A Trip North to Remember

At school I often get asked why I barrack for the Sydney Swans. The reason

is because my dad was a old South Melbourne supporter. So when they moved up

north, naturally dad (and the rest of his family) become passionate

supporters of Sydney instead.

I try to go to every Sydney game they play in Melbourne which is only about

4 or 5 times, but never have I or my Dad seen a Sydney Home game.

That was until last Saturday. Just my Dad and I flew up to the harbour city

to watch what was Sydney’s last home game against the Dogs. We chose this

night for a pretty good reason. It was Paul Roos’ last game, Sydney’s best

ever coach. But more importantly it was Brett Kirk’s last game. Kirky has

always been my favorite player. He always goes hard at the ball, and the way

he never gives up is inspirational. I try to model my game after him, and I

respect him so much.

So imagine my delight when I got to meet him in person. Yes thats right,

whilst we were watching the unveiling of a statue of Paul Kelly outside of

the SCG, Adam Goodes, Jarrad McVeigh and Brett Kirk all aimlessly walked in

from the carpark into the Sydney rooms. I was stunned. No-one seemed to

notice as three of my heros just strolled past. Thankfully they were kind

enough to share a photo and a smile for a travelling fan. It made my day.

Only two hours later and me and my dad were finding our seats on the

O’Reilly Stand. Ready for the big game. The banner and prelude to the game

was nice but the chants of Sydney throughout the stadium sent shivers down

my spine. The SCG was covered in red and white as we collectively clapped

with our paper signs. I noticed that the whole crowd were friendly and

cheerful. Not all of them understood the game, but it was a inviting and

pleasant experience for the whole family.

The game itself was entertaining. The swans seemed to have the poor dogs

covered, as they kicked to a 27 point lead at half time. A pack-crumb-dodge

goal from Jack and a Kirk and Jetta combo goal were the highlights.

After half time, as we checked out the election results, the swans came out

firing, outscoring the dogs 6 to 1. It was as if the footy god smiled upon

the bloods as Bolton kicked a goal with a miracle bounce that has to be seen

to be believed. Aswell as Jarrad McVeigh pulling off an exciting one handed

mark and goal.

In the final quarter of the game we saw a long bomb from Jetta who was

clearly a new favorite and a outstanding 4 goal performance by new recruit

Trent Dennis-Lane. But by far my favorite part of the night was the applause

and thanks the crowd gave as Kirk kicked a goal. It was a typical Kirk goal,

nothing fancy just a big kick from a lot of hard work and determination.

To me that summed up the night and what was Kirks career. Even though I’d

only met him once I felt so proud of him. I felt overwhelmed as all of his

friends and teammates surrounded him and hugged. I shared a special moment

with my dad as we hugged and cheered and celebrated through the rest of the

game.

At the end Kirk and Roos completed an emotional lap of honor which was

indeed, very emotional.

It was worth traveling all this way just to see Kirk smile back at me and

give a wave as he left the ground, as I stood there happy as could be, still

wearing my dad’s old South jumper.

Good Times,

Cobba