FOOTY’S back. It’s that time of year when Victorians celebrate the return of their favourite team, tipping competitions take off and water cooler conversations tend to drift around who is in and out and why my team will beat yours.
As I settled onto the couch on Thursday night to watch Richmond battle Carlton, a huge part of me wanted the Tigers to triumph, as another chapter in the Ben Cousins fairytale-return from a place none of us ever want to go.
But someone forgot to tell Richmond it had to do more than just turn up, and so the yellow and black copped a pounding, and Cousins now owns the most famous hamstring in Victoria.
But as someone born and bred in New South Wales who married a Collingwood supporter, I have always admired the incredible passion and enthusiasm for AFL that exists here in Victoria. It’s a part of the culture, best evidenced by Thursday’s night’s sensational blockbuster crowd to open the season, and the religious fever that descends on the state in the last week of September for the ultimate showdown.
But it’s what goes on in between that keeps most of us entertained, and as surely as the glorious autumnal splendour will descend into the cool and then cold winter, it’s the fortunes of our favourite footy team that keeps many of us looking forward and not back.
Office footy tipping competitions in Victoria are conducted with far more vigour and higher participation rates than they ever will be interstate where the rugby codes dominate.
When I lived in Sydney many years ago, we could walk into the SCG on grand final morning and buy a ticket for the season decider - try doing that in Victoria.
Victorians’ love affair with footy is not just about the big time, but local footy has an incredible level of support and participation. The role country footy plays as a social outlet, and the way it unites communities even in the midst of extended drought and enormous challenge, is something to be admired.
Small towns to Bendigo’s north, south, east and west may well be doing it tough at the moment, but pay a visit to the local footy ground on Saturday afternoons over the next six months or so and you will see people who are excited, proud and passionate about their team and their community.
That’s what football, and netball, can do when local clubs are working well.
Perhaps the challenge for all of us should be to go and enjoy an afternoon at the footy and netball somewhere in country Victoria this season, because only then will most of us realise a day at the footy is about so much more than the game.
Imagine Saturday afternoons without club committee members, hard-working canteen volunteers, administrators and, of course, the umpires, players and spectators. So whoever you barrack for, make sure you get out there and actually barrack.
And I hope your team enjoys the sweet taste of winning - unless you happen to be playing Collingwood.
In other news this week, police are appalled, and quite rightly, that one offender was detected on average every six minutes during a traffic operation in Bendigo on Wednesday. The flagrant disregard of the law and carelessness of some drivers are major factors in the unacceptable road toll in our region - and the fact that we lead the state in the number of hoons having their vehicles impounded by our ever-vigilant police.
As this column is being compiled, the number of hoons losing their vehicle for being an idiot on the road sits at 299. It’s only a matter of time, and another act of stupidity, before we clock up 300.
Tonight, we are all asked to switch off for one hour as part of Earth Hour and do something that helps the planet - by doing absolutely nothing.
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