It’s been over two months, but thank god, we’re getting the football back!!
Since the country has been in lockdown and football fans have suffered from a lack of football due to COVID-19, it’s been somewhat of a struggle during this time to find stuff to the pass the time. For literally, the first time in my life, I have been fortunate enough to have studies as something to pass the time. Not all of it has been real smooth, but at least it has kept me occupied enough through the time.
After wrapping up an AFLW season that was criminally cut short (Still filthy about that by the way), I’ve spent my free time dabbling with music and getting around to movies and TV shows that I either should’ve watched years ago, or re-watching just for a good time. I don’t regret any second wasted listening to obscure music groups such as TISM and Bloodhound Gang, watching frat-comedies such as Super Troopers or re-watching Gordon Ramsay tearing chefs to shreds on Hell’s Kitchen. It was time well spent.
I should also mention that looking back at games from the 2000s was also a strong highlight of being cooped up in self-isolation. Watching Bulldogs games I went to as a kid that have been up on YouTube for years now brought back memories of 12-13 year old me either jumping up and down in the cheap seats or me jumping up and down on the couch with my parents telling me to pipe down every time a decision didn’t go the way of the Dogs.
Oh, and there was also reliving the 2016 Finals - you would have to be mad if you were a Bulldogs supporter and didn’t replay the Preliminary Final and the premiership game at least five times! But never mind that, let us discuss the return to footy.
We have had been discussions about whether or not hubs are a good idea to have the footy back, but if it means just getting the game back, then I'm all in for it. But if they’re relocating the Western Australian and South Australian clubs up to Queensland for a month, the least they can do to make it worth their while is let them bring their wives, partners, kids or pets up with them. Some people have a living that means going a good while without seeing their beloved. You’d wager a few of them would consider them their world outside of footy - morale is an underrated thing in any workplace and the AFL is no exception.
I haven’t been Gil McLachlan’s biggest fan as far as CEO’s of the league go. As a matter of fact, I think I might have publicly demanded he have stepped down after the whole ‘behavioral awareness’ officer fiasco last year. But given what has happened so far, I think he’s earned a bit of respect back for how he tried to keep the league going back in round one - it was inevitable that it was going to be on hold, given pretty much every other league around the world was on a knife-edge.
Let’s be honest, I don’t think many of us would know how to run the league in circumstances as extravagant as this, god knows I’d certainly have a hard time trying to manage all the ins and outs. I can’t imagine how Gil and the crew at AFL house would be doing it or what is running through the heads of the brains trust. But I can’t help but feel admiration for doing their best to give the everyday fan what they want and that’s get the footy back.
Of course, there aren’t going to be any crowds though when June 11th rolls around - the country is still in the process of easing off restrictions and even still, that’s an area full of uncertainty. What happens if the number of cases takes a big lift before then? I quietly fear for the state of the game if that happens, it might not just be the local leagues being put on hold. However, I’m convinced that as long as we continue to take no for an answer, then the league will be in good hands and with any luck, we’ll get a premier crowned in 2020.
So say we get seven or eight games into the season and we’ve behaved well enough that the league has given the green light for crowds of a couple of hundred to enter the ground, how is it going to work? Thousands upon thousands enter through the turnstiles of the MCG, the roofed stadium at Docklands, Kardinia Park, as well as the other stadiums around the nation. Is the league going to raffle who gets to go in?
I suppose time will tell, but if we’re being truthful here, I’d rather no one attend until it’s all certain that this whole COVID-19 thing blows over, and who knows when that will happen. I’m not saying this for my benefit, I’m actually quite happy to stay at home for the next period of time to do my bit, but for the sake of everyone else who will be disappointed to miss out on being able to get to go and watch their favourite team live.
I know there are people out there, potentially reading this, who live and breathe to see their favourite players on a weekly basis and want to watch the big games in person - like the Thursday night re-opener between Richmond and Collingwood - in the flesh. I myself would love to go to watch, and in an ideal world, I would've been there, but I'm just going to have to sit at home and watch like everyone else.
There are plenty of things that I’ve got to say about the first month of footy - I know there will be another piece separately about my Bulldogs, but for now, I’ll just say this about the following:
For all the talk about Geelong wanting more home games, they better beat Hawthorn on the Friday night when we return. We haven’t seen the Hawks make the trip to Geelong in over 14 years, and with good reason, these two have put on some mouth-watering contests over the course of that time and have always drawn in big crowds.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to see the Hawks come back to Geelong - it’s a nice change of pace. But games like this belong at the MCG, and I’m tired of having this conversation back year after year. If the Cats want to win flags again, start by beating teams at the MCG, where it matters.
I’m still waiting for the league to give the South Australian showdown the respect it deserves by giving them the Friday night timeslot. As a Victorian, it is arguably one of the best rivalries going around in the league right now, and that is coming from someone who has never stepped foot inside the place they call the 'City of Churches.' In an alternate universe, I would’ve been there for the ANZAC Day clash between the Power and the Bulldogs, but you know, Coronavirus!!!
And lastly, what the hell is the deal with 6:05pm games on a Sunday night? My good friend and colleague from the A3 Footy Podcast Alex Miller has often made it known on the show that having games with the timeslots like 4:45pm or 1:15pm are a massive bother. This one is perhaps the most ludicrous, why do we need to do it five minutes after 6pm? Does that five minutes ensure we have had our dinner and ready to tuck into football as a dessert course?
I remember the last time the league decided to do a game on a Sunday night and it featured perhaps the biggest rivalry in the AFL - Carlton and Collingwood. If memory serves me correct, that game fell flat on its backside and we have not seen Sunday night footy since. Well, that is until June 14th comes around when the Bulldogs and St. Kilda square off at Marvel Stadium.
Given how bizarre the circumstances are, this might be the one time that Sunday night football works, but for Christ sake, just put it on at a 6pm, because starting it five minutes later doesn’t make sense.