Round 3 – Sydney v Collingwood: Something’s in the air

Something was in the air. I had to cancel my Indian dinner with Rick prior to the game at the SCG as at our appointed time of 6pm I was still stuck in the Harbour Bridge Tunnel in stop-start traffic. My non-preferred side was getting a real workout as it rode the clutch. My poor old Hyundai (UDA) is almost on the rims. I have a constant fear she is going to cark it either in the tunnel or on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and greatly upset the whole of Sydney in the process.

 

To while away the time I have been checking out badges on the back of cars searching ideas for UDA’s replacement. I’m procrastinating. I’m torn between Mazda 3, Mazda CRV 3, Subaru, and Holden and now I notice Honda and SAABs. Oh, forget that Merc and that BMW. I really am procrastinating. I think I really do want to cause havoc and let UDA stall to a graceful death. This little Bulldog stuck in Sydney town rather than his preferred kennel bringing Sydney’s traffic to a standstill would be appropriate.

 

However, my thoughts are not with the Dogs tonight. They play tomorrow night. Tonight I will settle for a pie and chips and see if the Swans can conjure up their first win of the season. It is Buddy’s 250th game and his face adorns the cover of the Football Record. I note the crowd and think it is less than what I expected. Fickle-fate impacting already?

 

From the first moment it is obvious the Pies have come out to play. Fasolo kicks a few and just before quarter time Buddy gets to the ball to Florent who goals. Down 21 points at quarter time this bird has flown. Catch-up footy was all the Swans could muster. I wrote down little notes on the play in the Footy Record but when I came to write this I couldn’t read them! Just as well. The Swans are not my number one team so it doesn’t matter if I don’t get every detail down. Besides, it’s bloody hard to see what is happening on the other side of the ground.

 

In the end it was a thriller (a nice night’s entertainment) with the Swans only losing by a solitary point. The Collingwood crowd were beside themselves and good on them. The crowd had built to just over 35,000 – exactly what I was expecting. I had seen both the Pies and the Swans up against the Dogs in the first two rounds so knew it would be a good contest. I had picked the Swans but it wasn’t to be. They are now 0-3. Collingwood have broken the ice. The monkey comes off Buckley’s back for a week. Can the Swans avoid a 0-5 start? I will find out tonight when they take on West Coast.

 

Easter footy. Can’t wait. As I write, the sun warms my back as I sit in the bush only minutes from the centre of the city. Life in the Emerald City is not bad, even if their team (they’ve only adopted one team so far) are still having surf down at Coogee. Maybe they need a little more bulldog.