Who would you happily pay to see play?
Roar Guru By sheek, 17 Jul 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
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- AFL, Cameron Smith, Cricket, Davis Cup, Greg Inglis, Ian Chappell, John Newcombe, Justin Langer, Ken Irvine, Mark Ella, Matt Hayden, NRL, Rod Laver, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Shane Warne, Steve Price, Tennis, Tim Horan, Tony Roche, wallabies, Wally Lewis
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Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer walk out onto the ground - AAP Image/Jenny Evans
Let’s cut to the chase. There are some big matches coming up this weekend. Take your pick: Ashes cricket, Bledisloe Cup, NRL, AFL.
What’s your favourite sport and which players that you’ve seen would you happily part your well-earned cash for to see play live?
Not necessarily the best to play the game, but guys who get your blood racing. For the way they play the game, that is!
It doesn’t have to be only entertainment value.
You might like a particular player for his toughness, for example, or his ‘never-say-die’ attitude, or his ‘team-before-self’ attitude. Or something else.
I’ve been watching most sports since the late 60s, so I’ll start with three sports: cricket, rugby union and rugby league.
My favourite Aussie cricket XI (c.1969-present):
Matt Hayden, Justin Langer, Ian Chappell (c), Greg Chappell (vc), David Hookes, Doug Walters, Adam Gilchrist (k), Gus Gilmour, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson. Allan Border (12th man).
My favourite Wallabies XV (c.1969-present)
Roger Gould, Mick O’Connor, Jason Little, Tim Horan, David Campese, Mark Ella (vc), Nick Farr-Jones, Mark Loane (c), Ray Price, Willie Ofahengaue, John Eales, David Hillhouse, Stan Pilecki, Billy Ross, Topo Rodriguez. Bench: Glen Ella, Ben Tune, John Hipwell, Simon Poidevin, Greg Cornelsen, Steve Finnane, Phil Kearns.
My favourite Kangaroos XIII (c.1969-present)
Graeme Langlands (c), Ken Irvine, Mal Meninga, Bobby Fulton, Greg Inglis, Wally Lewis, Billy Smith, Johnny Raper, Ron Coote, Bob McCarthy, Steve Price, Cameron Smith, Artie Beetson (vc). Interchange: Billy Slater, Andrew Johns, Ben Kennedy, Noel Kelly, Bobby Lindner (18th man).
Here’s another, my Aussie tennis Davis Cup squad (c.1969-present)
Singles: Rod Laver and Pat Cash; doubles: John Newcombe and Tony Roche; reserve: Ken Rosewall.
Remember, pick any sport and pick any favourite, not necessarily the best.
It’s about being entertained, or those you admire and who you would willingly pay to go see play.
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July 17th 2009 @ 2:28pm
Timmypig said | July 17th 2009 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
Jimi Henrdrix – I’d pay to see him play.
Sorry – I’ll get my coat …..
July 17th 2009 @ 4:37pm
Pippinu said | July 17th 2009 @ 4:37pm | Report comment
…’scuse me while I kiss the sky [ner, ner, nerrrr...ner ner nerrrrr...dvv dvv nerr]
July 17th 2009 @ 4:49pm
Dave said | July 17th 2009 @ 4:49pm | Report comment
Jeff Thomson, Denis Lillee, Brian Lara, Andy Roberts, Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Joel garner, Adam Gilchrest, Ricky Ponting, Greg Chappell, David Hookes, Darren lehman, Shane Warne, Imran khan, Wasim akram, Waqar Younis, Malcom Marshall, Kapil dev, Mulri , Mendis, Sangrakara, Jayirasira, shane bond, Dhoni, Curtly Ambrose, Alan Donald, Barry Richards Graham Pollock, Gary sobers, Shahid Afridi, Ian Botham.
July 17th 2009 @ 5:10pm
Dave said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:10pm | Report comment
My favourite Aussie cricket XI (c.1969-present):
Matt Hayden, Micahel Slater, Ian Chappell (c), Greg Chappell (vc), David Hookes, Darren Lehman, Adam Gilchrist (k), Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson.Ricky Ponting(12th man).
July 17th 2009 @ 5:11pm
MVDave said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:11pm | Report comment
Too many but here goes;
Viv Richards and Gary Sobers WI Cricket, Ian Botham, Dennis Lillie (actually saw all of them live at MCG)
Busby Babes (ManU 1950s before Munich crash), Brazil 1970s WC winners team, Maradonna, Pele, Charlton/Law/Best, C Ronaldo, Kaka, could go on re football
AFL – John Coleman, Jezza (saw several times live), Peter McKenna (Coll FF), Geoff Blethyn (spectacular Ess full forward), James Hird (saw several times live), Phil Carman and a few more
Boxing – Muhamed Ali v Joe Frazier
July 17th 2009 @ 5:14pm
Pippinu said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:14pm | Report comment
MVDave
did you mean spectacular or bespectacled??
July 17th 2009 @ 5:18pm
Robert B said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:18pm | Report comment
Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, Fernando Torres, James Hird, Kaka, Kewell, Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao, Mark Waugh, Steffi Graf, Tony Modra.
July 17th 2009 @ 5:19pm
MVDave said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
Pip
Both
Brought great joy to many of us on the Windy Hill terraces with his 100 plus goals in 1972. Was able to jump vertically onto opponents shoulders without a run up…truly a spectacular marker?? of the ball.
July 17th 2009 @ 5:19pm
Michael C said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
I did pay to see Viv Richards – — (and Greenidge, Haynes etc in WIndies tour here in 88/89)
I did pay to see the ’1989′ AFL finals series, and ensured I attended all the Geelong matches so as to see Gary Ablett (snr) – - – that was money very, very well spent.
In the ’90s I was very satisfied with money spent that my team North Melb had two of the best game breakers in Carey and McKernan,
To specifically pay to see people in more recent times – probably Warney.
With the young kids – too often, not in a position to think about it – -
probably my pay to see world XI -
Greenidge, Jayasuriya, Lara, Tendulkar, Richards, D.M.Jones, Gilchrist, Akram, Imran, Kapil, Botham, Marshall, Warne……hmm, is that 11 yet????
Yeah, look for cricket – Dave’s list is pretty spot on.
July 17th 2009 @ 5:24pm
sheek said | July 17th 2009 @ 5:24pm | Report comment
Dave,
I agree on Slater. Swap him for Langer. When I was compiling my cricket list I had a nagging feeling I had missed someone.
My allcomers cricket XI (c.1969-present):
Barry Richards (SA), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Viv Richards (WI), Graeme Pollock (SA), Javed Miandad (Pak), Gary Sobers (WI — vc), Imran Khan (Pak – c), Alan Knott (Eng – k), Wasim Akram (Pak), Mike Holding (WI), Bishen Bedi (Ind), Ian Botham (Eng – 12th man).
Alternate XI; G.Greenidge (WI), K.Srikkanth (Ind), B.Lara (WI), S.Tendulkar (Ind), C.Lloyd (WI – c), Kapil Dev (ind), M.Dhoni (Ind – k), M.Procter (SA – vc), R.Hadlee (NZ), C.Ambrose (WI), Harbajan Singh (Ind), L.Klusener (SA – 12th man).
Gee, I could easily pick 3 or 4 XIs here!