AFL Grand Final Extravaganza Hits the Big Apple

Once again, the New York Magpies Grand Final Party was an enormous great success, with more than 850 revelers in attendance to watch the Brisbane Lions overcome the Collingwood Magpies.

And like last year, the party was held at the Park Avenue Country Club, Manhattan. In addition to the live coverage of the big game, partygoers were making the most of the Coopers beer, MacPherson Wines, and food made available.

The different time zone in New York meant fans waited until 12:30 a.m. for the game to start. In addition, the closeness of the contest meant almost everybody stayed fixated on the game until after 4 a.m., when the match ended.

“Obviously we would have liked seeing our sister club, Collingwood, win the day; however, the quality of the game was enough to make a great night of it,” said Magpies President Peter Gurry.

The event was also an opportunity for the Magpies to promote the game of Australian Football to both Americans and Australian expatriates. The Magpies have already been successful at recruiting this year, and look forward to sending two teams to the 2002 National Championships, to be held in Kansas City on October 19 and 20.

Australian Football, although starting from a low base, is one of the fasted growing sports in the U.S.A. The USAFL now boasts a list of over 35 clubs on its register.

In true New York Magpies tradition, the team made a donation of US$1,000 to charity. This time September 11 related charities were the beneficiaries.