ANZAC Day, Rugy, and Aussie Rules Football

Yesterday, here in Australia, was the national holiday known as ANZAC Day, commemorating their fallen troops. Along with parades and fire works, each bar and pub hosts a game called Two Up. Two Up involves two coins on a wooden paddle. Prior to a person flipping the paddle, everyone in the crowd places bets amongst each other as to whether the coins will land heads or tails. There is one coin flipper for the whole bar, standing on a platform with a judge who shouts the results. If the two coins flipped land on both heads and tails, everyone boos and the coins must be flipped again. If the coin flipper throws a "no result" three times, he/she must get down and do push ups in front of a chanting crowd. You don't want to be that guy... You don't want to be that guy. This event is fun for everyone because it is the only day in which Two Up is legal. It was a game played by Australian soldiers back in World War I, the reason why it is only legal on ANZAC Day. Some people bet $100, $50, $20, or as little as $5. I found $5 on the floor, bet tails, and lost.

I got a heavy dose of the Aussie sports scene, too. I saw a Rugby game at a small stadium, and it was very confusing at first, but I caught on quickly. There's actually two forms of Rugby; Rugby Union and Rugby League. The rules are slightly different. Now, Aussie Rules Football is a an awesome game. Played with a Rugby ball, the idea is to bring the ball all the way down to the endzone, but points are only scored when you kick it through a field goal-like structure. You can pass the ball via punching it and kicking it to teammates, and can tackle and wrestle the ball away just like in Rugby. It's a rough game, but very cool. But it can be difficult because being an amazing athlete isn't enough. You must be a very good kicker as well.

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