Our Sunday was eventful as well. We were going to our first live rugby game! We had gotten a really nice deal through the university that included the tickets, a hat, and a scarf. The game we were going to watch was a National Rugby League (NRL) game between Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers.
We went to Hunter Stadium together with a bunch of other international students. Outside the arena, we got our tickets and our accessories.
Inside, we bought an ice cream and got to our seats and waited for the game to start. There were a lot of sponsors that needed to get their names out there. When each player was presented, they were also sponsored by a specific company each.
Another interesting thing concerning the sponsors is that the ads shown on the field on television are added live during the broadcast while the field itself only has the Newcastle Knights logo printed in one place. For more about this technology, watch Vox’s video about it:
The game got started, it started off in a good way. Both teams were very active, and the score was close. As we’ve seen some games on the television, we have started to get a hang of the rules in rugby league, but still, it was hard sometimes to understand why the game progressed in the manner it did.
At halftime, the score was 6-6, and the other international students and we were escorted away for something special. So, we got to go down onto the field and stand at the entrance of the field to greet/cheer/high-five the players as they exited for the second half, which was very cool. A VIP event apparently, and it was very exciting!
As we were getting back to our seats, we went to buy some coffee. The queue was very long and when we got back to our seats, half of the second half had elapsed and Knights had managed to keep their 6 points fixed while Panthers were in the lead at 26 points. The game progressed in the same manner and ended 42-6 to the Panthers.
Although the crushing defeat, it was interesting to watch and the weather was lovely. So, it was a good way to spend the Sunday.
(PS. The roads were jammed after the game. Cars everywhere.)
– Gustav & Linnea
