Since Mackie arrived, all the way from Hamburg, Germany, we have been introducing him to our national game….AFL Footy!

And as my husband and I are both Geelong supporters, Its not surprising that we named him after a Geelong player…Andrew Mackie!

We decided to take our Mackie to the home of the Cats, Skilled Stadium, and maybe with bit of luck, we might be able to introduce him to his namesake..and get a photo!

By coincidence, there was a family day being held at the ground, so we headed into Geelong on a cold, grey Tuesday morning…

And discovered the Cats players were getting ready to play….soccer! Four countries were represented, and two kids were chosen out of the crowd for each team…

GFC Soccer

I don’t know who had more fun…the kids or the players…

Soccer game

There was great celebration as one of the kids kicked a goal! The Cats players were so good with the kids…it was great to see!

Goal

And a team photo was taken at the end…those kids will certainly have something to talk about when they get back to school after the holidays!

Soccer Group

The players then did some training….footy this time…

Mackie and me

We tried to find Andrew Mackie, but he wasn’t out on the ground…we did find his name on the players roll…he was drafted in 2004, and has been in three premiership wins!

Player

It was a shame we couldn’t find the player we wanted to…..but we did find the club mascot, Half Cat…..

Halfcat with kids

My husband said I should get a photo with him, but I was too embarrassed to jump in, especially with all the kids around…but as chance would have it…

Mackie and HalfCat

Would love to know what whoever was inside that suit was thinking…probably who is this crazy woman?!

We then walked around the back of the stands, and showed Mackie the Premiership Cups…winners! And yes, it was windy and freezing standing there….

Premiership cups

We then found a wall mural, showing the height of various players….Dawson Simpson is the tallest…and I don’t even come up to his shoulders….not even close….

Dawson Simpson

Yep, I am very short….

Players heights

I think my husband is tall, but in comparison with these guys…

Jas

It was then time to head somewhere indoors and get warm…and take Mackie to his first brunching experience…

Cafe

Stay tuned for more adventures of Mackie…

Mackie is a creation from Gus and Ollie….click here to visit the website for more info!