Retro Repost

What we were discussing a year ago,

Round Two, 2004. Melbourne vs Richmond at the MCG.

Friday Night Farce

or “Please donate a new headline because we belted the crunts"…

What a night. Our one and only crack at the best time and place to watch football in the book. Friday evening at the MCG. And the result? Love affair with the game rekindled. We could get tonked for the next twenty weeks but at least this was memorable.

The ‘unification’ theme before the game was nice. There were plenty of club legends there but no John Howat, Darren Kowal, Allen Jakovich or Phil Gilbert which disappointed me a bit.

Credit to those fans I know who got on us at +39.5 points at $14 and cleaned up. I looked at that in the paper and thought about having a dip and then chickened out. Instead I went to the TAB at half-time to steady my nerves, walked in as a horse called “Three Dee Lyon�? won at Port Pirie, paying $8.40 for the win then threw what little hard-earned I had on me away on some shonky harness horse named after Matthew fecking Lloyd.

David Neitz kicked 9.1 and two that didn’t make the distance. He could have been the first of our players to boot ten since Gary Lyon in the 1994 finals but I think we’ll take the nine if it’s all the same with you anyway thanks. Did I not tip that in the preview I wrote for the Herald-Sun? And did they not ignore that and print SHIT about Richmond and how they were good instead? Popularist dickheads.

Meanwhile a big hand to the Richmond bogans sitting behind me who fulfilled every single stereotype of football fans in the book. Demanding a free kick for everything, declaring that they’d been rorted everytime we got one, sledging their own players from the first bounce, turning on their team before quarter time and even dropping an accidental racial slur in during the first quarter (you could hear him try and pull out halfway through). Then they had the nerve to crack the shits at me when I bagged their man Richardson. Meanwhile Richo must have thought he was playing us last week as he had his one good game for the year then and did squat instead tonight. EXTREMELY happy with Alistair Nicholson who is at his best against the slow full-forwards.

And I realised tonight what the major difference between the pre and post ‘old’ Ponsford Stand era is going to be. Back then I could stand at the back, with just a few people around, and go as fucking mental as I wanted and let all the stress go. Now? You’re surrounded by kids and old people and I can’t bring myself to swear, rant and rave in front of them for the full four quarters. A couple of explosive outbursts are a must every game but that’s the be expected. If you sit on the midst of families and act like a complete bastard you turn into one of the wankers who were sitting behind us tonight.

And yes, the stress. I might have briefly flirted with soccer as a first love over the summer but it became blatantly clear throughout the evening why it will never take footy’s place in my heart. I still enjoy going to that. I can relax before a soccer game, I can take a step back whilst watching it and think rationally about what’s going on. When I watch Melbourne though? The anxiety pains start before the first bounce and don’t let up for four quarters. It hurts so good.

Not sure what there is left to say, I would have loved them to go sick in the last quarter and win by a ton but anything that gives us the four points is alright by me. Next week? It’s the Bulldogs. I guess we’ll have a better idea of what’s going to go on there after their game tomorrow.

And thank christ I tipped us in the end. The Tipstar Pick 8 holy grail lives. And with this result it may pay better than $22 this week.

Ahh happy memories.