I saw anger on the eyes of hawks fans last night, the sort of anger I suspect is reserved for blokes who walk into the bedroom and find their wife with the plumber. They wanted blood and last night they got it.
As I walked with my brother over the footbridge to the G last night the memories kept flooding back to that glorious day in September.. So many memories. It was hard to focus on the present. After Hillary climbed Everest what do you think his reaction was when someone challenged him to a race up the stairs? I bet he felt flat. I was.
The game didn’t seem to matter. I wasn’t tense, excited or nervous. I was content. Ever since the 2012 flag I have felt proud, satisfied.
Maybe it was the mitigating factors. My 13 month old son is teething, it hurts and he is crankier than Neil Harvey. I am getting less sleep than Keith Richards and its showing.
I take my seat in the Southern stand and get kicked in the bum with a stilletoe through the seat. I’m a nice bloke so I’ll let it slide.. After 10 times in 6 minutes i’ve had enough, I turn round to fire both barrells but see it’s a nice lady who is unaware she is doing it.. She has bigger feet than Larry Bird. No harm no foul I say.
The Hawks jump out of the gate and pile on 4 goals before the pie can even get cold. Some knob of a fan two rows back swears like a trooper and calls every second player week, all in full view of his 8 year old son. I bet he hasn’t even played a game of chess before.
The Swannies are flat, but I’m not angry.. I owe these blokes. I don’t care that Goodsey looks slow and hasn’t had a touch in the first quarter, he played on half a leg in the GF. He can do no wrong in my eyes.
The Game never reaches any great heights, Hodge, Mitchell and Roughead dominate and get the 3 votes from me and the Hawks are a class above on the night.
As I get to the footbridge I wonder if my state of indifference will dissapear or if I’ll spend the rest of my supporting days tip toeing through the tullips of 2012?
I’m sure things will change, maybe next week? maybe next year? Maybe 5 years. The hunger will return. As for the Swannies of 2013 I wonder if they will have the hunger to climb Everest in 2013. The evidence last night suggests maybe not.
I head home to see the little man and his toothy pegs.
About craig dodson
Born in the sporting mecca that is Wagga Wagga and now reside in Melbourne with my lovelly wife Sophie and son's Jack and Harry. Passionate Swans supporter and formally played cricket at a decent level and Aussie Rules at a not so decent level! Spend my days now perfecting my slice on the golf course and the owner of the worlds worst second serve on the tennis course.
Nice wrap up Craig. I can’t say that I was quite as ambivalent about the result, having come all the way down from Sydney, but then again I never am. Your indifference will disappear the closer September gets.
Tom
Thanks for that. Hope you at least enjoyed the other parts of your trip to Melb. My brother drove up from Wagga so not a great trip for him too. We really missed Mumford I thought, he has been down a bit this year when he has played as well. We need him up and going and I think it will make a real impact.
Craig, Saturday night doesn’t matter. I bet you’ve put on the 2012 GF DVD since. Those Hawks fans wanted blood and victory – did they feel a lot better Sunday morning? Maybe just a little.
Those Hawks boys looked like men possessed on Saturday night though. Full credit to them. They are men on a mission – I remember St.Kilda looked the same in 2010.
Let’s see how the season pans out.
Hi Craig
You and I must have been around very different Hawks supporters. I went to the game with 4 other Hawkers. None of us expressed feelings of anger. On the South Morang train into Jolimont all the Hawkers on the carriage I rode were pensive and apprehensive. We bumped into a couple of friends, more Hawks fans, while we had a beer before the game. No anger to report in that meeting I’m afraid.
We believed our boys were playing well enough to win but … And then the game got underway and Buddy showed within the first three minutes how much of football coverage is Chicken Little level analysis and the Hawks got a run on.
I believe Ted Hopkins, in his analysis of the game, said Hawthorn’s audacity was a key to how well they’re playing. And why they dominated on Saturday night. We were joyous to play so well against a team we deeply admire and to win convincingly. But we weren’t angry.
Following the Cats superb demolition of the Bombers (a team that looked like they could actually break the Cats) the only thing I thought about the Swans game (the GF rematch) was that we needed to beat your mob convincingly. To prove to the Cats and the rest of the competition but mostly to ourselves that we’re the real deal. That we did.
This win doesn’t erase one iota of the overwhelming pain (still) felt by losing the only game that mattered last year. 2012 was the Swans and well done.
What this game means to Hawkers is that in 2013 (with what footy pundits describe as the draw from hell) after 7 weeks, three on the road, having played every finalist of 2012 we are 6/1. Something no footy pundit expected. So we forge on, knowing that while there’s a lot more footy to play before we even come close to sighting the land of the finals, the team and players are well and truly in with a chance and are giving it a red hot go.
And Cookie, nice try to stir the pot. If there’s a team on a mission it’s the Cats. They have set the bar for 2013. It’s high and impressive. Can’t wait for our next encounter!
Cheers
This Hawker was far from angry on Saturday night – he was downright anxious (and wondering whether Cash Converters would accept my 25 year old kayak so I could get some hard earned to put on the Swans – the odds were ridiculous). Relief was early in coming after the second best #23 showed something and we powered up to a dominant position at the end of the first stanza (but didn’t we say that last September?). I agree with Rick (again) – the wounds of last year’s Big Dance will never go away (like ’84). We have started well – better than I hoped after the loss in round 1 to 10 lives. But still the nagging doubts remain. The current incarnation is a far cry from the Mighty Fightings of the 80’s – tough, tough men on every line, a burning desire that manifested itself in wins when all seemed lost (see Princess Park round 6 1989). So far, so good, but the real season begins in spring.
Cookie I went a step further than the DVD, at the local supermarket I spotted a 2012 Grand final biscuit tin and parted with my hard earned! Rick and Grant thanks for the insights from the Hawks Camp, I hadn’t factored in anxiety for the hawks fans.. Looks like the Cats vs Hawks may be heading for the big dance this year
Hawks v Cats in the big dance – then you’ll see some anxiety. 100,000 leaving the ground at 3/4 time to rest their head against a tree, clutching their stomaches and hoping for the best.
Cookie I watched the last quarter of 2012 in the Airplane crash position.. some may say that was not the best use of a $355 ticket!
Craig, I decided not to go to the game in 2011 – I gave my ticket to a friend. I spent the second half of 2009 in the bowels of the MCG, pacing around and knocking back beers to get me through. I just couldn’t sit in my seat. I figured I could do that at home in 2011.