MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) -
9,500 miles separate the Land of 10,000 Lakes from the Land Down Under, but Australian rules football is gaining ground here in Minnesota. We even have a local team—and they’re pretty darn good.
The sound of competition is recognized on every field, but if you were to pass by one of the games played nearly every Saturday in a tiny Minneapolis park, you probably wouldn't recognize it.
“It's tough, because not a lot of people have seen it on TV or anything," said team captain Andrew Werner.
"I could compare it to basketball, soccer and rugby, and tell people it's somewhere in the middle," said Freeze player Brent Mergen.
Most Aussie rules players only recently heard about the sport, but 5 members of the Minnesota Freeze are getting ready to play on an international stage. The Freeze, founded back in 1999, has blown up into a team of nearly 50 guys, ages 16 to 52 -- some with years of “footy” experience, and others with none.
The 5 Minnesota players made Team USA after training camp in Austin, Texas in April. In fact, there are more Freeze players on the national team than from any other club in the nation.
“It means a lot to represent your country," Werner said. "It’s not the Olympics or the World Cup, but it's the highest pinnacle we can reach as an amateur.”
The national team is headed to the Australian Football League’s International Cup in August, where they'll square off against 18 other teams from around the world.
“It really makes me proud to represent where I come from, central Minnesota, and the country, and represent my friends and everyone I know back in Australia that taught me the sport," Mergen said.
4 members of the Freeze women’s club are also headed to Australia as part of the U.S. Freedom Squad.
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