Having decided to start blogging again, the first question has to be what I should write about. My general lifestyle hasn't changed overly, despite the upheavals of the Covid pandemic - I've been lucky, or maybe careful, to be fair to myself, in not contracting the virus (as far as I know, although there have been untold numbers of asymptomatic cases, certainly here in the UK), and I've had all of the vaccinations available to me (including the regular flu jabs I've been taking for more than 10 years), so my overall health, apart from the after-effects of my stroke in October 2017 (5 years ago now, doesn't time fly when you're not having fun), hasn't been too bad, I'm relieved to say.
So, instead, how about discussing one of the items that has been helping with my sanity over the last couple of years, namely watching a lot of televised sport. I've been a football (i.e. soccer, for those not in Western Europe) aficionado all my life, so the World Cup is a current favourite, needless to say (I'm watching the Germany v Japan game right now), and I'm also a big fan of many winter sports, the new season of the various Alpine disciplines has started to kick in, and I hope the Nordic events and biathlon won't be far behind. But my greatest passion is, sadly, in the off season at the moment - Australian Rules Football. I remember seeing a few highlights of the sport in the early 1970s (VFL games at that time), and enjoyed it, but then there was a 10-15 year hiatus here, when (as far as I know) there wasn't any coverage at all. But then Channel 4 stepped into the breach with a weekly 90 minute programme during the season in the late 1980s (I think was first shown in 1987 or 1988, but I haven't managed to find the exact year), and before long I was an enthusiastic viewer, firstly of the sport in general, but soon of a particular player - the best forward, in my humble opinion, that has ever played in the history of Aussie Rules, Tony Lockett. And his team was St Kilda, without a doubt the least successful club in Aussie Rules history (27 wooden spoons, one solitary flag!). Given my penchant for underdogs, me becoming a Saints tragic was a no-brainer. And so here I am, 30-odd years later, still riding the roller coaster, the highs and lows (mostly lows!), with my beloved, heartbreaking Saints. We've sacked yet another head coach, replaced him with the coach, Ross Lyon, who's been the most successful for us in recent times (although I wasn't a fan of his even when we were pretty good, 2007-2011, including three Grand Finals, one of them drawn - I thought his gameplan, revolving around ultra-defensive pressure, was hard to watch, even though we were winning most games in that era, especially 2009) after another underwhelming season. But hope springs eternal, the National Draft is happening on Monday and Tuesday (another date in the TV diary!), we might find the new superstar we've been craving for years. But I'm not holding my breath in expectation! Go Sainters!
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
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