sportsing summer in melbourne.

Although the weather may suggest otherwise, summer is in full swing in Melbourne, and that means plenty of opportunities to watch some of the world's best athletes 'sportsing' their hardest.  Of course there is the Australian Open, but this year is extra special as the AFC Asian Cup is being played in Australia.  The Asian Cup is a football (soccer to us Americans) tournament similar to the UEFA European Championship or World Cup in that it is played every 4 years and features the national team of each country.  As the name suggests, it features all the qualifying teams in the Asian conference.  This includes Australia (who joined the conference in 2007), as well as Japan, China, South Korea and also other countries like UAE, Pakistan and Jordan.  This is the first time Australia has hosted the Cup as the host nation changes every 4 years, and was the perfect opportunity for us to experience some world class football. 

cheering on some Asians at AAMI Park

Luckily for us, Melbourne was one of the host cities for a few first round matches of the Asian Cup, so Candice and I got tickets along with one of my friends to attend the group stage match between Japan and Jordan.  The stadium was filled to near capacity with over 20,000 people, 95% of whom seemed to be rooting for Japan, one of the favourites to win the Cup.  Japan were true to form and won 2-0, as Jordan struggled to keep the ball out of their half of the field for pretty much the entire match.  The crowd was energetic and engaged, especially the singing section near where we were sitting (though in my opinion it didn't come close to the energy of a Seattle Sounders crowd), which made for a great atmosphere.  

watching Japan win

It would have been fun to see the Australia team play live, but those matches were more expensive and sold out quickly, so by the time I was aware that the Asian Cup was happening it was already too late to get tickets.  The massive support from the Australian faithful and the goal-scoring prowess of Tim Cahill helped Australia secure a spot in the finals where they played South Korea.  Australia won in thrilling fashion 2-1 on a goal in extra time after South Korea had tied the game in the 91st minute.  It was a great win for Australia, and their first win as a nation in a major football tournament!

Being the former Coupeville High School 2nd singles tennis player that I am, I tend to geek out when the Australian Open is on.  Even when I played tennis, I never really spent much time watching it on TV, but having the opportunity to attend and see the world's best players live is something truly special.  When looking up tickets for the Open, I discovered that during the four days of qualifying before the tournament, you can go watch the matches for free.  So Candice and I headed to Melbourne Park on the last Saturday of qualifying and were rewarded with some great tennis under beautiful sunny skies.  We were able to sit two rows back from the outdoor courts as we watched players ranked in the hundreds playing just for the chance to be in the Open, where their victory would mean facing off against the highest ranked players in what would inevitably be a short lived tournament experience.  We had a great time and it was a great teaser to what would become another epic Australian Open.

day four of qualifying for the Australian Open

After the first week of play, we decided to get an evening ground pass to the first Saturday session, where we had the chance to watch the world's 5th ranked mens player, Kei Nishikori, who we also watched live during the 2014 Open.  It was actually a very deja-vu experience, as we saw Nishikori play an American again, and we saw him win with relative ease, again.  Steve Johnson (ranked 38th), the American he played this year, put up a good fight in the first set and managed to win the tiebreaker, but apparently that took all of his ability to achieve as Nishikori won the next 3 sets easily to secure the match.  As with the Japan vs Jordan football match, the crowd was dominated by Japanese supporters cheering on Nishikori, though there were a few American supporters who would yell out encouragement ("come on Steve" and "let's go Stevie") when they got the chance.

watching the tennis pt. 2

Nishikori vs. Johnson

Australia had a lot of representation in the men's tournament this year (10 players in total), but as the tournament went on all of them were defeated until only one remained, 19 year old Nick Kyrgios.  As with most of the nation, we became swept up in the excitement as Kyrgios made it into the quarterfinals by beating Andres Seppi in an epic 5-set match, before losing in straight sets to Andy Murray.  Kyrgios is a bit hot-headed and a polarizing player, though quite entertaining, and he fed off the energy and support of the crowd throughout his matches in the tournament.  It was exciting to witness a young talent make a real splash in the tournament, especially as he had the support of the host nation (and TV announcers) behind him.  

Murray would go on to the finals to play Djokovic, where they had met 2 times previously in the Australian Open finals.  The first two sets were some of the finest tennis I've ever seen, as neither player could gain the upper hand.  The third set was the change though as Djokovic got a late break to win 6-3 and then swept Murray 6-0 in the 4th to win a record 5th Australian Open championship.

Despite these great sporting events, what had me most excited this summer was Super Bowl XLIX.  The Seahawks were in it for the 2nd year in a row, and this time I actually had the day off work to watch!  Apparently our move to Melbourne has been just what the team needed, as they've made it to back to back Super Bowls since we left Seattle.  Heading into the matchup with the Patriots I was as nervous as always, but so excited to see my favourite team playing the sport that I love above all else.  Candice baked a cake and decorated it with the logo and the slogan of Seattle, "Go Hawks", and we even had our friend James and his wife Marcela over to enjoy the game and celebrate with us.  Everything was going perfectly for us to celebrate back to back championships, but it wasn't meant to be.

a Monday morning Super Bowl party!

Candice and her little cake.

By now the entire world knows what happened, and like all of Seattle I was devastated and went through all the stages of grief in coming to grips with the heartbreaking loss.  It was an especially difficult loss because the past few years following the Seahawks has given me the greatest sense of community with a sports team I have ever experienced.  It began before we moved from Seattle as I started listening to sports radio more frequently, and continued to listen to the same podcasts 5 days a week either as I drove to remote parts of Victoria or rode the tram on my morning commute.  It allowed me to continue hearing the great play by play of Steve Raible and Warren Moon, and continue to get all the news and speculation on all things Seahawks, even from the other side of the world.

Then there are the personalities of this team, the coaches and players and their dedication and respect for the 12s (the Seahawks fans).  From a defense that is one of the best the league has ever seen, a running back who runs like every play might be his last and who refuses to let up no matter how hard he gets hit, a quarterback who visualizes victory in every matchup and continues to achieve beyond even our wildest expectations, and a coach whose positivity and leadership has inspired our players to play for one another and allowed them to perform at such a high level because he uses the unique talents of each person in situations that will allow them the best opportunity to succeed.  

But for me, this feeling of community is really about the friends and family back home in Seattle that I miss every day.  Sharing the common love and excitement for this team make Seattle and the great Pacific Northwest seem not so far away.  And that is why I will continue to follow this team with the same dedication, no matter the outcome.  Go Hawks!

BK