Seventeen years of grinding pays off

When I was a wee bloke, as the locals say, there was a wicked cartoon on television that said the land of Oz is a funny, funny place, where everyone wears a funny, funny face, and the streets are paved with gold, and no one ever grows old, in that funny place called the land of Oz. Australia isn’t actually like that, but it is a place where fairytales do come true. At the Melbourne Cricket Grounds on the weekend, more than 100,000 screaming fans watched the Hawthorn Hawks, bottom feeders of Australian Rules Football, win their first Grand Final in 17 years. It was also the first championship for Hawks captain Shane Crawford, whose personal fairytale came true after 17 long and loyal years, and more than 300 games, with his club. Lasting 17 years in a professional sport is no easy feat, especially in Aussie Rules Football, which is more of a meat grinder than a game at times. Seeing Crawford celebrate the win was like seeing him become a kid again; his loyalty and longevity rewarded with gold, to go with the grins and grass stains. A few hours away at the Sydney Football Stadium, more than 30,000 beer-fueled “footy” fans cheered the Manly Sea Eagles to victory over the Auckland Warriors. Named for the “manly” aboriginals early explorers found on its warm sand beaches, Manly earned their way to the national Rugby League championship in true fairytale style this year. Comprised primarily of players who couldn’t crack starting line-ups on other teams, Manly dominated the game with an unequalled fitness regime, an unstoppable desire to win, and a legendary offensive weapon known affectionately as “the Beaver.” The star of the show, Steve “Beaver” Menzies is officially the oldest active player in the league, and one of its all-time top scorers. He played his entire career for his hometown club, and likely could have made over 0,000 more per season playing for another team, but he was forever loyal to his club and community. Competitive to the final play, the Beav even scored a try in Saturday’s game, and proved to everyone that commitment and drive can power even the most weary of legs. Up in the stands, where a no-longer-wee bloke can get four large beers at a time, a rugby-loving Canadian boy was cheering his heart out, embracing the locals, razzing the Auckland clowns, and doing his country proud. Rugby fans take the game to a whole new level in Australia, and it was exhilarating to sit shoulder to shoulder with them. To soak up the game in Sydney in the springtime, with seaside breezes swirling through the stadium and fans singing songs and spilling into streets and pubs, was a fairytale come true for me. It was the kind of night where, if the light was just right amid all the sloshing beer and slapping hands, you could swear the streets were paved with gold and no one ever grows old.