Back in Blacktown

Got in early Tuesday morning to the Sydney Airport picked up my rental car and started to make my trek out to the eastern suburbs where my “executive suite” awaited at the Holiday Inn in the suburb curiously named Rooty Hill. I took a long nap and then headed for the city to meet up with the Poles once again to go out to a club called the Gaff. We pre-partied for a couple of hours and then caught a cab, only to find a line of about 50 people. The girls didn’t skip a beat in walking straight up to the huge kiwi doorman and 10 seconds later we were ushered into the club which was packed on a Tuesday night. We ended up hanging out there for most of the night (I wouldn’t mind to never hear house music again) and the next morning I woke up with my throat swollen the same as had happened twice last summer (which was why I had scheduled to get my tonsils out in December before Australia beckoned). So after asking around at the hotel, I went Michael Moore style to check out the health care system in a “developed” country. It cost me $50 to see the Dr. and the anti-biotics were a whopping $13, (after the exchange rate that’s not even much more than I’d pay with health insurance in the states and it would have been free for an Aussie). So I spent most of the week sleeping and just overall recovering from 5 weeks of debauchery.

The games started Friday in Blacktown (where the MLB showcase was held in early Dec.), and I had invited Jacob and Georgina to come out to their first baseball game. They showed up in the third inning (I guess they’re natural Dodger fans) but they had a good time with what little they understood of what was going on. New South Whales took a no hitter into the 7th, as South Australia continued a dismal season (they finished the first two games of the series with a total of 3 hits). After the game we headed to the RSL Club (Return Service League) connected to my hotel which is mockingly referred to as the Vegas of the West (as in western suburbs of Sydney). These clubs started as veterans clubs, and I haven’t gotten a clear explanation of the evolution to where they are now just big clubs with sports books, pokie machines (slot machines) and bars/cafes with cheap food/drink. We hung out down there for a while people watching as the elderly/motley crowd squandered their pensions (the GM of the ABF joked with me the next day that they call that place the “Star Wars Bar”…LE resort?).
Saturday’s game was highlighted by the appearance of “the Mad Aussie”, Grant Balfour. The Tampa Bay Rays reliever signed autographs, threw out the first pitch and gave media interviews for much of the game. The game was short lived however as SA got merci-ruled in seven innings.

Sunday’s game was a 12pm start in Manly about an hour drive from Rooty Hill. On this day I’d be introducing baseball to my Polish friends Anna and Zuzanna. We got to the grounds early to have a look around and make sure everything was in order. I tried to explain the game to them, but it is pretty difficult to give a quick synopsis of our confusing game especially when as an American you take for granted that the basics are quite obvious. They didn’t know what was going on but we had a good time getting baked by the Manly beach sun. SA made a valiant comeback in the late innings to take an 8-6 lead only to give up a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to again find a way to lose. After the game, I tried to get some answers from the ABF GM and CEO as to where I’d be going next only to once again be told that I’d probably be heading out to Melbourne but I would get further instruction in the morning. So with that we rushed back to the city to get Zuzanna to work on time and then Anna and I headed to Bondi where Jacob was having another rooftop BBQ.

Navigating the streets in Sydney was difficult because street signs are few and far between, but I ended up getting the hang of it by figuring out that you can’t map out a route but rather follow the signs that point you from suburb to suburb. The main intersections all have signs pointing you towards landmarks but actually finding out what street you’re on or what street you’re passing is next to impossible. We made it to Bondi fairly quickly, and the BBQ was already in full force. There were many of the same Swedes as the Christmas celebration but quite a few different ones as well. I met a surfer-looking swede who had studied somewhere outside of Baltimore and then lived in SD for a couple of years only to move down to Australia and settle down in Bondi for the last three years. There was also a girl named Anna who had arrived two days earlier and was staying for free at the 2 br apartment with the seven Swedish dudes in exchange for cleaning and laundry services. When the new Swedes learned what I was in Australia for they all wanted a tutorial on baseball…I again wasn’t optimistic that they’d get it but when four drunk Swedish girls want you to explain your national pastime…I guess I could oblige. We played a makeshift inning with beer bottles for bases, a clothespin as a ball and a sandal as a bat…I don’t think anyone learned anything but they had fun pretending. When nightfall hit, so did rainclouds and we were treated to a view of lightning striking over the city center.

Everyone left and I crashed on the couch until it was about 4:30am when I got up to get back to my hotel where I knew the Eagles/Giants game was starting at 5am. I watched the first half and fell asleep. I checked out of my hotel and headed over to the RSL where I could watch the Chargers/Steelers on ESPN. I saw most of the third quarter but received a phone call at the start of the fourth informing me that rather than Melbourne I would be headed for the Gold Coast where the ABF headquarters are located and where SA will be looking for win number two against Queensland (QLD's state motto: beautiful one day, perfect the next)