What to do with no footy to watch

[Ludwig]

Sydney Swans SMASH Hawthorn Hawks - AFL 2012 Round 5 - 2nd half highlights - YouTube

Thanks Deja. I really enjoyed that.

PS: My sister emailed me while on vacation in Florida. She and my brother both have Covid. My brother in law is in hospital with pneumonia, but recovering well. She says Americans are so selfish. They're are still out partying like nothing's happening.

[dejavoodoo44]

Thanks Deja. I really enjoyed that.

PS: My sister emailed me while on vacation in Florida. She and my brother both have Covid. My brother in law is in hospital with pneumonia, but recovering well. She says Americans are so selfish. They're are still out partying like nothing's happening.

That must be a worry for you. I hope they have a speedy recovery. I suspect that the attitude of many Americans to coronavirus, is influenced by what's been coming out of the government and the media. Unfortunately, that messaging has been mixed: to put it very mildly.

There's an interesting recent book by Michael Lewis, called The Fifth Risk. As you're probably aware, Lewis is well known to many sports fans, for his books; Moneyball and The Blind Side, but he's also produced books that are more financially and politically based, like, The Big Short and Liar's Poker. In The Fifth Risk, he argues that a major risk to America, is the running down of government services, by administrations that seem to think that 'government is the problem'. In my opinion, that risk is now being realised.

[dejavoodoo44]

I remember listening to a podcast with Ted Richards a year or two ago, and he said that was the day they believed they could win the comp that year. He said they developed an incredible belief in each other. And you can see Adam is at the heart of that. A video to dig out to show future generations how good Goodsey was.

Great stuff.

Yes, it would be an interesting exercise, to go back and examine each premiership side, to try and determine when they genuinely started to believe that they could win the premiership. While I'm sure most players would go into a season, claiming that their side is a chance to win the comp, I doubt if that would a strongly held and predominant belief within a club, until the team had at least few games where everything just clicked.

[KTigers]

That must be a worry for you. I hope they have a speedy recovery. I suspect that the attitude of many Americans to coronavirus, is influenced by what's been coming out of the government and the media. Unfortunately, that messaging has been mixed: to put it very mildly.

There's an interesting recent book by Michael Lewis, called The Fifth Risk. As you're probably aware, Lewis is well known to many sports fans, for his books; Moneyball and The Blind Side, but he's also produced books that are more financially and politically based, like, The Big Short and Liar's Poker. In The Fifth Risk, he argues that a major risk to America, is the running down of government services, by administrations that seem to think that 'government is the problem'. In my opinion, that risk is now being realised.

It's interesting when you are there how many people (including many of the less well-off) have bought the "small government" line.
My all time favourite was the woman at a Trump rally holding a sign that said "Government ! Hands off my pension". Recently Mrs Tigers
and I were at an golf resort in the US talking to a barman who told us he'd moved to the area because the local taxes were less but
then complained about how the municipal services were really poor there. In defence of the US though there are considerably more
challenges when you have a population of 325 million people. Plonk another hundred million people down in Australia and it would be
a whole different ball game here. I think the selfishness gene is likely distributed pretty evenly around the world. Look at what happens
when people think they are going to run out of loo paper and footballers get told they'll have to take a pay cut.

[dejavoodoo44]

It's interesting when you are there how many people (including many of the less well-off) have bought the "small government" line.
My all time favourite was the woman at a Trump rally holding a sign that said "Government ! Hands off my pension". Recently Mrs Tigers
and I were at an golf resort in the US talking to a barman who told us he'd moved to the area because the local taxes were less but
then complained about how the municipal services were really poor there. In defence of the US though there are considerably more
challenges when you have a population of 325 million people. Plonk another hundred million people down in Australia and it would be
a whole different ball game here. I think the selfishness gene is likely distributed pretty evenly around the world. Look at what happens
when people think they are going to run out of loo paper and footballers get told they'll have to take a pay cut.

Yes, there's plenty that could be said on the pros and cons of that proposition, but that would probably totally derail the thread. But since the thread is "what to do with no footy to watch", I will recommend a few Michael Lewis books.

Possibly not The Fifth Risk, as it meanders a bit? But for the negative consequences of what can happen, when government fails to adequately regulate the financial market, you can't go past The Big Short. It's an excellent examination of the lead up to the GFC, largely concentrating on the madness of the sub-prime mortgage market. Closely related is Boomerang, which looks at a range of economic strategies taken by various nations, prior to the GFC, which later came back to bite them. Such as the Greek position, that you could have wide ranging government services, while at the same time, making the paying of tax more or less optional. Or there was the Irish strategy, of widespread building speculation, without people to fill those buildings. And for the sports fan, there's Moneyball. Probably most fans have some sort of idea of what moneyball recruiting is, but this gives a detailed account of what that is and how it came about.

While some of that subject matter may seem a bit dry, Lewis is an extremely gifted writer and researcher, who could probably make any subject fascinating.

[Blood Fever]

There is a great Ken Burns series on the history of country music on SBS On Demand I'd highly recommend.

On your recommendation, KT, watched the first 4 episodes and am recording the rest of it. Masterpiece of documentary film making; as good as his Vietnam War work. Thx for the tip!

[dejavoodoo44]

On your recommendation, KT, watched the first 4 episodes and am recording the rest of it. Masterpiece of documentary film making; as good as his Vietnam War work. Thx for the tip!

Haven't seen the Vietnam one, but I loved his series on the American civil war. Also liked his baseball series; even though I'm not much of a fan of the game.

[Blood Fever]

Haven't seen the Vietnam one, but I loved his series on the American civil war. Also liked his baseball series; even though I'm not much of a fan of the game.

Can vouch for his Vietnam War doco. I just tmissed out on the ballot for national service after Whitlam came to power so I remember the madness of the era well. First war with nightly television images. Ken Burns captures it all brilliantly. Outstanding sound track as well. Same narrator as well. Peter Coyote outstanding. Must try and catch civil war and baseball works one day!

[KTigers]

Yes, you pretty much can't go wrong with any Ken Burns documentary series. He is the undisputed king. As well as the series mentioned
above there are others on Prohibition, WW2, and Jazz. Agree with DV44 on the Michael Lewis books, The Big Short and Boomerang.
I still shake my head at the utter madness of the Irish construction "boom" Lewis covers in the latter book. He is a great writer.

[KSAS]

Swans v Eagles in Perth R16 2012 highlights:

Sydney Swans annihilate West Coast Eagles in Perth - Extended Swans Highlights - R16 2012 AFL Season - YouTube

[dejavoodoo44]

Swans v Eagles in Perth R16 2012 highlights:

Sydney Swans annihilate West Coast Eagles in Perth - Extended Swans Highlights - R16 2012 AFL Season - YouTube

What a side that was. And I quite miss Jetta's kicking. Though of course, sometimes his kicking did let him down.

Lewis Jetta - Sydney Swans - First AFL Goal (extended remix feat. behinds). - YouTube

[Mark26]

For anyone interested, the Vic State Library has Footy records dating back to 1912. I'm going to be spending some time here!

Digitised collections — find & browse

[royboy42]

What a side that was. And I quite miss Jetta's kicking. Though of course, sometimes his kicking did let him down.

Lewis Jetta - Sydney Swans - First AFL Goal (extended remix feat. behinds). - YouTube

I did like the exhausted kick into the goal square that Hanners got to Malceski for the sealer at 2012 GF.

[Blood Fever]

I did like the exhausted kick into the goal square that Hanners got to Malceski for the sealer at 2012 GF.

In that famous sequence of play, Adam Goodes keeps the ball in play after Jetta's kick rather than allow a behind and give hawthorn possession. Up there with Mattner's act of forcing a boundary throw in moments earlier.

[mcs]

Yes, it would be an interesting exercise, to go back and examine each premiership side, to try and determine when they genuinely started to believe that they could win the premiership. While I'm sure most players would go into a season, claiming that their side is a chance to win the comp, I doubt if that would a strongly held and predominant belief within a club, until the team had at least few games where everything just clicked.

That game mentioned was when I first thought we'd be right up there in 2012. The game where I thought we could win the flag was the reverse fixture late in the season against the Hawks at the SCG. They got us in a very, very high quality game of football, but we went toe to toe with them, and if I remember rightly did have much luck at a couple of key points. I remember walking out with my good mate and saying to him that we can win the flag this year.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, you pretty much can't go wrong with any Ken Burns documentary series. He is the undisputed king. As well as the series mentioned
above there are others on Prohibition, WW2, and Jazz. Agree with DV44 on the Michael Lewis books, The Big Short and Boomerang.
I still shake my head at the utter madness of the Irish construction "boom" Lewis covers in the latter book. He is a great writer.

Both his WW2 and Jazz ones are superb. His American Civil War one is fantastic too. I'm yet to finish the Vietnam War one - find it draining to watch so one episode at a time.