Beau Peep Notice Board
Beau Peep Notice Board => Outpourings => Topic started by: Malc on June 29, 2008, 10:37:58 AM
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My wife and I were approached by my son's coach today after a rep game down on the Gold Coast. He told us confidentially that my son Ciaran has made the Queensland state team. He will receive his official letter within the next couple of days.
I'm posting the news on this site because I know there are a couple of genuine fellow football tragics on here who will appreciate how proud I am of him.
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My wife and I were approached by my son's coach today after a rep game down on the Gold Coast. He told us confidentially that my son Ciaran has made the Queensland state team. He will receive his official letter within the next couple of days.
I'm posting the news on this site because I know there are a couple of genuine fellow football tragics on here who will appreciate how proud I am of him.
No, one doesn't have to be a football fanatic to appreciate the pride you have in your son (or any of your children) at this time. Well done him!
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Yes, well done.
What's football, by the way?
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Well done to him Malc. That is a great acheivement, and hopefully he will go on to do greater things in the future. ;D
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That's brilliant, Malc. He's made the Queensland State Team, while you have a whole squad of footballing females under you. You've both done extremely well.
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My womens team lost 2-1 on Saturday night. The other team were awarded a penalty under the most ridiculous circumstances. I know coaches always say that, but when the linesman mutters to you that the ref is a complete tool, you do get a sense of legitimate grievance.
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That's terrific. news, Malc---not about the dodgy penalty, obviously, but about your son. He must have some good Ayrshire Juniors blood in his veins! Having watched my own lad play at Hampden last year, I know exactly how you feel. It's great, isn't it?
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I have four daughters, so can't say I know exactly how you feel (not that there aren't similar opportunities to shine in ladies' football, but my daughters all inherited their soccer skills from their mothers), and although Sam's lad has a mean left peg, his aptitudes lie elsewhere, so as far as football is concerned, I envy and congratulate you in equal measure, Malc (and Ciaran. of course).
Of course, my kids have made me very proud in a variety of other ways that I won't go into now, and I'm sure all of us parents can say the same. They're all special moments.
My own father detested football, so he never did get the benefit of my own outstanding achievements in the game (koff-koff!). He wasn't a great cartoon fan either really. Ho-hum!
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Roger, I remember you posting about your son's Hampden game. At around the same time my older boy's team in Bristol had won their league and their pictures were on a BBC site. I told him about the Hampden game, and he said "I'd be happy never playing again if I could say I played at Hampden". That's how much it meant to him, and (I suspect) any Scot.
My boast is that I played football at Wembley. I sometimes drop that into a conversation just for effect, but if I have time I explain that it was actually a Free Nelson Mandela concert, I had gone for a wee and on the way back some lads were at the back of a packed pitch area having a kickabout with a soft rubber ball. I joined in just as I was passing, and they kept giving me the ball back, so I ended up having a game.
By the time I got back to my mates in the stands, I was sweating like a pig. They said "jeez, how far are the toilets?"
My late dad never came to watch a game I played in, except for one, and I recently went onto Google Earth to locate the pitch where he saw me play. That's the extent to which stuff stays in kids memories, and I always think of these things when I try to figure out how I should bring up my own children.
To be fair to my dad, as a little fella I did make a point of saying to him that I didn't want him or my mum to come to games, so I can hardly complain, but he complied with that instruction until I stopped playing altogether!
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Many congratulations to your son, Malc! That's no mean feat and definitely an achievement to be proud of. In the past, I've been asked by my son not to attend his matches if I couldn't control myself and give quiet encouragement from the sideline. I was never abusive, but used to get quite excited, and of course my Scottish voice seemed to stand out amongst the others - very embarrassing for a 9 year old.
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I've got a few (fellow) Scots parents in the club. Every time their kid gets the ball, there goes up that familiar refrain...
Gaun yersel!!!!
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That reminds me of the time many years ago that I went to a Scotland/Australia rugby match here. I couldn't get over how subdued the crowd were - being used to going to internationals at Murrayfield, where the whole point of going was the atmosphere and of course, the socialising afterwards. On one memorable occasion, a group of us were standing on the steps when a Scottish try was scored and my friend, who is a little under 5ft and was standing on two cans of Tennants lager so that she could see, ended up about three rows down after the crowd had surged.
Anyway, at the Australian match I was very disappointed in the crowd - much too polite - until a Billy Connolly type just below us started periodically rising up and shouting "Stick tha boot in!" and other such encouraging phrases, whereupon I was able to add a few encouraging yells for Scotland at the same time. Son and husband were cringing and telling me to refrain, but as I said to son (about 6 at the time), I could have made him wear a kilt like the boy who came in with his father (also in kilt and jacket). Afraid I've never been able to persuade him to wear one - far too Australian, despite the fact that his ancestory is three quarters Scottish. Maybe when he gets married.
The Australian supporters were pathetic - and their team was winning for the whole match.
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Ah, Joan - Murrayfield Memories! Of course it's all changed now, with the magnificent all-seater stadium. Not half as good. I loved the way they used to cram us all in together, at a time when segregation of supporters in football was vital. Then again, being sub-six-foot (without lager cans) in a crowd of exclusively seven-foot-plus French supporters did pose its own problems. I recall listening to one thrilling encounter with our Gallic rivals, whilst having to estimate the score from the reactions of the wall of French Goliaths in front of me. It wasn't difficult - we got thrashed! I suppose it would have been far worse had we won.
My favourite Murrayfield Moment had nothing to do with the actual rugby. A former colleague who shall remain nameless (it was Garry Fraser, Roger) came into the office on the Monday after his first ever Murrayfield international, recounting the moment he went for a pre-match 'refeshment' with his mate in a small, 'spit and sawdust' pub near to the stadium. After battling their way to the bar, he caught the landlord's eye and ordered up "two pints of lager and lime please.". Their host glared at him for several seconds before replying. "We don't serve f****** cocktails in here, Laddie."
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Poor Garry----great line, though!
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The atmosphere at football games here in Brisbane is pathetic. This is no fault of Suncorp stadium - an ideal venue, very much in the British mould, i.e. no athletics track around the pitch.
The problem is that football is still a "new" sport here, and people don't know how to react to it.
The equivalent of the Premier League here is Brisbane's "A" League club (Queensland Roar). They have "diehard" fans, but the club has only been in existence for about 4 years, how diehard are you going to be with so little history?
What you get instead is a stadium at least half-filled with the Yuppie nouveau fan from the Fast Show, you know the guy.
Aussie nouveaus describe every free kick as a "penalty" and don't understand if you correct them, they also complain about the "umpire" and insist that headers are "head butts".
They also have no fear at all of getting their heads kicked in by rival fans, that's because it won't happen - at least not here in Queensland. So they stand up and caterwaul incessantly, shouting the most idiotic and unnecessary rubbish which in the UK would see them safely out early on a stretcher.
I had the great misfortune to sit in front of about six German girls at one game, who obviously were not football fans even in Germany, as they chattered loudly to each other throughout the whole game, one of them constantly tapping a set of those mini hand clappers on her thigh for the full ninety minutes.
I now no longer attend games unless I'm in the company of drunken football fans from the UK. They at least can be funny.
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(http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/lachen/laughing-smiley-002.gif) I think I know that pub, Tarquin ... There were a few like that on the way to Murrayfield - all gone now, I expect. I suppose the crowd's not allowed to walk down the middle of Corstorphine Road any more after the game - not sure whether they blocked the traffic or we all just did it and the traffic had to wait until people gradually dropped off at pubs on the way into town.
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The atmosphere at football games here in Brisbane is pathetic. This is no fault of Suncorp stadium - an ideal venue, very much in the British mould, i.e. no athletics track around the pitch.
The problem is that football is still a "new" sport here, and people don't know how to react to it.
The equivalent of the Premier League here is Brisbane's "A" League club (Queensland Roar). They have "diehard" fans, but the club has only been in existence for about 4 years, how diehard are you going to be with so little history?
What you get instead is a stadium at least half-filled with the Yuppie nouveau fan from the Fast Show, you know the guy.
Aussie nouveaus describe every free kick as a "penalty" and don't understand if you correct them, they also complain about the "umpire" and insist that headers are "head butts".
They also have no fear at all of getting their heads kicked in by rival fans, that's because it won't happen - at least not here in Queensland. So they stand up and caterwaul incessantly, shouting the most idiotic and unnecessary rubbish which in the UK would see them safely out early on a stretcher.
I had the great misfortune to sit in front of about six German girls at one game, who obviously were not football fans even in Germany, as they chattered loudly to each other throughout the whole game, one of them constantly tapping a set of those mini hand clappers on her thigh for the full ninety minutes.
I now no longer attend games unless I'm in the company of drunken football fans from the UK. They at least can be funny.
What do you expect from a nation whose most popular sport is cricket? Possibly the most boring team sport ever invented. (She ducks as several cricket balls are bowled through cyberspace in her direction.) It's like football in the UK - even if you're not a big fan here, it's in your psyche. I'd rather watch a football match any day than a cricket one - especially a test series.
The crowds here for all sports, even Grand Finals, just don't produce the same atmosphere as in the UK. And what's with having a "singer" sing the national anthems? The crowd do a much better job. You haven't lived until you've been in a stadium with Welsh supporters singing - not just the national anthem, but throughout the match. Matthew Johns from the ARL Footy Show was on one of those 10 to 1 shows the other night and he said that being at the World Cup match between Australia and Japan was the most amazing experience of his life - topped all of the rugby league Grand Finals he'd been to or played in, or any other big matches (including cricket tests) he'd been at.
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The oddest 'match' I ever saw was in Toronto last year. It was a roller derby and before everything kicked-off (so to speak), there was utter silence while a woman sang, first the American anthem then the Canadian one. As most of the people I came in contact with supposedly hated the Americans and what they stood for, I was amazed at all the cheering that followed their anthem.