Archive for September, 2015
An empty forward line, space in cupboards
The Arden Street Bar was full. A pseudo celebration and hope of victory. Eight men, none with any empathy or desire for Sydney. Support rested with North, the underdogs from eighth.
I’d already played the game dozens of times in my head. North won each time. I kept thinking about emptiness, that forward line bereft of Buddy Franklin and Sam Reid and the midfield missing Luke Parker and Kieran Jack.
Crazy fantasies about victory
History is on my mind. How top four teams usually rebound from defeat in a qualifying final. How few top four teams lose consecutive finals. So Sydney should beat North Melbourne. It doesn’t matter their absences.
History doesn’t lie. As I drove to work, I thought about Carlton in 1994 and Geelong in 2014 who lost consecutive finals after finishing in the top four. In the lift, I hoped Sydney would do the same. I greeted colleagues, thinking bad losses are recoverable.
