Coming to Melbourne to see the Eagles

It’s fair to say that 2010 was a year that didn’t inspire me to go to Melbourne to see the Eagles.  However, just once I decided to make the investment and fly down from chilly, rainy Canberra and make my way to an iconic Melbourne sporting venue to do just that.

I’d actually been watching a lot of them on the Internet before we came down, and a few old videos as well.  Their best work was pretty impressive.  Tight, controlled, solid, with plenty of flair and power seemingly on tap for when it was needed.  The subtly and almost ‘craftsmanship’ took your breath away at times.  I guess in 2010 the question was whether they could still do that?

First impressions were inconclusive at best.  They started slowly, which is kind of a trademark, settling in and (I guess) just trying to avoid any mistakes.  It was ok, but it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for.  The crowd seemed to be in the same place I was, waiting for something definitive so we could get into it.  The fans and players seemed to be feeling each other out for about 10 minutes or so.

Then they played Hotel California, and (as Paul Rogers would say), it was all right now.

Every year I do like to get to Melbourne to see the Eagles play at least once.  The West Coast Eagles were mostly rubbish this year, though I wouldn’t have minded seeing the Le Cras game against Essendon.  It was kind of nice to have one last chance for the year to say that I kept the record in tact.  Maybe next year I can go to a football rather than a tennis stadium to fulfill that annual pilgrimage.

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