The Crows fan did not seem happy to see me.
“You again” he growled before breaking into a wry smile. “Jesus I’d almost forgotten about today’s game. Then here you are again in that damn jumper reminding me all over.”
Swans are live
August 19, 2012 by 2 Comments
With the Sydney Swans experiencing a somewhat unseen resurgence it feels appropriate to mention another bunch of Swans also making their own understated comeback this year. Born in the bowels of NYC in the early ‘80’s the band Swans, led by Michael Gira, have been unleashing their genre-defining sound on the world for thirty years [Read more]
Psalm 89:46
August 13, 2012 by 7 Comments
How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? While Ms Gillard struggles with our nation’s weighty border issues its high time Barry cast his bleak eye Albury way to shore up our state boundaries. The scene at ANZ on Saturday night shows that the normal wards [Read more]
The revolution will be televised
August 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
With all this Olympics brouhaha dominating the news the Swans game this week crept up on me like a spider in the dark. Nine’s coverage has been in modern parlance an epic fail and it’s a relief when Sunday comes and we get to watch an entire sporting event. Imagine if Fox or 7 Mate [Read more]
The Personal Touch
July 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
One of the things I really enjoy about footy is those personal rivalries. Its one thing sticking it up some random in the crowd but I find it far more satisfying engaging with The Enemy supporters in a bit of banter one-on-one. Even in Sydney, where I’m outnumbered by a whole raft of Hawks, Blues [Read more]
Invasion of the Bomber Snatchers
June 10, 2012 by 1 Comment
Terror isn’t normally a word thrown into the mixing bowl of footy adjectives. Yet it’s the first word flashing across my mind on this freezing Sunday morning reflecting on last night’s game. A savage final quarter of football so chock full of impending doom that even now, in full daylight and knowing the result, I [Read more]
The true measure
June 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
Stats seem to be the key in the professional footy world right now but quite frankly the sheer amount of gibberish being hammered home of late has turned my mind to jelly. And are they measuring the right thing? It’s all well and good to concentrate on a player’s work rate and inside leg measurement [Read more]
Shaking off the giant pressure
March 26, 2012 by 2 Comments
The Sierra Madre is full of notoriously remote and lawless towns. A place where asking too many questions will only end in trouble and bemused shrugs from the locals afterwards. They’ve also never heard of Aussie Rules and certainly not the Sydney Swans. In other words the perfect bolt hole should tonight go drastically wrong. [Read more]
Swans Go Ape
September 13, 2011 by 1 Comment
“IT WAS partly ape, with a tiny brain, long arms, a chimp-size body and ape-like heels. But it was also partly human, with long thumbs, short fingers, an advanced ankle and a brain that looked like it had begun to rewire.” Original, non-clichéd quotes can be hard to find in Aussie Rules and this gem [Read more]
Swans a sleeping giant waking up?
August 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
by Tom Bally There’s days when it seems everyone writes the Swans off. Almost every week us Bloods fans are subjected to a barrage of negativity ranging from sly backhander comments to almost outright disgust that we’re even allowed to be part of the league. Therefore it came as no surprise when the ‘experts’ [Read more]
No Dream Ending for Swans
August 7, 2011 by 2 Comments
Arms outstretched Adam Goodes plucked the ball from the air to take the mark in the dying seconds before the final siren. Steadying himself he strode forward and snapped out a long kick. A collective breath was drawn as the ball spiraled towards goal. Then forty thousand voices howled out in delight and despair as [Read more]
Heart-stopping Swans
May 10, 2011 by 2 Comments
by Tom Bally The Sydney Swans are trying to kill me. There’s no other explanation for the last four weeks, a feverish run of breath stoppers and general all out frenzies of matches. A desperate hold out from an Eagles attack was followed by three soaking hours watching Geelong overrun us. To be fair my [Read more]
Drawing a Blank
April 1, 2011 by 2 Comments
Tuning into the Swans v Demons match last season caused me to whimper like a dog and all of my teeth to fall out. Despite being the catalyst for a magnificent comeback the shock of that 73 point belting has haunted me ever since and when I found out we were playing them in round [Read more]
Absolutely Gutted
September 13, 2010 by 9 Comments
A sombre mood flooding this cool, clear Sunday. Nothing left to do but to hunker down and silently curse whatever gods or karmic shift caused The Enemy to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Saturday night was significant in many ways. Brett Kirk’s 200th consecutive game, possibly his last. Potentially Paul Roos’ final as [Read more]
Disaster averted, Swans live to fight another day
September 7, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Tom Bally Stormy unnerving winds greeted us on Sunday morning. Was this some kind of omen? Were we in for a tempestuous struggle at the notoriously tricky ANZ? With Tony ‘$450 flight’ Reed unable to join his fellow Enemy commoners at the ground I resorted to phone abuse. He didn’t agree with my prophecy [Read more]
Swans do it for Kirk and Roos
August 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The crowd are up for it at the SCG tonight. It’s not just a cold wind greeting The Enemy as they take to the field. Barry Hall, in his first appearance at his old stomping ground since defecting, is a clear target for our displeasure as he lopes around like a freakish white werewolf. Meanwhile [Read more]
Not so quiet on the Western Front
August 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
There’s a disturbing kink in my footy universe. Simply put every time I don’t drink beer the Swans win. Starting life as a ‘no time we’re late’ excuse some weeks ago it’s now morphed into a fully blown case for sobriety at every game. But what about all the beer you had earlier in the [Read more]
Raiders of the Lost Goal
August 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment
by Tom Bally Flicking through the new AFL photography book ‘Our Great Game’ I’ve been thinking a lot about actually being there at historical points in time. The tome, a 300 page hardback slab of glossy pics, serves both as a fantastic archive and as a tool to bludgeon Thugby League supporters with. However it [Read more]
Swan Dive
August 2, 2010 by 2 Comments
“Put the whole team on Ablett!” The throaty plea in the third did not emanate from Paul Roos in his Zen garden calm of the managers bench but from some bloke behind me. He’d been screaming at the top of his lungs all game raising questions on a wide range of topics. From The Enemy’s [Read more]
Sunday Roast
July 27, 2010 by 4 Comments
by Tom Bally Turning on the TV at the start of the third quarter on Sunday was like coming home to find my girlfriend gone and apartment on fire. I’d ducked out to satisfy a Sushi craving secure in the knowledge the game was being recorded. The plan of consuming raw fish then reviewing the [Read more]
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