A Prayer from Western Australia
September 17th 2008 13:17
Lord, grant me the patience to endure stories about local players’ mothers before the real news…
I’ve been living in Perth for the last six weeks, and it has been a real culture shock in terms of football. It takes up no small part of my headspace now that my Hawks are up top again, but you’d hardly realise that most of the teams were based in Victoria from the reporting over here. For instance, at the time of its announcement, I was shocked to hear that the evergreen Robert Harvey would be retiring from the game.
But what shocked me more is that this had been the second story of the newscast – behind the retirement of Heath Black. I know! I’m all for reporting what the people want to hear, but that was a surprise. Even Dan, one of the few people I knew over here and raging Eagles fan, tells me he prefers reading Melbourne sports pages because of the broader coverage.
Grant me the courage to wear my foreign scarf outdoors…
In the pub, we were a majority, us Hawks fans. So far from the actual action, we had congregated in front of the big screen and relished the promise of beer. Strangers were hugging each other and singing songs together as the Hawks made light work of the Bulldogs.
The next day, however, was a different story. With a beaming smile, I wrapped my scarf back around my neck and set off for work. There was a much less friendly reaction. No hugs, no smiles. Not even a car horn. Just a few glares from across the street from local fans whose teams had endured disastrous seasons. The scarf only served to rub my own team’s fortune into their face, and no one likes a boaster. (And let me assure, the fact that Lance Franklin is from WA doesn't mean anything.)
Fair to say, by the time I reached work the scarf had disappeared into my bag, and not just because the sun was out.
Grant me the wisdom to recognise when my team’s premiership window has closed…
Having recently experienced both wonderful and forgettable seasons, I can tell you the obvious – the wonderful seasons are much more enjoyable! And judging from the attitude over here, I think that they can become addictive.
The Eagles, from club statements and fan sentiment, genuinely rate themselves as a top six team, blaming a shocking run of injuries for their second last placing. Now I’m all for optimism but the Eagles are rebuilding, and that takes time. They have an experienced backbone but their outer positions are filled with young talent that doesn’t develop overnight.
Perhaps back to back Grand Finals has made them impatient to reach another one, but it won’t happen any time soon. I only hope that when the same time comes for my Hawks that I can accept it and not delude myself.
I’ve been living in Perth for the last six weeks, and it has been a real culture shock in terms of football. It takes up no small part of my headspace now that my Hawks are up top again, but you’d hardly realise that most of the teams were based in Victoria from the reporting over here. For instance, at the time of its announcement, I was shocked to hear that the evergreen Robert Harvey would be retiring from the game.
But what shocked me more is that this had been the second story of the newscast – behind the retirement of Heath Black. I know! I’m all for reporting what the people want to hear, but that was a surprise. Even Dan, one of the few people I knew over here and raging Eagles fan, tells me he prefers reading Melbourne sports pages because of the broader coverage.
Grant me the courage to wear my foreign scarf outdoors…
In the pub, we were a majority, us Hawks fans. So far from the actual action, we had congregated in front of the big screen and relished the promise of beer. Strangers were hugging each other and singing songs together as the Hawks made light work of the Bulldogs.
The next day, however, was a different story. With a beaming smile, I wrapped my scarf back around my neck and set off for work. There was a much less friendly reaction. No hugs, no smiles. Not even a car horn. Just a few glares from across the street from local fans whose teams had endured disastrous seasons. The scarf only served to rub my own team’s fortune into their face, and no one likes a boaster. (And let me assure, the fact that Lance Franklin is from WA doesn't mean anything.)
Fair to say, by the time I reached work the scarf had disappeared into my bag, and not just because the sun was out.
Grant me the wisdom to recognise when my team’s premiership window has closed…
Having recently experienced both wonderful and forgettable seasons, I can tell you the obvious – the wonderful seasons are much more enjoyable! And judging from the attitude over here, I think that they can become addictive.
The Eagles, from club statements and fan sentiment, genuinely rate themselves as a top six team, blaming a shocking run of injuries for their second last placing. Now I’m all for optimism but the Eagles are rebuilding, and that takes time. They have an experienced backbone but their outer positions are filled with young talent that doesn’t develop overnight.
Perhaps back to back Grand Finals has made them impatient to reach another one, but it won’t happen any time soon. I only hope that when the same time comes for my Hawks that I can accept it and not delude myself.
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