I'm not very artsy or crafty. Creative genes I may have, but they do not extend to this area. (At this point, I think of the wonky-looking clay blob I made for my parents when I was 12. It still sits in my dad's display case. We tell people it's a paper weight.)
My creative mind has all sorts of ways of devising projects that are out of my league but I think, for this next one, I just might take up the challenge.
In Australia, and particularly my home state of Victoria, Australian Rules Football is the predominant sport. Football season starts up again in a couple of weeks and runs through until the finals, in September.
I'm a Richmond Tigers supporter.
(If, reader, you are Australian, I’ve probably just received a gasp. Or maybe a sympathetic smile. A knowing nod of the head. A pat on the shoulder. A look of disbelief. A peal of laughter even.)
The occasional peals of laughter aside, we Tigers supporters are mostly pitied. We need love. Because the team we so wholeheartedly follow hasn't won the football championship since 1980. And yet, many many thousands of us loyally attend one miserable game after another.
I chose my team because I liked their club song ('Oh we're from Tigerland ...!'). It's that simple. The fact that they are the underdogs of the competition? It matters not. I just enjoy the ride. Because when the Tigers win … oh boy! What an amazing feeling! It's not often we get to sing that club song played at the end of a winning game, so when we do, we join in – all of us! And since people feel sorry for us (and have, incidentally, voted our club song the catchiest in the competition league), I am sure it's not just the Tigers supporters who are belting out that tune!
Once, after we finally won a game after eight weeks or so of the football season, they rather kindly played our club song three times in a row! But the times I heard our club song played last year were few and far between, and I'm (sadly) assured that has nothing to do with my hearing loss.
Team colours are important for any sport, of course. We even mention our team colours in the song – the best part of the song is when the melody stops towards the end and we all yell out 'YELLOW AND BLACK'! It's such a rush, hearing 40,000 odd voices yell that out at the same time! Especially when it only happens a few times a year. So yes, we take our colours very seriously over in Tigerland territory. Moreso because our beloved Tigers need, well … All The Support They Can Get.
At the first game of the season last year, I dressed from top to bottom in yellow and black. Aside from black pants, and yellow t-shirt, I also wore my scarf (it's still very warm in Melbourne in March!) and I plaited my hair and tied yellow ribbons at the bottom.
On my way to that Friday night game, I passed a man who looked at my team colours and said 'That's a bit hopeful, isn't it?', with a grin. Thanks (or perhaps 'No thanks!') to a 'reasonably good' hearing day, I caught his comment – though unfortunately didn't have a quick retort. Given that I wear my tiger colours to every game, I'm now quietly grateful for the dozens of other cheeky comments I probably missed during the rest of that season! (We lost that 'hopeful' game by a whopping 73 points, by the way.)
OK, so I've spotted this Nucleus 5 optional processor cover:
Can you see where (wear?) I'm going with this? The right side of my brain is saying:
'Let's change those zebra stripes to tiger stripes!'
The left side of my brain strangely wants to humour this idea, so I'm now on the hunt for a yellow permanent marker. That’s step one. And after that? Well, I'm hoping that my years of childhood colouring-in ('stay between the lines'!) is going to take over and make this project a success. I'm sure I'm being all sorts of naïve about the challenges of this, and will no doubt find that out soon. But if this project works, I am going to have the ultimate yellow and black accessory to wear to the games this year. :-)
And if it doesn't, I may sadly have to donate the black and white cover to a CI recipient who backs the Collingwood Magpies. ;-)
Go Tigers!
PS: You can hear the song (and read the lyrics) here, if you’re interested:
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Hey Daniela. Thanks for sharing your story - it made me laugh, and it made me cry. My thoughts and hopes are with you.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniela
ReplyDeleteThis is so great to read...I love your post about nouns, the things us still-hearing people take for granted eh. Otis would totally relate to your reasons for supporting the Tigers by the way...
I love it that you have booked lots of tickets for maybe ambitious musical events..that's the way to live life, live optimistically. 3 more days and you will be out of the Waiting Room and then the places you will go. Looking forward to reading more. Will be thinking of you on the 18th. xxxx
You're a great storyteller, Daniela! Really enjoyed (not sure this is the right adjective though?) learning more about how you dealt with what life's thrown at you, with so much courage and good humour.
ReplyDeleteI will be thinking of you and checking the blog to follow your recovery progress.
Go Tigers! And go you!
Thanks everyone for your kind wishes! Will be thinking of everyone's words as they wheel me off to the theatre!
ReplyDeleteBronwyn, I hope it made you laugh more than it made you cry. ;-)
Sarah, give Otis a high-five for me, he's the man! Hope you are well, busy year for you too!
Thanks Joy - have just had an epiphany. I think ... quite possibly ... that my courage and good humour comes from all these years of following the Tigers. ;-)