PHOTO BY GRANT CAMPAIN

Australian Rules football is followed with religious enthusiasm by many people in Melbourne. It has a mass of faithful followers throughout Australia who live and breathe by the game, battling the winter cold to show their love and dedication to their favourite players and clubs.

Melbourne is home to 10 of the 16 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL), all clubs boasting up to 30,000 passionate followers each. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is where all the magic happens, with each team battling it out every weekend to crowds of thousands. The largest-ever recorded crowd to attend an AFL game reached up to 90,000 people and every year at Grand Final time it attracts similar numbers of supporters! With  winter here, the sport is known to dominate newspapers, televisions, radios, and even talk around the office.

In celebration of Australia’s love for sport, the MCG is now home to the National Sport Museum, which possesses some of the world’s most revered sporting memorabilia. You don’t have to be a sporting fanatic to enjoy this museum – it is a fascinating exploration of Australia’s history and passion for the world of sport.

Many are amazed at the love that Melbournians show for their sports, most especially for AFL. When in Melbourne, all pilgrims must enjoy all that the AFL and the MCG has to offer.

One of Melbourne’s leading AFL teams, the Hawthorn Football Club, is offering all pilgrims a special ‘2 for 1’ ticket to watch the team in a Round 15 game on Sunday 13 July versus Sydney-based football club the Sydney Swans.

The Hawthorn Football Club, popularly called the Hawks, is best known as the ‘Family Club’. Come join us for a magnificent game at the MCG and don’t forget to wear the team’s colours: brown and gold.

To redeem your ‘2 for 1’ ticket offer, take a friend to the game and visit the National Sports Museum. Simply show your Pilgrim Passport at one of the MCG ticket box offices at gate 1, 3, 4 or 5.