Ole, Ole, Ole...

Australia and New Zealand hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup over the winter in 2023. When we heard this would be here, we decided to buy tickets to one of the games being held in Sydney (which is only 3 hours away by car/bus or 4 by train). We chose a semi-final match because the tickets were cheaper than the final match tickets. Our hope when we purchased them in October 2022 was that we would be able to see the US Women's National Team (and defending champs) in action. Unfortunately, the US was knocked out pretty early. It is ok though, because our main goal was for the girls to see women excel in their field.

Australia's Matildas team had a historic run the World Cup, advancing further than Australia (men or women's) had ever made it before. There really was Matildas fever here in Australia. So much so, that the Matildas televised matches broke viewing records. We were lucky enough to see the most watched television show on record in Australia (with 11 million viewers) live in person at Stadium Australia in Sydney. We were so excited to be able to support the Matildas in the semi-final game. It took a fair bit of work to secure the requisite Matildas gear, but we managed it.

We were initially really impressed with Sydney's public transportation to the game (more on this later) as it was free for ticket holders, and the trains went straight from central station to the match site. There was fanfare and excitement outside of the stadium.

The match was between Australia and England. We obviously rooted for our adopted "home" team.

It was quite an experience. The girls and I had never been to a sporting even that big. There were 75,784 fans in the stadium with us that evening. It was heartwarming to see the stadium so packed for a women's sporting event.

We had pretty decent seats. Or at least I was happy with them.

There was nail biting excitement

And, when Sam Kerr's amazing goal went into the back of the net, the stadium was absolutely electric.

Unfortunately it was ultimately a loss for the Matildas. Not the outcome we (and all of Australia had hoped for) but a really great family experience. At least until the game ended.

At that point, poor Lauren was exhausted. It was way past her bedtime and we still had to make it back to the hotel. 75,784 fans poured out of the stadium and towards public transportation. What had been so impressive on the way over to the match was a hot mess after the match. Just an absolute SEA of people trying to make it back to the city.

We waited 2 or 3 hours for a train back to the hotel. I think the match ended around 10 or 1030 and we didn't make it back to the hotel until past 1am.

Surprisingly, the girls rallied the next day and we got to enjoy more of Sydney (which was nice as our previous visit had been cut short by COVID). We made it to the zoo and walked around the harbor. We had beautiful weather for it all too. Below are some pictures from the rest of time in Sydney: