AFL Round 4 ? Sydney v North Melbourne: Minimum chips

It?s not very often that you get to celebrate your birthday a month early. Fortunately for me, this year I did. As a gift from my wonderful wife, we flew from the Apple Isle to the Harbour City for a long weekend which included watching my beloved Swans take on The Enemy at the SCG. A true sporting icon, the Sydney Cricket Ground is without doubt my favourite place to visit. As a Swans supporter, there is no feeling like being surrounded by red and white, cocooned in a blatantly one-sided, biased home crowd supporting our boys, who more often than not, reward us with a performance which enables the singing of our favourite tune at the end of the match. As we stroll through the city streets from Haymarket to Moore Park, I comment on how comfortable I feel when I get to watch the team play live. ?I?m never nervous when we come up here?. In fifteen seasons of watching the Swans play live, I have only ever witnessed one loss at our traditional home ground, and that was by less than a solitary goal! Things were about to change?.

This would be my first time experiencing the new grandstand and I must say, it?s impressive! (Apart from the broken down escalator taking you up to Level 2). Meandering through the completely modernised brand spanking new area, decked out with brand new flat screens displaying Swannies highlight reels and poster after poster of star players, my eyes gaze upon the Matilda Bay Brewery Bar. Where am I? I feel as though I?ve stumbled across something so profound that it has given me a reason to believe in some form of magical after life! I compose myself and make my selection from the numerous taps. Minimum Chips! A ?Hand-cut Golden Lager? that didn?t disappoint. As this match wore on, I would reacquaint myself with this particular region of the ground at much more frequent intervals. I would like to thank Minimum Chips for supporting me through a gruelling afternoon?s viewing.

There is a growing feeling amongst our supporters that the new breed of Swan is uncomfortable when the Sherrin is wet. This is incomprehensible for someone who has grown up watching players like Kelly, Kirk and Bolton and a team who would thrive in these conditions. As I am finding out this year though, things change and change quickly in the football world. Today is wet. Very wet. The Enemy are a good side. They haven?t beaten us for a long time, and an even longer time on our home patch. From the opening bounce, they outplayed us. Completely. A midfield that just seemed to be cloned in their blue and white stripes, dominated the early proceedings and never looked back. In fact, as the match wore on, they continued to extend the gap between the two sides. This new stand seems very quiet for some reason.

As I pay my $8 for another serving of Minimum Chips, I find myself re-evaluating pre-season expectations. Dramatising and over analysing what this loss means, I quickly pull my head in! I know that I have been completely spoilt over the past twenty or so years, in witnessing the ?Rise of the Swans? as Martin Blake would put it. I need to keep a level head and assess the current situation. We have not started this season well, that is a fact. We have not played well today, that is a fact. I have still had a ball with my wife watching my team play live, that is a fact. Minimum Chips is a bloody good beer, that is a fact. Life?s not so bad?.

Well played to The Enemy. They have endured their fair share of criticism over the past couple of seasons, and they looked good. My boys will live to fight another day and will do so in the same proud manner as they have for many years on this famous old ground. The match day experience at your team?s home cannot be replicated. The brotherhood and sisterhood of Bloods supporters (and multiple servings of Minimum Chips) have consoled and placed my football teams? fortunes into perspective. Enjoy the experience and revel in an environment that somehow feels like home.



North Melbourne 13.13 (91)

Sydney 6.12 (48)

Goals:

Sydney: Laidler 2, Grundy, Jack, McVeigh, O?Keefe

North Melbourne: Black 3, Wells 3, Mullett 2, Petrie, Thomas, Nahas, Adams, Goldstein

Best:

Sydney: Kennedy, McGlynn, Laidler, McVeigh

North Melbourne: Thompson, Cunnington, Wells, Adams, Gibson, Dal Santo, Black

Umpires:

Chamberlain, Meredith, Ryan

Official Crowd:

25, 505

Votes:

3- Scott Thompson (North Melbourne)

2- Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne)

1- Leigh Adams (North Melbourne)