AFL Round 13 ? Sydney v Port Adelaide: It?s Not About the Footy (Ari?s debut)

Michael J. Fox, the man who should have won an Oscar for his performance as Teen Wolf, nailed it when he once said ?Family is not an important thing. It?s everything?. For close to fifteen years now, my family have made an annual pilgrimage to the picturesque Sydney Cricket Ground for a weekend that never, ever disappoints. This year?s trip saw a record number of the ?Moore Swannies? attend, as we filled fourteen seats in the Victor Trumper stand. We were lovingly joined by another 41,303 of our extended Red and White family. Mum and Dad were joined by a son, a daughter in law, two daughters, two sons in law, three grandsons, two granddaughters and a mate to us all who is absolutely one of the family. Apologies were passed on from my brother and his Blues-barracking family?.perhaps we can all attend a grudge match next year? Another special occasion to be celebrated was the debut of my two-year old nephew Ari. Decked out in his woollen Swans guernsey and Swans scarf, the little man played a blinder!

All week, my thoughts were with the good folk from the Bereau of Meteorology, as rain was forecast. I did not want another Soggy Sydney Saturday! Apart from that, I knew I would be a happy man no matter what the result of the game. Now, Michael J. Fox not only understands the value of family, he is also a little man who had a big year in 1985, which entertained the masses in the same way these Swannies are entertaining the faithful in 2014. In that year, he not only played a basketball playing, slam-dunking wolf-boy, but he also gained rave-reviews for his portrayal of Mr. Marty McFly in Back to the Future. This year?s version of the Bloods are filling the stands and providing their very own weekend box office smash hit that takes me right back to those heady Teen Wolf loving days.

After a quick pint at the Bavarian Bier Cafe, we meet up with the rest of the crew outside the greatest sporting arena in the universe (in this writer?s humble opinion, of course). Everyone is decked out in their red and white, hugs and kisses all round and we are all set! This weekend truly is not about the footy. My favourite memories as a kid, were always the ones that involved us all doing something together as a family. As each year passes, I realise the importance of this weekend and what it means to me. The beaming smiles from adorable nieces and nephews, the togetherness and the unspoken love that is felt by all, make this annual gathering something that I will forever cherish.

We settle in to our seats, and quickly the conversation turns to which of our favourite players will run amok today. The kids nominate the usual suspects ?Goodesy? ?Jets? and ?Teddy?. We take a moment to reflect on the absence of long time idols ?Ryano? and ?Two Dads?, before the ball is bounced. The Swannies burst out of the blocks with two quick goals to the Co-Captains, Kizza and Macca. We would dominate the rest of the opening stanza, however some wayward kicking for goal leaves us only two goals to the good.

This Port Power have won the respect of football lovers across the country, and with good reason. From the depths of the competition only two seasons ago, they have transformed themselves into a formidable foe, one that I am sure we will face again as September draws to a close. They hit back sharply in the second term, briefly taking the lead. Robbie Gray is in everything for The Enemy and his feats are only matched by our 150-game man, Kizza. Tackles, gut-running and handball chains are in abundance as this match between the two best teams in the land is living up to expectation. As the grand old man of the grand old SCG, Adam Goodes snaps his third major, the crowd erupts and Ari takes evasive action, placing both hands over his ears until the thundering roar subsides.

The third term sees the Swannies get out to a 21-point lead as Buddy comes to life with two goals in a minute. But, as they have done all day long, The Enemy hit back and stay within striking distance of completing another barnstorming final term comeback, for which they have become well renowned. The final quarter is a see-sawing battle that has the home of the Swannies absolutely rocking! The million dollar man lives up to all expectations, with a final term that had to be seen to be believed. As the Bloods were tiring, Buddy Brilliance got them over the line and I feel as though this family may have just found another favourite to add to the list. A rousing rendition of Cheer, Cheer the Red and the White echoes around the ground, and as Joe, Harry, Ella, Milly and little Ari join the adults in song, we are all resplendent in victory.

Kick to kick on the hallowed turf and a boisterous night out in Coogee provided a stunningly delightful end to a day where family and friends were all that mattered. Before the farewells on Sunday, more excitement as we stumbled across the boys? recovery session at Coogee Beach. And so, as the Sydney Swans and the Moores literally crossed paths, I found myself contemplating whether this was in fact the most enjoyable Swannies weekend so far. I answered my own question in the affirmative and could not have imagined a more fitting end to a weekend that proved family IS everything. For a family who reside in parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, gatherings such as this are not only extremely special, they are quite simply, a necessity.



Sydney 14.14 (98)

Port Adelaide 13.16 (94)

Goals:

Sydney: Franklin 5, Goodes 3, McVeigh 2, K.Jack, Jetta, Kennedy, Hannebery

Port Adelaide: Schulz 4, Monfries 3, White 2, Wingard 2, Ebert, Westhoff

Best:

Sydney: Franklin, Shaw, K.Jack, McVeigh, Grundy, Malceski

Port Adelaide: Gray, Ebert, White, Schulz, Cornes

Umpires:

Meredith, Ryan, Jeffery

Crowd:

41, 317 at SCG.

Votes:

3 ? Buddy Franklin (Sydney)

2 ? Rhyce Shaw (Sydney)

1 ? Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)