Erratum. Apologies to Henry McFerran, whose name I misspelled when reporting on my match for the Western Region u18s last Friday. Henry, sorry about that, mate, and hopefully you can see your way to allowing me a chance to get another run with your umpire team at some point in the future. I would blame the Match Manager, John Booker, but I am still hoping he will send me that picture he took at TEAC oval of me with Ron Barassi.

Wednesday August 10^th, 2005 Wangaretta, Australia

Today we leave Wangaretta, having collected some great memories and having experience another side of Australian culture. I have to believe that this smashing success will mean that more trips to experience country football will be on the agenda in 2008 at the next Cup. After returning to Melbourne, there is a team meeting to prep for the semi-final match against the New Zealand Falcons, and everyone pretty much spends the rest of the evening relaxing. Tomorrow is the biggest game ever in the history of USFooty.

Thursday August 11^th, 2005 Melbourne, Australia

Today is the day. It does not matter if you finish first or fourth or in between; the semi-finals mean all four teams are 0-0 and a win means playing for the Premiership (what titles are called in Australia) at the MCG and a loss means playing for third place. Today's match is at 11 am and is back at Port Melbourne's ovals (the site of the first two rounds), where the grounds are a little smaller than the TEAC oval as well as the Wangaretta ovals.

The team arrives at 9:30 am to prepare for battle. The weather looks to be fantastic, which is quite a nice change from the showers that seem to have followed the International Cup from Round 2 onward. After the national anthems, the US lines up to respect the New Zealand Haka. As with the Samoa/New Zealand match two days ago, the teams end up chest-to-chest and toe-to-toe, clearly ready to slug it out for the next 60 minutes.

In the first quarter, the US uses is speed to chase and tackle, and New Zealand uses its superior skill move the ball. Both teams are playing very well, and this looks like it might be the best match of the tournament yet. As the first quarter wears on, the US defense cracks ever so slightly and New Zealand ekes out a two goal advantage, 2.2.14 to 0.1.1. If I am not mistaken, it is the lowest scoring quarter for the Falcons in the entire tournament, which bodes well for the US.

Unfortunately for me, I get called upon to fill in a boundary umpire role on the other oval and I must miss the rest of the US game, What follows is what I gleaned from other observers. The US continued to slug it out with New Zealand but at half time trailed 27-7 (which I assume would be 4.3.27 to 1.1.7). In the third quarter, the Falcons scored a couple of early goals, to stretch their lead. With the weather turning colder by the minute, the Revolution mounted a comeback later in the third, but only managed to close the gap to 8 goals to 2. In the fourth quarter, the Kiwis got a couple of early goals, forcing the Revolution to again fight from behind. The physicality of the game was the most intense of the tournament with big hits on both sides of the ball. In the end, New Zealand prevailed by five goals, 10.4.64 to 5.2.32 (I think that is correct) Anyway, the end result is that the skill was too much for the Revolution to overcome, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the team played its guts out, and earned a lot of respect for pushing New Zealand as they did, especially when the local press gave them no chance. I understand that the players who stood out included James "JB" Brunmeier (Milwaukee), Darryl "DB" Butler (St. Louis) who kicked is first international goal, and from what I did see, Dee "Weeman" Vsetecka (Nashville) as well. Boys, I know you are hurting now, but I still say it was a fair dinkum effort: well done. [fair dinkum is used as a compliment in Australia -ed.] One more match to go on Saturday and you will wrap up third place. Ireland was defeated by Papua New Guinea by a mere 8 points and thus the third place match is a repeat of the Round 2 match of USA vs. Ireland, and the Grand Final will be Papua New Guinea vs. New Zealand.

While that was happening, I ran the boundary for the Japan Samurai vs. Great Britain Bulldogs match. I have not run a boundary since the last Cup in 2002, but I was needed and accepted the assignment. For the uninitiated, there are three types of umpires in footy: Field umpires run the middle of the field and award free kicks, pay marks, and are in control of the match. They are assisted by two boundary umpires whose job is to patrol the boundary and let the field umpires know when the ball has gone out of bounds and whether the ball will be returned to play via a throw in or a free kick. Last, but not least, are the goal umpires whose role is to determine whether a ball that crosses the end line is a goal (6 points), or a behind (1 point). The goal umpires get to dress warmly, but must brave cold rainy weather by standing in the goals, which in the winter here in Australia is a good reason to be a field umpire! The boundary umpires by far run the most, which is a good reason to be a field umpire and not a boundary umpire!

Anyway, my crew for this game includes Ross Payne, David O'Hare, and Brendan Devlin in the field, and my partner on the boundary, Julian Maccioni. The match is much more physical than I thought it might be, and unfortunately, in the second quarter a Bulldog slugs a Samurai in the goal square. I saw it as did the goal umpire, and that means a "report" for striking another player. In footy, a reported player is kicked out for the rest of the match and must stand for a tribunal that will either exonerate or punish based on the evidence presented. For me, it means I must attend the tribunal to present my evidence. What a bummer that something like this happens. But, that is why the rules exist: to protect players who are trying to play a fair game. Fortunately, after the Bulldog is sent off. The rest of the match is played fairly and no other incidents occur.

This evening is the formal dinner, hosted by the AFL with all 10 clubs in the large banquet facility at Telstra Dome (the same place as last time, except it was called Colonial Stadium then). There are so many dignitaries here representing not just the AFL (Ed Biggs, Neville Nash, Adrian Panozzo, plus so many more I could not keep track of them all), but also the Consulates from most of the countries, most if not all of the AFL teams, and so many Australian Commissions it made my head spin. The awards for top goal kicker and best and fairest [MVP] players (as selected in each match by the field umpires) are announced and they receive medals. The team best and fairest are then announced and they receive a signed jumper [jersey] from their host club. Donnie Lucero (Orange County) was chosen by his teammates to receive the Essendon Bombers jumper. The All Tournament team is announced as well, with each of the 22 awardees receiving a commemorative International Cup jumper, and the Revolution has had two outstanding players picked: Donnie Lucero (team captain) and James "JB" Brunmeier. What a terrific honor for both: good on ya! The event closes with quite a lot of video from the tournament games, and a whole lot of picture taking, plus the "normal" amount of singing among the usual clubs: Samoa, Ireland, and South Africa leading the way. This is clearly a major event on so many fronts that when you throw in the carnival atmosphere, I can tell you without a doubt, I would not miss this for anything.