The AFL game I went to see (Aug. 11) was the Sydney Swans v Collingwood (a fierce rivalry) and unfortunately this time the team I supported lost. Frankly, Collingwood deserved to win as the Swans fumbled the ball (A LOT), threw the ball where there was nobody to receive it and twice actually threw the ball directly to into the arms of the opposing team.
The team jersey for the Swans is red and white horizontal stripes - so it looked like Where's Waldo? with all the fans in the stadium.
