Some will chortle at this..at my expense (literally as well as metaphorically!!), and that is fair game....but since it is by no means the first time this has happened to me, then I feel, to put it mildly, aggrieved. It appears that once again I am a victim of the NSL Sod's Law factor (ie Whatever *can* go wrong, we will ensure, will)
It also makes me question, whether clubs/ASA really do give a toss about the paying customer.
As most on this list will be aware, I have followed Marconi for many years, sometimes at great personal expense, and with very little logic involved!
If you have been a long term listee you will remember a few years back when non refundable advance air fares were purchased to enable the 3 Forzas to be at the scheduled Carlton v Marconi game in Melbourne, only for Soc Oz to 'swap" the Marconi draw with Sydney United ...(to prevent what was seen as a potentially dangerous situation with a first up Parra v United opening fixture..as Davie Mitchell had pinched their players) ..and the air tickets went unused, and airfares wasted...
So fast forward a few years, to today in fact.
On Christmas day, I finalised the advance purchase of 3 non refundable return tickets to Brisbane, flying up on Friday 30 January, with return flights back to Sydney on Sunday 1 February.
As I say, the tickets were of the non refundable variety (naturally), and came to a total cost of #525-00.
They were purchased solely for the purposes of myself, Forza Jnr, and Groundskeeper Willie - Marconi stalwarts all three - to take in the Brisbane Strikers v Marconi game on 31 January in Brisbane.
No other reason, than to follow the team we support.
(GKW it must be recorded, has reimbursed me for his tickets..Forza Jnr..well I'll add it to his rent).
Everything was going swimmingly, until yesterday when it was announced that 3 Marconi players had been called up for the Olyroo squad for matches to be played between January 14 and 30th.
Nobody had really expected Marconi to have 3 players in the squad, but apparently the refusal to travel of Brad Jones.... understudy to Mark Schwarzer at Middlesbrough, meant that custodian Michael Turnbull was called up, along with Nick Carle and Alex Brosque.
Today's newspapers report Marconi coach, and a good friend of mine, JP, as stating that he will invoke the "3 internationals and your out" ruling, which allows him to seek postponement of league fixtures, where these players could be missing.
(Perth Glory also have 3 players in the squad but have yet to confirm what action they will be taking)
One of the matches quoted as being targeted for 'postponement' is the Brisbane game on 31 January.
I intend to lobby ASA NOT to allow this game to be postponed, as it falls *after* the dates of the tournament.
This may put me at odds with the club I support, but I believe there is a bigger picture here , and that is that punters like me should be able with some degree of certainty to be able to plan travel to interstate fixtures a little more than 4 weeks in advance!
Consistency has never been a keynote of the NSL, but once again little thought is given to the very few (foolish?) people like us who continue to support the league, at not inconsiderable expense.
Also,(as I have stated before) I believe that this "ruling' should only apply to "full" internationals, not to 'minor' internationals like under 23's as this is, or younger.
In fact it is possibly indicative of the quality of the league when two 'top' sides need to consider postponing up to 5 matches because of the unavailability of 3 'youth" players.
So, we have a stoush on our hands, but the likelihood of GKW, Forza Jnr and myself flying up to Brisbane for the "game that never was" looks increasingly likely.
We've paid for the tickets and can't give them to anyone else....so I assume fitba or not..we'll use them.
Perhaps some Brisbane listees can advise how 3 forlorn fitba fans can while away the hours in Brisbane....or perhaps we can even arrange our own fitba game...
I don't know..sometimes one wonders whether in fact, it really is worth the effort....or is it just that the clubs/ASA don't think there are looneys like us 3 around and hence it doesn't matter if games are cancelled at short notice?
Forza Fred, pissed orf, and out of pocket, due to fitba yet again!
Vini, Vidi, Vici.
A pleasant weekend in sunny Brisbane, and some valuable lessons learnt too!
GroundsKeeper Willie and I reckon that despite having in excess of 100 years between us, it is only *now* that we have worked out the *real* reason beer exists.
It is to keep you awake!
We know this, because Forza Junior told us that the only time this weekend we were not drinking it, was when we were asleep.
We agree, because late Saturday afternoon/early on Saturday night, just after we had finished a marathon session, we both fell asleep and could not be roused until we woke, bright as buttons, circa 4am.
So, it appears that if you drink beer, you will remain awake, but as soon as you stop, then sleep will automatically befall you!
A walk through Roma Street Park at that early hour, was an experience, with huge spiders causing GKW to show his tap dancing prowess.
Thankfully, we have an interest in architecture, so it was a welcome sight when we spied the Treasury Casino at around 5am, so naturally we had to pop in to have a look.
And no, we didn¹t have a beer, but maybe we would have if GKW had found a bar there that was open.
A hike up Brisbane¹s inner city hills, a rescue by a jovial taxi driver, and a sixty odd dollar breakfast later (courtesy of GKW!) and it was time to head off to the match.
Now, we believe in preparation, and called a taxi to ensure that we arrived at Perilous Park in plenty of time.
Mind you, perhaps it was just a tad optimistic to think that the bar there would be open from 11AM, but our taxi driver assured us that would be the case, running up several stairs to try and find a door that was open at the ground at this time.
No entry could be found, so it was back to the cultural heart of Brisbane Fortitude Valley, to pass some time supping beer.
The temperature was again close to the old 100 degrees, and after getting dropped off imagine our dismay when the two closest pubs open appeared to be a choice between (a) a gay bar and (b) an English pub!
Neither was of our persuasion, so we hiked back to the pub where we had spent several hours and hundreds of dollars the day before, before finally ending up at Dooley¹s.
Someone threw the magic boomerang and it was time for the match!
We met several listees DM, Wade, Sam etc and took up position behind the Strikers goals.
Marconi was clearly the better side, and the three of us did our best to offer some verbal encouragement.
Our first and inevitable brush with ŒSecurity¹ occurred when GKW brought back two cans of XXXX for our consumption.
³You can¹t drink beer here sir, it¹s a family area² said the polite security person.
³Mate I¹m not drinking beer, I¹m drinking XXXX² seemed to go over his head, as we joined the Strikers fans to finish our potion.
0-0 at half time, and I thought the Strikers could count themselves fortunate to be on level terms, after defending for most of the half.
Royce Brownlie AKA Judas, took it on good humour when warming up in front of us.
My gleeful cries of ³Judas! Judas!² were met with a disarming, ³Hi Fred, how¹s it going²
We explained in full and graphic detail to Royce after the game in the bar, exactly why he has earned the title of ³Judas,² with again him taking it on the chin, but deflecting any responsibility to his agent.
However back to the match.
As is our wont, we changed ends at half time and positioned ourselves behind the Strikers goal.
The three of us tried manfully, to cheer on our side, when a strange thing occurred, that necessitated me calling on the 'ministrations' of the Queensland constabulary.
The security guard patrolling the inner fence told me to ³keep it down!²
³Keep what down?² I enquired, thinking that he had forewarning perhaps of what was going to happen to the recently consumed XXXX.
³The shouting.² He said.
³But it¹s a F***&&** football match,² said I, ³and we¹re not swearing, only supporting our side.²
³Keep it down² he repeated.
³What have we done wrong?² I enquired.
³I¹ve been told to tell you to keep it down² he said again.
By this time I was mightily pissed off, but knew there was no benefit in me arguing with the moron, so I motioned over one male and one female police officer who were standing about twenty or so yards away.
I explained that yes we were shouting, but not swearing, and surely at a football match one is entitled to shout oneself hoarse, especially as one had come all the way from Sydney with the express intention of doing so.
They agreed, and I asked again in their presence, for the security guard to explain exactly what we had done wrong.
He repeated his mantraŠ²I was told to tell them to Œkeep it down.²
In front of the coppers I suggested that we would continue to howl like banshees during the rest of the game, having paid good money for the privilege of doing so, and they could see no problem with this.
The security guard, tail between his legs (or perhaps it wasn¹t his tail but his brain) retreated to the corner flag, and we continued to howl for the remainder of the game.
Moments later Bugsy scored the first, after two previous efforts had been saved, and there was much singing and dancing.
Strikers had a couple of chances in the ensuing period, with Michael Turnbull distinguishing himself with a wonderful save, before Nick Carle ran through with minutes remaining, and put the match beyond any doubt.
Marconi really surprised me with this showing, as I expected them be a bit sluggish after their lay off, but they came out, with four recently arrived players from Enzed, and blew away the Brisbane undefeated home record.
The final whistle signified time to head to the bar, to renew friendships and sing, and incidentally, once again be told by security to Œkeep it down.¹
This time however, there perhaps was a little justification, and GKW was put on Œmute¹ mode for the rest of the evening.
The Marconi dressing room were singing as we passed it, as well they might.
A few weeks ago, I commented that I thought the Œexperts¹ on SBS were a bit premature when they suggested that the Strikers had already qualified for the top six, and I still hold to this theory.
Marconi on the other hand, kept their hopes alive.
I said before the game to GKW and Forza Jnr, that this Brisbane game was one that Marconi simply had to win, and that if they lost, then our season was over.
Thankfully, the players responded in the way that they did.
Soon, Zebedee said ³Time for Bed,² and it was into the 347th taxi that we hailed in Brisbane and we were deposited back to our hotel, in a happy, albeit tired and emotional state.
As alluded to earlier, the Œno beer¹ factor kicked in, and within minutes we were asleep.
A 4AM rise, made sure we were still tired, as we headed for our 6am flight back to Sydney.
GKW was going to work (as was Forza Jnr), but I¹m sure if I check the list this arvo, I¹ll found that it was a case of him going for an early ³lunch.²
In summary, a grand time was had by all, and the Brisbane economy did very well out of it, but it just appears that Security people are wankers, irrespective of what stadium they are at.