The 49th Parallel Cup leaves the 49th Parallel.

The fierce competition between Canada and the U.S.A. in Australian Football ventures continues away from it’s namesake for the first time (with the arguable exception of Edmonton) at the end of  July.
 

The Canadian population clings to it’s Southern boundary like the Australian population  clings to it’s ocean border. It has been easy for the Canadians to find convenient venues for the 49th Parallel Cup without venturing too far.

Toronto is a large city with the best football league in the Northern hemisphere and has hosted multiple AFL games with crowds in excess of 20k.  Vancouver is the city that holds the crowd record (32k) for an AFL match outside Australia and reportedly attracted a crowd of 2,500 to it’s cup venue.

The USAFL to date has concentrated it’s attention on cities surrounding the Great Lakes but now it has chosen the purpose built oval stadium at Fort Lauderdale in Florida. This is a superb facility but cost has deterred more frequent use by Australian Football. Just a short drive away is the city of Miami which hosted two AFL games drawing a crowd of 7,500 and then 10k.

It will be interesting to see the outcomes of this event on many levels. Australian Football in Edmonton grew after it hosted a cup. Maybe Quebec is next in line for the Canadians.

Out of interest, Portland holds the USA record for an AFL crowd at nearly 15k and not too far from the 49th Parallel.