SACRAMENTO (MPG) - Sacramento’s probable largest assembly of Australians in one place gathered at Henry’s Bar & Lounge on O Street. On Sept. 29 Henry’s played host to a watch party for the Grand Finals of the Australian Football League. While over 100 thousand “footy fans” congregated at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over seven thousand miles away, around 50 stayed up until past midnight at Henry’s to watch the Collingwood Magpies beat the Brisbane Lions in a game that came down to the dying moments to decide a winner. Local fans of both clubs on the edge of their seats for it all.

Aussie rules football is often compared to rugby, two teams of 18 players face each other on an oval pitch. Much like this year's Grand Finals, Aussie rules matches are regularly played on cricket pitches, which provide the space necessary. Two sets of four uprights are on each end of the oval pitch.

“It’s like soccer, NFL and rugby all rolled in to one,” St. Kilda Saints fan and fledgling footy fan Steven Sharp explained. “They run around as much as soccer players, but they run plays and get physical like the NFL or rugby.”

Kicking the ball through the two uprights in the middle on the fly constitutes a goal, which awards six points. A ball kicked through the uprights on either side, or bounced through the center uprights, award one point. At the end of four 20-minute quarters, the team with the most points are the winner, and in the case of the Sept. 29 game, crowned champion. You can only pass the ball forwards by batting it with your fist, or by kicking it to a teammate, and you can only run 50 feet while holding the ball, but you’re allowed to bounce the ball of the ground to allow you to run farther.

Not everyone at Henry’s was an AFL fan, or even there to watch sports in general. People streamed in and out of the restaurant all night, the ones not there for “footy” quickly hurried to the arcade or to the pool tables. Some decided to sit down and take in what would be the first AFL game they ever even watched. One of those Henry’s customers-turned-new-footy-fan was Austin Whitman.

“I’m having fun for this being my first [AFL] game,” he said. “It’s cool discovering a new sport and the culture with it.”

The watch party was hosted by the Sacramento Suns of the USAFL, America’s Aussie rules football league. A non-profit founded in 2009 as the Sacramento Screamers by a group of American and Australian volunteers, they established a relationship with the Gold Coast Suns of the AFL in Australia in 2012 and were given permission to use their name. The Suns have had over three hundred players come through the ranks of their club. They offer youth clinics and have both men’s and women’s teams, and no experience is necessary to join.

“Anyone interested in joining can show up for any event at any point in the season, and we would be happy to teach them the game.” Erika, a representative of the team, said. “We offer a free drop-in game for all new players to try it out before committing to anything.”

The Suns goal is, “To build a thriving Australian Football community in Sacramento that encourages participation, champions the spirit of competition, creates pathways for development, and cultivates social relationships,” according to the mission statement on their website, sacfooty.com. They also “strive to create a fun and inclusive atmosphere which allows us to share Australian culture and fitness with people of all ages and backgrounds.”

Registration is open to anybody who wishes to join, they play both the regular tackle footy and tag footy, a non-contact approach to the game. The Suns train and play at North Natomas Community Park, but the tag footy team sometimes plays at Curtis Park. For more seasoned footy players, the Suns USAFL travel team goes around the West Coast but can play clubs as far as Florida and Quebec.

The tag footy league starts midway through March and lasts through June. Their tackle footy season starts in May and goes through mid-October. Tag league takes place Thursday nights, while tackle footy practices weekly every Tuesday and plays their games on Saturdays throughout the season. Anyone interested is welcome to come to any practice or game.

Throughout the night prizes were given out to fans at Henry’s who correctly guessed the first and last players to score goals in each quarter. There was also a 50/50 raffle that benefited the Sacramento Suns and its programs in the community. The game ended at around 12:30 a.m. in California, meaning Sacramento has some dedicated footy fans.