The Australian Rules Grand Final is the Down Under version of the Super Bowl and Grey Cup rolled into one colourful, beery, noisy, festive package.
And Mike Pyke of Victoria will be front and centre. Pyke will appear before 100,000 fans in the Melbourne Cricket Ground tonight when his Sydney Swans take on Hawthorn in the 2012 Grand Final (8: 30 p.m. PDT on TSN2).
If there was to be a first Canadian to break into the top ranks of Aussie Rules - St. Michaels University School-grad Pyke starts for the Swans - that person was probably destined to come from the Island, where rugby is popular and many good players are produced.
Yet, jumping from rugby union to Aussie Rules as Pyke did isn't easy - not even for a guy whose 35 points in 20 caps for Canada included that breathless field-length try against the New Zealand All Blacks on an interception off Dan Carter in the 2007 World Cup.
For a Canadian to make the switch is considered nothing short of astonishing. It's not surprising then that Pyke - who played every game for Canada in the 2007 IRB rugby union World Cup - has become a media sporting darling in Oz and profiled in nearly every major newspaper in the country and on TV.
"This is the biggest sporting event in Australia," said the 28-year-old Pyke by phone from Oz.
"It hasn't been easy getting to the Grand Final. It's taken a lot of hard work. It's a completely different game and skills set [than rugby union]," added the former UVic Vikes, PacificSport Pride, Castaway Wanderers and Island Crimson Tide rugby star.
That's why so few players switch between union and Aussie Rules.
The latter is concentrated in the Melbourne area of Australia - where it is contested with madhouse passion eventhough it's not widely played internationally.
No wonder Pyke was skeptical when the idea was first broached to him four years ago by SMUS classmate Matt Woodland, who had moved to live and work in Melbourne. But Woodland figured Pyke's lean yet sinewy six-foot-seven frame made him ideal for the more vertical Aussie Rules game with its dramatic aerial jump balls.
Hampered by injuries in the top-level French pro rugby Top-14 league, Pyke was at a place in his life where he was at least willing to listen.
"I was injured and struggled to get back. I had lost my passion for rugby and was looking for a change of lifestyle," Pyke said.
Boy, did he find it, in a code of rugby football he never anticipated. He is now in his fourth season of Aussie Rules, thanks to a connection from SMUS days.
"I read an article in an Australian newspaper about how [Aussie Rules] clubs were increasingly looking at big, tall athletes from different sports who were willing to try their arm at it," said former SMUS mate Woodland, by e-mail this week from Melbourne.
"I met up with Mike in Hong Kong, who was there for the sevens tournament [four years ago], and suggested he would be perfect for [Aussie Rules]. I put together a video highlight reel and sent it off to a few agents. Most didn't even reply. One did - he asked if this was a joke or if it was for real. I convinced him it was the real deal. The agent sent the video to the Sydney Swans."
The rest is, well, history as Pyke became the first Canadian ever to play in the top level of Aussie Rules. The Swans were at first derided for taking a chance on a Canuck. But nobody is laughing today as Pyke steps onto the biggest stage of Aussie Rules as a starter.
"It's an amazing and festive atmosphere and I'm soaking it up," said Pyke.
He's earned at least that, if not more.
