The supporting of sports teams is a weird thing. It's hard to explain to none believers what it means to tie some of your enjoyment of life to a group of players running around the field on the weekend.
But for my faults I am one of those people. In particular I support the North Melbourne Football Club. Now I don't mean Football in the world sense, I mean football in the Australian sense - Aussie Rules or AFL if you like.
It's also hard to explain AFL to people who haven't seen it. Think the speed and multi-directional elements of Ice Hockey played by 18 players a side on a cricket ground - for those who can't picture a cricket ground think about 165m long oval.
Now my team is terrible at the moment. We haven't one a game yet this year (we a 7 games into a 22 game season), in fact given we lost the last 8 games of last season we've lost 15 in a row. And this week we were playing Melbourne who (although usually ordinary) haven't lost a game this year - Every pundit thought we would lose.
So why would I watch this game? 1) Tradition - I watch all the games, if the game was in Melbourne I would have been there with my Brother and my Dad, but for reasons I won't go into this game was in Hobart ( a city on the island of Tasmania about a hours flight from Melbourne) so instead my dad is at my house to watch. and 2) the outside chance we can win.
And it is an outside chance. We were playing $15 for the win, in a two horse race. My Dad's first question on arrvial was 'How much are we going to lose by today?' I told him we would win - I was joking.
But then the game started and we kicked the first goal, and then the second goal - I was shocked surely this can't be happening. A quarter time we were up 4 goals 1 behind - 27 points to 3 goals 2 behinds = 20 points.
In a world were you lose every week this was almost as god as a win. We needed to celebrate, we had to have a beer. And of course what beer would you have but one called "Little Ray" because that is exactely what we have a little ray of hope.
Now the beer is a Hazy IPA from Fixation Brewery who specialise in IPAs - In fact they don't make bad ones so I have high hopes for this. The discovery of Galaxy and El Dorado hops got my hopes up even more. Would I be disappointed.
I drank it during the second quarter - we continued to kick goals, we were happy little players, we were high fiving
and doing things like this
The unthinkable was happening.
Also the beer was very very good. Perhaps the easiest drinking beer I've had in a while It was light and refreshing, hoppy, just a touch hazy and interestingly given the hops it wasn't a fruit bomb, rather it was a balanced and gave a general feeling of bitterness without anything to distract you
Oh and it looked like this
And at half time it we were 19 points up and I had more than a little ray of hope I had a big Ray but I also had the feeling this couldn't last, we are a young inexperienced side, they were the standout side in the competition they had to overrun us.....
And they did - final score 103 to 73 - a thirty point defeat but as is the role of the supporter of the 'rebuilding' side I had to take a lot of positives for the game - there is always next week and that first win is getting closer and closer.
Maybe I should have keep drinking more of the Little Rays in the second half.
Oh well
Someone tuned me into AFL a few years ago, and I have to say, it trumps FIFA football (soccer,) NFL gridiron football, and basketball for sheer awesomeness.
Yeah it's a way of life do here in Melbourne - I always wonder how much people from other countries understand it.
I am not a sports fan. I don't really understand gridiron football. I honestly don't care one whit about the Super Bowl beyond whether I get to cheer against the New England Patriots. I follow baseball a bit more, but again, mainly to cheer for whoever plays against the New York Yankees. I don't really know anything about cricket beyond that there are wickets and an oval pitch.
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I hear you with sports teams... now that Aaron Rodgers is leaving me, my Sunday football watchings are going to have to bump up from Miller High Life next fall. It's going to get ugly in a hurry.
Cheers man - footy and beer, a godlike combination 🍻