It hurts! Oh, yes it does ... just 24 hours after that final whistle! The numbness with which we watched the medal cermony, raising a smile and a mechanical cheer for even our Coastie icon Joe Marston, for Tony Vidmar with his humble few words before his very big boots departed the football field for the last time, and another special player, John Aloisi. The end of a few eras, and let us hope a new beginning for the Mariners.
Two Grand Finals in 3 seasons .... if we look at it rationally the little club sandwiched in between Sydney and Newcastle has done more that anyone thought we could, let alone would, on that November day in 2004 when the FFA surprised many by announcing our inclusion.
But rational thought is for later, today is for respecting the passion that 36,000 fans brought to Sydney - and to the Sydney Football Stadium - decking The Cove out in Yellow and Navy and gold filling the away end even more so that the visit of Urawa Red Diamonds bathed it in red. Well done to both passionate football regions. For Newcastle the days when Reg Date or Ray Baartz dazzled the big city were back for the moment at least! For the Coast a vision into the future if they stick with their new love.
Less rational too is the hurt ... not the hurt of losing that 1st Grand Final when we dominated Sydney FC and threw it away, not the sickening pain I felt when rolled this season at home by Sydney 5-4, laughably called the best HAL game, with us suffering under the A-League standard of referring and losing Dean Heffernan to a cynical tackle (watching him loaded into the ambulance).
In the Season 1 Grand Final we out-played Sydney and as it often happens lost to the one goal. This time we lost to the one goal but were largely outplayed. This time .... we are the season Premiers, and we will play in Asia in 2009 - our biggest goal of all!
Hurt non-the-less, for the referees impacted this one too!
Mark Shield struggled to keep control of this very tough but exciting local derby. In the end it told against the Mariners as they succumbed to ill discipline faced with a blatant penalty call turned down! It told with Danny Vukovic pushing the Referee's arm away as he took off back toward his goal - a ruling of violent conduct against an official coming down tonight - adding suspension for 15 months to the Red Card.
Where in this apparatus, the Match Review Panel, was natural justice? Unless I'm wrong .. it somehow comes at the back end in appeal! Who makes up this body and are it's strictures good, good for the game and should fans have confidence in it? Like the laughably worded fans code of conduct, after three years perhaps some public scrutiny should be made of it!
The Mariners fans are livid on the severity of the ban - their forum melting down, not about Danny not deserving censure but, under the scorn against the out-of touch FFA and its sub-standard match officials given Joel Griffiths let-off earlier in the season for his vicious attempt at gonad snooker on an AR.
No-one condones man-handling referees, but it's been happening all year - you can't set high standards and only apply them selectively, in the 94th minute of the Grand Final.
I've been through 50 years of watching football and my teams have more often folded that won anything so I'm OK, but I saw pain, anger, crying, numbness among our youngsters - let us hope that builds into a positive long term commitment to the game and the Club.
Still it would be churlish of me to dwell on that, and not to congratulate Newcastle on their win, their hands on the Championship toilet seat and their access to the ACL in 2009. Your exploits on the park speak for themselves.
Not a lot I can add to Alan's summation of the the game for BOTN - not a classic but few Grand Finals are!
Positives - yes there are many! One I'd like to focus on - it is estimated that 5% of the Coast's population attended the game, almost all in colour! That would be equivalent to almost filling the Olympic Stadium at Homebush twice over with sky-blue! The club has given a real sense of pride, not just to old football lags like me, but whole families and even whole communities on the coast.
Standing outside the Mariners Sydney pub crawl pubs in Foveaux Street - the KB, Excelsior, and Forresters - the stream of yellow flowing up the hill for hours was mind blowing. Train after train disgorged whole families (all decked out, face-paint newly applied, and yellow and navy streaks in the girls and ladies hair), groups of young adults, clutches of older men deep in debate. This I have lived 57 years to see - a native football culture at birth!
That is the vision I want to remember, and take into the off season. We shall return!
Back on the Coast the official function at the Mingara Club attracted hundreds who mixed with the players, trying to lift their spirits and let the team know they were still loved, still needed, and to look to a yellow future! Thank you to all!