A fine shower of rain followed us as we got on the train at Moreland and got off at Spencer Street Station. The fine shower followed us as we walked over the bridge and the Docklands, and bought tickets at the stand at the front of the stadium. We were cutting it fine; the game was starting at 2.10, and we bought the tickets at 2.11. The donuts they were selling at the front of the stadium tasted fine. It was, in short, a fine Melbourne day.
Inside, we were surrounded by black and white. I felt like I was in a newspaper column. They had the most ridiculous team chants:
C! O! L! L! I! N! G! W! O! O! D! COLLINGWOOD!
If the supporters managed to get past the double 'L' they usually got confused at the 'N'. They either thought they were at the start, at the end, or at some random point in between.
One lonely Adelaide supporter stood behind the seats and made a habit of shouting loudly whenever the Collingwood supporters didn't. It made a sort of counterpoint. The game didn't go his way, though. By the end of the second quarter, the Collingwood score was almost double Adelaide's score.
I saw an old football couple briefly, both standing by the rails eating from a large bowl of wedges, wrapped in club colours. When the siren sounded for the third quarter they disappeared among the seats below.
At the end of the third quarter I went and got two more donuts. Those things really were delicious. Warm, with cinnamon-and-sugar icing, and jam filling. It was a great view outside the stadium; a low-lying cloud had come down and enveloped the tops of the Melbourne skyscrapers.
By the end of the game, almost everyone was in good spirits. Another old club supporter came up saying, over and over again, 'We're back! We're back!' My flatmate was more circumspect, but on the train back, he said it was a great game. 'Yeah,' I said to him, 'That's because you won.' He didn't deny it.
People tell me I should get a football team. I don't know about that.
What's your team?
8 comments:
M! E! L! B! O! U! R! N! E! MELBOURNE!
Oh we're from Tiger, YELLOW AND BLACK oh we're from Tigerland!
Richmond, cha cha cha, Richmond, cha cha cha, Richmond cha cha cha.
Seriously? A 'cha cha cha' chant?
Well TimT, it is more of a hit anything close to you that makes a loud noise to the beat of a cha cha cha chant, but you get the drift.
Geelong - family tradition can't be broken. Little tacker became a Kiddy Cat member within days of being born.
Told mum I was going to the footy last week.
'Oh well, at least you can say that you've seen it' she said gloomily.
We're not a big sporting family. I really had a good time, though, I'm going to have to see another game, soon. And then another. And then another. And then ...
Excellent to hear! Before you know it, you may even pick a team ... but maybe not; at least you'll never be disappointed when you see a game - any game!
And yes, that was me pretending to be Drunka again (damn!).
I know your little ruse. Cleverly logging on as yourself in order to fool people that it's actually Drunka posting as you, instead of you posting as you.
I've got it all figured!
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