VAFA Premier C – Williamstown CYMS v Old Geelong Preview: Once in a Lifetime

My brain offers very little resistance to earworm songs. A track can inveigle its way into my head, pitch a tent and play itself on repeat despite my best efforts to purge it from my system. It is a major annoyance when the song is one that I do not necessarily like. But early this week, a killer track took up residence in my mind.

The Talking Heads track “Once in a lifetime” is one of the great songs of the 1980’s. I happened to catch it playing on the radio on Monday morning, when I was still a little flat about our boys going down by 3 points to Fitzroy. And it got its hooks into me. I was never a huge Talking Heads fan, but was (and remain) an admirer of the genius of their lead singer David Byrne. “Once in a lifetime” is easily my favourite Talking Heads track.

As it coiled its way around my subconscious, I listened a little more closely to the words. In what I admit might sound like a stretch, I kept finding links in the lyrics to our team’s position. On its release, the song was interpreted by music analysts as a critique on early 80’s consumerism: “You might find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife…” But Byrne was having none of that, explaining that his song was a comment on semi-consciousness, and on how we can drift through life, and then ask ourselves “Well, how did I get here?” Entering into a preliminary final, we are now asking ourselves “How did we get here?” Sure, it was not the preferred option, but we did not win 16 matches for nothing: we have a second chance!

And the hook, the title, “Once in a lifetime”? Take the AFL as an example: it is a fact that no premiership team ever plays together as that same 22 again. For a variety of reasons, not least injuries, last week’s second-semi final 22 will never again play together as a 22. In that sense, it was a once in a lifetime game. However, if we win on Saturday, suffer no injuries, and progress through to the play-off, there is a chance that the team will be unchanged. The grand final then will be last time that 22 play together.

And what of the chance to play for a promotion to B Grade, or play for a premiership? These opportunities may never again present themselves. Truly, for some of our players, Saturday is undoubtedly a once in a lifetime situation. Let us not “let the days go by.”