The biggest weekend on the Australian sporting calendar!
That’s how the next two days are shaping in Australia’s two biggest cities, starting today with close to 100,000 spectators cramming into the MCG to cheer on the Collingwood ‘Pies and the Brisbane Lions in the AFL grand final and culminating tomorrow night with the Penrith Panthers on the prowl for their third consecutive NRL championship against the bucking Brisbane Broncos at Stadium Australia.
Doing the double of both events has been on my bucket list for many a year. I’ve experienced two NRL grand finals but have yet to taste the atmosphere of a seething MCG on grand final day, although being among 98000 fans for a standard club game at the southern hemisphere’s biggest stadium was something else.
To make me more envious, a good mate and his son are currently in Melbourne on leg one of the double and belatedly and fortunately scored two tickets to the MCG for this afternoon before jumping on a flight to Sydney tomorrow morning.
The difficulty in obtaining tickets and then the cost are two of the drawbacks of getting to many of the world’s biggest events, but if you had the dollars and the time, what would be your choice of iconic sports showdowns to attend? Here are a few to consider.
2023 Rugby World Cup final
If you’re thinking of a quick flight to Paris to watch the All Blacks lift the William Webb Ellis for a record fourth time [here’s hoping], don’t bother. It’s a sellout, but even if you could score a ticket, it would empty your wallet from anywhere between 100 euros [NZ$177] to 950 euros [NZ$1687].
Super Bowl 2024 – Las Vegas
Take out a mortgage; the cheapest [is that the right word?] in the upper deck of Allegiant Stadium will set you back a mere US$4000 [NZ$6725], while a VIP package will empty your credit card to the tune of US$60000 [a touch over NZ$100k].
Before you even start to think of digging deep into your pockets, there is the not-so-small matter of sourcing tickets, and with hen’s teeth more prevalent, that is no easy task.
US Masters Golf – Augusta
If a stroll around the beautifully manicured course on the final day is on your bucket list, get ready to fork out a cool US$2975 [$ND5000], and there’s no guarantee you’ll get a clear view of who you want to see swing their way to victory.
Monaco Grand Prix
Staying with the rich and ridiculous, get ready to fork out anywhere between NZ$3800-16600 for a package to experience the speed, the glitz and the glamour of the Mediterranean principality.
Wimbledon finals days
Serve up about $560 for a seat for Saturday’s women’s final and the same again for Sunday’s men’s decider.
FA Cup final – Wembley
A ticket to the 2023 Manchester derby final would have set you back the equivalent of $71 for the cheapest ticket to $510 for the most expensive.
Somehow, $5 or $10 to get into Trust House Memorial Park for a Lochore Cup semifinal sounds more appealing. But then again, I get a media pass.
Anyhow back to the big Aussie doubleheader, Collingwood are favoured in the AFL and the Panthers in the NRL, but don’t dismiss Brisbane doing the double.
