Osaka Dingoes

Osaka Dingoes
Originally uploaded by mtstaffa.

So today i had my first practice and footy game. We play at a "field" by Osaka Castle. Why i put "field" instead of field i will explain later. I went to the park to look for the field, and after having my picture taken a few times, i finally found the field. It was a huge sports complex and there were about 150 japanese playing various sports on the "field". I saw three japanese teenagers suit up in full football gear (aka american football) and the proceeded to have about a 3 hour practice that looked intense...all without a ball. Talk about dedication. There was also a lot of soccer, frisbee, and heaps of baseball being played. Then i found one guy with a footy ball. I made the guester for a handpass and he looked shocked. After pretending to know eachother's respective language, we played a bit. Then out of the woodwark came about 20 japanese and one aussie. It was crazy. We practiced a bit then played eachother for my first game on japanese "soil". so why the "field"...? Well it didnt have any grass, we played on gravel. YES, gravel. The same brown gravel that makes up a baseball infield. Even though i am finally bigger than some people on the opposing team, i still get knocked down a few times and getting smashed into the gravel is not fun. There was a huge mix in the skills of the players. Similar to in the states. There were a good number of players that were speedy on the field and were like ninjas with their movements. (sorry, i had to use ninja). The handpasses were crisp and the kicks accurate. Maybe that is due to the fact that taking a mark means you wont get tackled into the gravel. We won our game today and we are preparing for an Anzac cup coming up soon. I only got a behind today as i was in the back pocket. It is going well here though, and from what i can tell after just one game, the Japanese team in the international cup could have some potential. I will keep you posted.

Staffa
MN Freeze