In an effort to stay warm at the game I pulled out all the stops and donned my long underwear (think Under Armor), top and bottoms, good socks, my jersey, a sweatshirt and my down jacket. Along with my hat and mittens I was set to, comfortably, sit through the 80 minutes of play in our open stadium. This was all well and good except that to get to the game we had to walk to the stadium, approximately 30 blocks (1.7 km or, about, 1 mile). As we walked I proceeded to heat up and soon began to boil. In an effort to stay alive so I could watch the game when we finally arrived I started to peel off layers as we walked. Halfway there I had shed my sweatshirt (I hadn't bothered to wear my down jacket because I knew it would be too warm) along with my hat and mittens. At first I noticed that people were looking at me and I figured it was because I was wearing my bright yellow jersey. After a few more minutes of walking I realized that people were staring because I was only wearing my jersey with the thermal underneath. With a chilly wind whipping through the city now I can see that I must've looked insane to be wearing so little. But I was just too hot! :)
We arrived at the Westpac stadium with a throng of fans and you could feel the excitement in the air. The place was buzzing. After finding some sinfully delicious hot mini donuts at the concession stand we located our seats and settled in for the game. By that time my body temp had come down to a relatively normal level and I started pulling the layers back on one at a time. I think the guy sitting next to me thought I was crazy as I put on my sweatshirt, my hat, my mittens and then unstuffed my down jacket and put that on too. And within minutes I was very happy that I had bundled so thoroughly (I was part way through this process in the pics below, amazingly in one of them my eyes are open). While I wouldn't say that I felt warm during the game I definitely didn't have frozen fingers or toes or chattering teeth. :)
The game began with a flurry of excitement and the Chiefs scored a try within the first two minutes. With a sigh, I thought, "This is going to be bad". But to my delight the Hurricanes were able to keep pace with the Chiefs for the entire game. Below you can see the players in formation for a 'line out' where they throw the ball back into to play.
In the last few minutes of play the Chiefs were up 25 to 21 and you could feel the tension in the air. We were literally on the edge of our seats waiting to see if we could, somehow, pull out a try and take the lead. To say the struggle between the teams was intense is such an understatement! Then we heard the horn signalling that the 80 minutes of play had ended. But in rugby union play doesn't necessarily stop at the sound of the horn. If they are in the middle of a sequence then they keep going until one of the teams scores a try or gets a penalty. At this point everyone in the stadium was losing their minds because at any second the game could be over! The Hurricanes had possession of the ball and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to get it over the try line. Almost five minutes after the horn had sounded it looked like one of our players had made it through and got the ball over the line!!! The place went wild!! They played the sequence over and over again on the jumbotron while the referee called 'upstairs' to confirm whether the try would be awarded or not. In short it was not an easy call to make as it was hard to see what was happening because there were so many players in the midst of the action. After what seemed like an eternity, with crowd holding it's breath for the decision, we looked up at the jumbotron and saw that the Hurricanes had been awarded the try!!!!!!! Pandemonium swept through the stadium as Hurricanes fans celebrated and the Chiefs fans stood, bewildered, not believing what had happened. The try was converted; we successfully kicked for the conversion (it's like an extra point in American football, except it's two points) and you can see the final score along with the fireworks coming to life on the jumbotron screen.
After much cheering and high-fiving we gathered our wits and started to make our way down towards the field where the Hurricanes players were signing autographs. If you remember from a previous post I was hoping for an autograph from my favorite Hurricane, Jason Eaton. He was halfway through the line and heading towards the locker room before we were able to get down onto to the field. Tim handed me the Sharpie we had brought along for just such an occasion and said, "Go for it, honey". Taking a breath I attempted to weasel my way into the five deep crowd that was pressing towards the players.
Much to my dismay the crowd was impossible to navigate even though I tried to get in at a variety of different places on the line. In the end I wasn't able to get to him before he was heading off the field. But Tim did get a picture of him so you can see his crazy, trademark, beard. Hopefully. I'll get his autograph next time. :)
I was able to find Timmy again and we stayed on the field for a bit longer to take some pictures. Below you can see more the field from this lower vantage point.
Just as we were ready to leave for the night the Hurricanes full back, Andre Taylor, one of Tim's favorites, climbed over the divider and started to sign autographs and take pictures with everyone who wanted one. I told Tim, "Get in there and get him to sign your jersey". He gave me his coat and sweatshirt and jumped into the fray.
After coming away with an autograph on his jersey I thought "Maybe I should get one too". So while Timmy held all our stuff I managed to work my way into the crowd and get close enough to get my jersey signed too!! Emerging from the crowd I felt triumphant, jumping up and showing off my jersey when I found Timmy again. Check them out!
After the excitement of the game we spent the rest of the weekend waiting to see how the other teams, contending for a playoff slot, would fare. Now the games have been played, the points tallied and I'm sad to report that the Hurricanes did not make it into the playoffs. It goes without saying that we are disappointed but we've had a great time learning about a new sport and getting behind our local team. Until next season we will start watching the All Blacks, our national team, as they begin their season in mid August.
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