80 Minutes at AMI Field

Tonight, we went out to see the Christchurch Crusaders play against the Reds in Rugby Union play. It was a big game, potentially determining the Crusaders' playoff hopes. On Wednesday at work I saw an ad in the paper for this game and we decided to go watch. On Thursday, we purchased two 4 for $40 packs (I still have an extra ticket) for seats in the Tui (a New Zealand beer) Stand, the lowest cost area. Friday (today) was game day!

We arrived amid a sprinkle of rain and took our seats in the Tui Stand, located at the home end of the pitch with the big screen TV behind us. The strangest collection of fans surrounded us, most fitting into one of two categories: the 18-25 year olds who were obviously planning to be quite intoxicated by the end of the match judging by the number of Tuis they had, and the 6-10 year-olds who were very excited to be at the match at all. Unfortunately, mostly because of the rain this evening, the stadium was not packed but there were still plenty of raucous fans. Also seated in the Tui Zone were what appeared to be an entire brass band, including a sousaphone, 3-4 trombones and many trumpets. They played many songs throughout the game.

For the first half, we sat pretty high up in our assigned seats, and I enjoyed the game immensely, trying to work out the nuances of the rules from watching events transpire. By halftime the Crusaders were up 20-0 with the game well in hand. At half-time we moved down to within ten rows of the front and had a wonderful up close view of the Crusaders end zone for the second half. They scored two more tries and gave up two for a final score of 32-12. I hope to go to an All-Blacks game in June.

Go Crusaders.