I know, I know, football. We do not speak about football else we are a bogan, but humour me for now.
It’s been twenty-one incredibly long fucking years since I’ve felt this, and as I’m always saying — I’m Fitzroy by blood. Jack Murphy was a ‘Roy boy, and his granddaughter is, was, and always will be a Lion. The joke in our family is that the Fitzroy Lions moved to Brisbane the same year we did, so it was practically a done deal that I’d barrack for the Lions, even if Dad’s first two kids were Magpies.
This is such a stupid thing to get emotional about, but it feels fantastic. And damn me if AFL isn’t just a fun game to watch (it’s been described as a cross between Gaelic football and a pub brawl — how could you not be entertained by that!), even if your team isn’t playing. I take my happinesses where I find ’em, as they are.