I recently heard the 1970s hit All by myself by Eric Carmen, no relation to Fabulous Phil (Eric couldn’t even spell his surname the same way as the great man), for the first time in many years. It’s a self-pitying lament, with some of the verses starting with the words When I was young, [Read more]
Pies and Zen rule
May 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
famous a celebrated (for quality etc.) ; well known ; (colloq.) excellent I had a very unusual pre-game routine for our blockbuster against the Crows. I attended a silent retreat for the day as part of a mindfulness meditation course I am undertaking. How does this have any relevance to the game? Well, limited, but [Read more]
The battle for Champions League spots
April 17, 2012 by 23 Comments
by Steve Fahey In between watching the Test cricket, I this morning witnessed the latest round in the Wigan miracle, as they followed up knocking off Man U by beating Arsenal at Emirates (Arsenal’s home). One has to admire Wigan – as the calendar year started they were anchored at the bottom of the EPL [Read more]
Gallant Pies run out of legs and class as Buddy and Cyril bite us on the ass
March 31, 2012 by 5 Comments
Footy came back with a huge bang as we went down to the Hawks in an epic opening round encounter that deserves a record length heading for a Floreat Pica Society match report. The biggest question going into the game was how well our bottom six would handle the blowtorch heat of the Hawks’ [Read more]
Leave your team and get to the track!
February 29, 2012 by 12 Comments
by Steve Fahey Don’t go to the footy or cricket this weekend !!! Yes, you read right. This lifelong sports nut is exhorting you to not attend the footy or cricket this weekend in Melbourne. Why ? Because I am suggesting that you insteadattend the Olympic track and field team trials at Lakeside Stadium [Read more]
Floret Pica NAB Cup Week 1
February 19, 2012 by 1 Comment
For those either without Foxtel or with a better offer on a warm February night, I offer a few thoughts on the Pies’ opening NAB Cup games. The Fahey family lounge was full of black and white jumpers as we settled in for the first instalment of the year, this time from the grandiosely named [Read more]
Kenyans sizzle as Track and Field christens its new home with a drenching
December 12, 2011 by 4 Comments
Track and Field in Victoria held its first significant meeting at its new home in Lakeside Stadium on Saturday night when it hosted the time-honoured Zatopek meeting. For me it was a bit like going to the housewarming party of a friend whose old digs you loved, despite them having seen better days (the digs, [Read more]
What if?
November 2, 2011 by 19 Comments
One of the many attractions of sport is the endless possibilities for discussions post events beginning with the word “if.” The beauty of such arguments are that they are all hypothetical, so no-one can be proven wrong ! In the wake of the greatest Melbourne Cup of my lifetime, one of the fascinating post-race events [Read more]
The willing and the wounded weave a way to the big day
September 24, 2011 by 9 Comments
escapology n. methods and technique of escaping esp. from captivity, confinement in box etc. Yes, this was a great escape for the Pies, and we make it through to the finale by the skin of our teeth. The record volume of FPS email traffic pre-match said a lot about the excitement [Read more]
Looking Back and Looking Forward
September 18, 2011 by 6 Comments
So it’s the Pies and the Hawks on Friday night. It’s 34 years since these sides squared off in a final,the second semi in 1977. That was a fantastic game, in which the Pies withheld a late Hawks charge to win by two points. The win came at a huge cost however, as Michael Tuck’s head came [Read more]
Il Palio is loco
August 19, 2011 by 7 Comments
Being fortunate enough in our travels to have reached the gorgeous city of Florence, we planned a day trip to the neighbouring medieval town of Siena, population 60,000, about 100 kms away. In addition to its impressive medieval architecture, Siena is famous for Il Palio, the wild horse race that is conducted on a dirt [Read more]
Magpies and Roos Co-Joined
July 8, 2011 by 6 Comments
For those new to the FPS, occasionally someone puts together a team of players who have represented both clubs, normally ahead of a clash between the two clubs. Stork has done Richmond, I have done the Swans and the Bulldogs. This week I had a go at the Kangas, with some much-needed assistance from Stork, [Read more]
Pies step up to step on Eagles
May 30, 2011 by 3 Comments
mercurial (of person) sprightly, ready-witted, volatile From half-time on, the story of this game was always going to be the three moments of brilliance from The Mop. While those moments lit up the game, the bigger story should be that this was a vastly improved performance on our most recent efforts. At the start of [Read more]
Floreat Pica Heritage Round
May 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
When roster vacancies arose for the Weagles game, I not only put my own hand up, but also cajoled TAFKATBM (The Artist Formerly Known As The Big Man for those relatively new to the Floreat Pica Society) to write the DR for old times’ sake. FPS began in 2005 and in the early years I [Read more]
The Sounds of Silence
April 27, 2011 by 2 Comments
by Steve Fahey I like this Easter Monday/Anzac Day confluence. I am not sure when it will happen again, nor whether I will still be breathing when it does, but this year it assisted my enormous privilege to experience two of the great sporting silences on consecutive days. Monday I was of course at [Read more]
FPS: Pies open campaign without pain
March 26, 2011 by 8 Comments
Pies open campaign without pain Round One (now known by the AFL as “Opening Round”) is a time characterised by hope, expectation and over-interpretation of results. Supporters head off expectantly to see their club’s new chums and gauge their team’s prospects for the coming season. Round One, 2011 was unique for me in that [Read more]
Olympic Park Report
March 4, 2011 by 3 Comments
It was a fitting end to O Park. The PA didn’t work a couple of times, I couldn’t read my program in the grandstand because the overhead lights above me were broken and it was a disappointingly low crowd. The athletics was good for most of the night, but built to outstanding quality over the [Read more]
Farewell to the Big O
February 25, 2011 by 14 Comments
For someone who has spent much of my life fascinated and enthralled by sport, there are still many things I don’t get. Near the top of the list is why the sporting public can be enthused and excited by track and field each Olympic Games, but doesn’t turn up to good quality track and field [Read more]
Why I love the Perth Test
December 16, 2010 by 15 Comments
by Steve Fahey As a young boy in Melbourne in the early 1970s, Perth seemed a world away and too distant to even be in the same country. But I was glad it was, because it meant that DK Lillee, Rod Marsh and their facial hair were on OUR team. My first memory of cricket [Read more]
Vale Presti
November 14, 2010 by 4 Comments
Like other Floreat Picans, I felt genuinely saddened and moved when I heard the news of Presti’s retirement, and the consequent death of the dream of him playing in a premiership. He has been unique in this generation of players and while supporters of many other clubs reckoned that he was overrated, no-one at Collingwood [Read more]
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