My Experience at the 2010 Grand Final
When I got the opportunity to umpire at half time at the 2010 AFL Grand Final, due to being awarded the Junior Umpire Coaches award for the AFL Brisbane Juniors, I jumped at it. I have never been so excited as i was during the lead up to my trip to Melbourne with my Dad. We arrived Thursday and attended a dinner where we met other umpires that would also be umpiring the Junior games at half time. On Friday, I participated in the annual parade through the streets of Melbourne. The umpires were at the start of the parade after the AFL Auskickers. The parade was absolutely amazing! As we walked down the streets of Melbourne, people decked out in their teams colours swarmed the footpaths and balconies cheering. I will never forget how many people lined the streets that day. At the end of the parade, we watched the presentation, where Nick Maxwell and Nick Riewoldt were literally 10 metres away from where the umpires were standing. The photo opportunities were great! After the parade, the AFL also gave me and my day the opportunity to visit the National Sports Museum at the MCG. The Museum was great, although we spent all our time in the huge AFL Section. There were virtual holograms, interactive activities and a stack load of information about everything footy!
The next morning was an absolute frenzy in Melbourne, every street lined with people with either Saints or Magpies colours. Once we arrived outside the MCG, the atmosphere was already electric. once we walked into the stadium and saw our amazing seats right on the forward pocket, the realization finally hit me that I was at the MCG. It was absolutely huge! The atmosphere before the crowd poured in was already great, as the players warmed up on the field. I was already in the first row watching guys like Scott Pendelbury and Dale Thomas warming up in front of the Collingwood cheer squad. At about 1:30pm, the entertainment began and the crowd started to fill up the seats. By 2:30pm, the stadium was at full capacity. I will never forget looking at the crowd and thinking "Wow", it was amazing.
The start of the second quarter we started to head down to the change rooms to get ready to umpire. Once we were ready, we made our way out onto the field. When i stepped out onto the ground, my heart skipped a beat. The size of the MCG from ground level is spectacular, and being on the turf is truly an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Umpiring the match was a great, as i soaked in being on the ground and the fantastic atmosphere. After umpiring, the only thing to do now was watch the rest of the match, and what a match it was! I was extremely lucky to even receive this award, but to then see a drawn Grand Final, probably one of the best grand final atmospheres, was incredible! The rest of the match was a hard fought out battle, and I can say without doubt, no player left anything on the field. As the trip slowly started to come to an end within the last 10 minutes of the game, I will never, ever forget the monstrous roarof the crowd when Brendon Goddard took a hanger of a mark with only 5 minutes to go, to hand St Kilda their first lead of the match. It was a match full of emotions from the excitement from that goal, to the deathly, clueless silence when the final siren went. One thing is for sure, it was definetely the greatest experience of my life so far, and I doubt anything else will get close.
Written by Andrew Adair (Pictured in photo Middle of Standing Row wearing Blue Armband)
Last Modified on 08/10/2012 16:06