If there’s one thing I like, especially in Football, it’s tradition. One of my earliest memories is Dad coming home from work with the footy tipping cards. He’d call me into the kitchen before tea, and read out the eight games to me. What I thrill I got from choosing what team I wanted to win! I always knew to pick North Melbourne and to not pick Carlton, if I failed doing this, chances were I wouldn’t get tea that night. That’s what I call good parenting.
Growing up though, that rule needed a bit of tinkering with as I started taking the tipping competitions seriously. Tipping North Melbourne each week generally didn’t end well, although going against Carlton worked quite well between 2002 and 2008. The tipping cards were always convenient, they folded so it took up barely any room, it looked neat, and it was simple: put a line through the team you think is going to lose. And there’s no doubt that tipping throughout my childhood helped me develop the understanding of all the grounds around Australia with all the little legends next to each game. And if you needed a reminder of who was playing next week or any given round for that matter, it was simple.
So it has come with great sadness that I retire from footy tipping, due to the traditional way being given the boot in favour of online tipping, the latest craze. Now, you have to sign up to any of the tipping competitions on the world wide web, come up with a password, and keep reminding yourself to log on once a week to make your tips. What happened to the old days? What happened to 8 being the magic number for all tipsters? Now with weighted tipping on the Herald Sun website, you can score double figures if you play your cards right. Impossible to understand, for me anyway.
The excitement of making up a tipping chart at home and putting up on the cupboard wall in the kitchen with a collection of tipping cards has subsided thanks to online version dousing our enthusiasm somewhat. I’ve been in my Dad’s work tipping competition since 2001, and have made quite a bit of money over my time thanks to correctly tipping the margin of a certain game, but this year the traditional way is gone, so it comes with sadness that I have to give this up. Do I NEED to give it up? No, I get plenty of internet access and remembering to log on and put in my tips is no worry for me, but I just can’t do it without that little bit of tradition I’ve been use to for 10 years now.
So, for the first time, I won’t be involved with a tipping competition, apart from the Footy Almanac comp. That is where online tipping is convenient, and I’ll be tipping to win.
About Josh Barnstable
21 year old North Melbourne supporter from country Victoria. Currently living in Melbourne studying a Bachelor of Sports Media. Dreams of becoming a sports journalist and broadcaster.
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hmm, tradition ey? Don’t worry, I too miss the days where you could do your fantasy team in your head, and not on the internet. There’s too much online stuff asscociated with footy these days, tipping, betting etc. JUST WATCH THE GAME FOR WHAT IT IS. a beautiful ball being kicked around.
nice one joshy :)
i was much better in the tipping than i was with supercoach LOL remember that? :P
Heresy Mr Healy! Remember where you are. :)
Josh, I still have some old tipping cards from years ago. I don’t know why, yet I sill don’t throw them away.