The person who asks you who you follow overseas, and doesn't believe you when you say 'no one'.
The person who looks surprised when you tell them South Melbourne Hellas are still around.
The channels that keep needing to be changed during every summer sports report.
The sports reporter now with a different view on things, because of the dancing mostly.
The soccer reporters who hedged their bets until seeing who would butter their bread.
History split and spun and wound and reconstructed not to inform, but to appease.
The interminable waiting for a chance, the one they tell you that you already blew, while others get several attempts at failure.
The voice of the game's local history telling you to assimilate or be left behind.
The long dead being spoken for, by anyone.
The constant name-calling and blaming and scapegoating and shaming, because it's you who held the game back singlehandedly, and who would do so again at a moment's notice.
The way self-interest begins and ends here, but apparently has no presence in that higher plane.
The express train to the future which skips your station.
The constant probing, pushing, digging and questioning, as they seek a different answer to the one already given.
Like a finger being shoved into your chest every single day.
Is it any wonder hearts have hardened.
Sunday, 3 January 2016
6 comments:
A few notes on comments.
We've had a lot of fun over the years with my freewheeling comments policy, but all good things must come to an end. Therefore I will no longer be approving comments that contain personal abuse of any sort.
Still, if your post doesn't get approved straight away, it's probably because I haven't seen it yet.
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That's great, but what overseas team do you support?
ReplyDeleteWhy you little...
DeleteNice poem Paul. Need ? At the end.
ReplyDeleteFull stop was the deliberate choice.
DeleteI was at the cricket in Adelaide over the weekend and the empty seats next to us were finally filled with the ticket holders about halfway through the days play.
ReplyDeleteThe slightly inebriated youngster proceeded to want to chat with me about what team I support in Footy. So I told him that I barely watch the sport these days (he understood why, without even me telling him that the aesthetics of the game had greatly diminished).
I then told him that I watch more soccer to which he instantly asked if I was Victory or City, to which I said I am a South Melbourne supporter. And, interestingly, in light of this poem by Paul, he knew all about South's bid and was curious as to what may happen. We never got into any nitty gritty (there was cricket to watch), but the fact that that he knew what was going on shows things have changed in the last 2 years. Maybe superficially, but it's something.
Interestingly, he was a 'Eurosnob'. Supports Spurs. But didn't dis the A League. He made the curious statement that he would support an A League team (I think he meant 2nd division) if there was one where he lived in West Brunswick! LOL
People are strange.
Delete