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forgive me - but what or who is Gage Road Alby?
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Well ... it's a beer, anyway.
I didn't twig that Alby was part of a sponsors name for their beer, and when I saw a player with "Alby" on his shorts I thought that Alby Mathewson either had a big head, or lost a lot of shorts.
Then I realised that there were about 30 Albies running around!
So, what's the general assessment of the night?
I have my views. Many things were good, some indifferent, and a few bad.
GOOD
The crowd was almost a sellout, everyone was in a happy, generous mood. Everybody enjoyed themselves.
The players on both sides gave everything they had, there was a lot of talent out there, and some exceptional skills. The Force defence was the most solid part of their game, and the tackles were committed and sometimes ferocious.
The stadium staff were pleasant, unobtrusive and very helpful.
The ticket prices were reasonable and family affordable.
There was no yobbo behaviour, arguments or abuse, and the crowd was appreciative of good play from both sides.
There were no inane games and competitions at half time.
Mr Forrest made himself accessible to the supporters present, was affable, polite and patient with them, signing autographs for the children and posed with them for selfies. He could just as easily have stayed in the corporate box drinking, and no one would have thought the less of him.
INDIFFERENT
The entertainment I saw consisted only of the band. It was no doubt a marvelous band if you were deaf, attending a boilermakers' convention, or enjoyed banging your head against a steel bulkhead. As I had none of those afflictions or affiliations I was left cold by their charm.
Thankfully I either missed the pom pom girls or they never materialised.
I didn't buy any food, but saw what others had purchased, and was pleased I ate before I came. A chap in front of me had some deep fried
congealed brown objects in a small white box which may have been potato chips or wedges, but I couldn't be sure.
BAD
Not too much, but
The ground announcer. It is an act of disrespect to the players for a crowd to engage in a Mexican Wave while the game is on. This announcer was actively encouraging it.
It was not necessary for him to express undying love and adulation of Mr Forrest at every opportunity. Mr Forrest is well aware of what he has accomplished against the odds.
It is not the duty of an announcer to be onesided in his attitude to the teams in the game, or to inflict himself on the audience as if he was part of the entertainment. Show respect and equal favour to both teams, and refrain from silly comments, otherwise it is cringeworthy. The spectators, nearly all Force supporters, showed more sportsmanship than he did. Chanting barracking and passionate support is spontaneous and infectious. It cannot be manufactured by the harangings of an announcer.
OBSERVATIONS
The games was enjoyable, but from a spectators perspective did not have the intensity of passion or tribalism of a competition match. It had the atmosphere of a "one off" where the skills on display were more important than who won or lost. I am confident this will change next year when there will be ladders, numerous games and final series.
Gimmicks such as green or red lights on crossbars don't work. This is not America. Australians (and Kiwis and Saffas) are more reserved and laconic and don't readily accept these concepts.
The new rules, if they were intended to speed up scrums and lineouts did not work out that way. And God I hate the almost uncontested scrums when the ball is thrown under the number 8's feet.
There is a lot to build on here. We should concentrate on our comp and our own team and team identity and move on and away from Rugby Australia and what it represents. Ignore them. That hurts more than abuse and vilification, as a wise man once said.
Have to agree with most of what you say Fulvio, a great crowd who were happy to be there. as for the entertainment I thought it was great although I did think that the RugbyRoos players got a bit lost in all the action,perhaps it would have been better for them to come on at half time. There were no pom pom girls but there were some dancers and a light show that I enjoyed. I was also pleased to see that the Morph Men wore shorts and had a proper role in the proceedings.As for the food I don't think it was any worse than at any other sports ground although I personally take in my own food to save money. There was quite a bit of injury time so the game didn't flow quite as well as they would have hoped. I disagree about the lights although at the moment it is hard to work out when they come. I would like to see lights come on when a try is scored. Zing bails have worked well in the Big Bash.It was good to see some of our old players out there and I was impressed with the new ones especially Andrew Deegan. We do have alot of good things to build on, I just hope that everyone continues to support the rest of these games by getting their bums on seats!
Agree PG, that was a pretty good first effort (both on and off the field), especially given the timescales and obstacles.