We put aside everyday life to cheer for our team.
A day to look forward to. First official day of the 2000 Olympiad, Sweden vs Brasil and the opening ceremony and finally the Olyroos vs Italy.
A day to go once again to the MCG, the home of Australian Sport. To cheer on your team, whether it be Italy or Australia. To fill the MCG with the singing of the national anthem(s) with a roar that forces Channel 7 to turn down the mikes.
Yet another game to prove the incredible attraction of Football. Another 80k plus crowd at the MCG, for the 3rd time in 3 years to see an Australian team match up against an Asian team, a South American team and now a European team. No other sport can do it this way.
A parade of players before us - ranging from Serie A and Zamrotta to the AIS and Turnbull (and Marconi). How can it possibly get any better?
Slowly but surely, the game becomes more popular in Australia. It takes some incredible detours along the way, into places of darkness, but the game will prevail.
And tomorrow night will prove it.
[2 days later...]
This is the game we have to win to prove we're advancing as a football nation. Unfortunately, lack of self-belief in the end did us in.
I've never seen a closer top-flight game involving an Australian team and a Top 5 one. It would be nice to say the experienced and superior quality of the Top 5 team gave them the win, but it was nowhere near that.
Italy are the most overrated team in the world. Zambrotta? Baronio? Ventola? The only Italians to step it up were Gattuso (who knew every trick in the book to stop Lazaridis) and Ambrosini and Pirlo for periods. Emerton shit so far all over Zambrotta it wasn't funny.
Standout Aussies were Curjica and Colosimo. Curjica did a very very good job and Colosimo is simply born for the greatest stage. Emerton did a great job on Zambrotta as well.
I don't want us to play nice and be fair to the opposition. I want us to yank down their pants, bend them over and roar it up them. If we don't develop this attitude, we won't win these games. If we don't develop this attitude, the wogs go home thinking "Italy are so good, we gonna support them again, stuff Australia"
The next step to becoming a football nation is developing a killer instinct.