I attended two games of footy at the weekend, giving me some perspective on the pace of change and the depth of tradition in the AFL. The first was our match against Port at the newly minted Adelaide Oval on Saturday. We were generously hosted by David Koch at the president’s lunch, a gathering which lacked a lot of the pomp of the usual functions and made up for it with a warmth and friendliness that made everyone feel at home. Just before the game, they played the INXS song Never tear us apart and the crowd joined in. I made a mental note to talk to Mark Seymour about which song he’d recommend for us. It’s a beautiful oval and a great 21st century attraction for the fans. Get there if you can for our games next year.
On Sunday, I made my way to Victoria Park to watch Footscray play Collingwood in the VFL. The last time I was there, in about 1992, I sat next to Prime Minister Paul Keating and watched Sav Rocca kick 10 or 11 and copped the sort of prime ministerial taunting I thought he reserved for the Tories. The Magpies have torn down a lot of the old stands and made it free admission, with great natural sloping banks. And they have had the great good sense to keep a lot of the old icons, including turnstiles and ticket boxes.
There were even rusted-on Pies fans at the back of the old grandstand maintaining the chant even when we got eight or nine goals up. Footscray are now 7-3 in our first season back in the VFL and I swear there were 15 guys playing on Sunday who could possibly get picked for the seniors this Sunday.
We brought back Footscray as a training team for the AFL side. But the prospect of Footscray making a serious tilt at the VFL flag is starting to stir in a few people’s minds. I can’t say that, of course, because I’m the president. I’m just taking it one week at a time.
BULLDOGS IN FOCUS
THE PLAYERS
Mitchell Honeychurch | My first six months
Jordan Roughead | Still living the dream
Tim Campbell | Heartbeat of the West
Jason Tutt | My best moment so far
PETER GORDON
