From the Terrace at the Horse Shoe

  by David Buckley It was great to see John Harms and the others on the Terrace again watching a team unfurl their flag. The stadium at present looks much like a horse shoe, or a face with it’s front teeth knocked out. Standing room on the terrace  trimmed again… for more seating. It was [Read more]

Heaven

  by Bernie Tuck As we get older we start thinking about what Heaven is like. Topless angels serving boutique beers and the like . I have now discovered Heaven: Saturday afternoon at the MCG. With your son. Fine day. Essendon supporters. Playing Carlton. Three quarter time. Essendon seven goals up. At the back of [Read more]

Any Port in a storm

  by Paul Harkin The morning of the match was a bit of a haze, after my 60th birthday party the night before. I hope everyone received their invitations, because only a few of you attended. The journey to the ground was uneventful, as it was hard to find a single person in Port colours [Read more]

The World Game

  The World Game   My disenchantment has been growing, slowly but surely, for a number of years.  For very sublime Messi chip, curling Ronaldo spot kick, witty song from the terraces and gut busting run through the midfield, there has been the choleric complaining of managers whenever a point is dropped (you know who [Read more]

I know the feeling, the Blues have arrived

It is a beautiful feeling. A feeling that we believe will never arrive. Many fans have yet to feel it. But whilst it is such a rare personal occurrence, it happens to at least one group of supporters most seasons. It’s that rush of the heart, a sudden realisation, such a fast realisation that it [Read more]

Tony Birch seminar on the involvement of Indigenous players in the AFL

EVENT:   Thursday, April 26 6-8pm at the Jika Jika Community Centre, corner of Union and Plant Streets, Northcote (very near Westgarth Station). FREE Dr Tony Birch, writer and university lecturer, looks at the issues surrounding the participation of Indigenous Australians in football, and the way that Indigenous footballers are portrayed in the day-to-day reporting of [Read more]

Purple patch

  Round 2 Collingwood vs. Richmond: Easter Saturday 8th May 2012 by John Ramsdale Purple Patch: “An exceptional period of time when someone experiences success, good fortune or luck.” Vaudeville performers from the early 1900’s allegedly had a saying, “Never follow an animal or a child act.” This was supposedly on the grounds that these [Read more]

Preseason pretence

  by Jamie Gault As we approach round three of the AFL season and start to, as the fans, settle into the 24/7 football bubble that encapsulates the community at this time of year, let’s take a moment to reflect on what has come and gone and how we got sucked in yet again. Getting [Read more]

Footy on Eurosport

By Jim Newkirk It is 8am on a fabulously beautiful Sunday, spring morning – no clouds, no wind, 19 degrees. It promises to be a great day, and I’m off to the footy. It feels a bit like those times 20 or so years ago when the boys and I would head out to the [Read more]

What Baseball Does to the Soul

Craig Little alerted us to this New York Times piece. Colum McCann, author of “Let The Great World Spin”, has a baseball story with universal themes. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/what-baseball-does-to-the-soul.html?n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/United%20States?ref=unitedstates

House of the Rising Suns

  Matt Webber decided it was a good idea to write about the Gold Coast Suns first year in the AFL. Here is an extract from his book, which includes a foreword by John Harms who has watched a bit of footy on the Gold Coast.   Books are available for purchase by emailing [email protected] [Read more]

A 100%, guaranteed, fool proof system!

AFL PUNTERS, I HAVE IT!: A 100%, GUARANTEED, FOOL PROOF SYSTEM!!!!! by Peter Zitterschlager Friends, it’s taken me all of my many years to crack it, but I finally have. It’s been an despairing journey into the abyss, a trek to the edge of madness, but at long last I’ve broken through. At long last [Read more]

Damian Callinan@MICF

Leunig at Rotunda in the West

Archibald Prize Entrant: Brian Bourke

Words and portrait by Martin Tighe.   l chose to depict Brian Bourke in the way in which l imagine his clients saw him; a formidable barrier between a desperate defendant and the awesome power of the law, as someone between them and the iron bars of prison in some cases. Brian Bourke is also [Read more]

Queensland Footy Forensics Launch

 

Victorians giveth and Victorians taketh away

  by Mark Simms As all seasoned footy fans know, one of the pleasures of the early season games lies in casting an eye over the new cattle at the club. Perhaps the summer has brought some bargain pick ups or even recruiting masterstrokes. This is particularly true in the Wafl these days, with so [Read more]

Scenes from the Manning Clark Cricket Dinner and Lecture 2012

Photos by Yvette Wroby    

Sydney Reclink Community Cup

Officiating Tiwi Style

Photo by Peter Argent. Things are a little more relaxed up north.