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We’re running a sporting bucket list comparison here at The Roar, helped along by our good friends at prettyshady.com, kicked off by our esteemed editor and sunscreen fanatic Paddy Effeney back in November.
With Melbourne being the sporting capital of the world, and me being born and bred in the shadows of the MCG, I’ve already attended many events that might appear on the sporting bucket list of people across the world.
Among that lot we can count the AFL grand final, the scorching opening day of a Boxing Day Test, the President’s Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, those classic, hot days at Tennis’ Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup, and even the Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park.
So, without any further ado, here I go.
US Masters
I doubt there’d be many Australian sports fans that wouldn’t have this one somewhere on their list, with many placing it at the very top with daylight second.
My first Masters memory was as a 16-year-old just getting into golf in 1996, when Greg Norman infamously succumbed to Nick Faldo, public humiliation writ large. Although we didn’t know it at the time, this was the end of Norman’s halcyon days as the number one figure in golf, with a certain Eldrick Woods making the biggest possible statement at Augusta National a year later, winning his first major by 12 shots only eight months after turning professional.
Every Masters seems to have a defining memorable moment of magic or majesty. In the last 10 years we can think of Tiger Woods chipping in on 16 in 2005, Phil Mickelson off the pine–straw in 2010, Bubba Watson’s nine iron in 2012, and our own Adam Scott making a 20-foot birdie on the 72nd hole in 2013, accompanied by an emotion-charged and guttural “C’mon Aussie!”.
I wonder what the defining moment will be at a Masters I’m there for. I’m not sure when it will be, but I intend to find out.
British Open
Staying with golf, but jumping continents, the British Open is the pinnacle of golf for many. Who among us doesn’t want to stroll along any of the famous Scottish links?
For Australian golf fans the beauty of the British Open, as opposed to the US majors, is that coverage has always started at a palatable time since the advent of pay TV in this country, with players usually teeing off around 6pm AEST on the first two days.
Perhaps it has something to do with the urge to rise up against our colonial masters, or that our best players get great exposure to the Melbourne sandbelt courses and thus learn to play with more creativity in such conditions, but the British Open has always been the most successful tournament for Australians, rare for any year where we don’t have a player in contention at some point.
Starting with the first of Peter Thomson’s five championships in 1954, and Ian Baker-Finch saluting in 1991, with Norman winning a few years either side of him, Australia has only produced three champions, and it’s been far too long between drinks out of the Claret Jug for an Aussie. Perhaps our next Open champion will be crowned when I’m in attendance…
Wimbledon
Still in the United Kingdom for my next two sporting events, a great many would have The Championships on their list.
Our fondest memories are often formed in our teenage years or early 20s, and similar to Norman at the Masters in ’96, I can still vividly recall watching every point of Pat Rafter’s successive defeats in the men’s final at SW19 in 2000 and 2001.
Whether losing to seven-time winner Pete Sampras in 2000 despite having the upper hand before a crucial rain delay, or just failing to outlast Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 over five sets, I’m sure Rafter had a great many Aussies riding with him throughout the night each time.
Lleyton Hewitt was to get some Australian revenge a year later in 2002, but one of my goals in life had already been cemented. Perhaps I’ll aim to time my visit and doff the sunhat for when Nick Kyrgios matures into the player he could be…
Lord’s Ashes Test
Does this one even require any elaboration?
Australian Group 1 Racing
For a racing lover, nothing sets the pulse alight like the thrill of Group 1 racing, the best of the best taking each other on across a range of race types – sprinters, stayers, middle-distance gallopers; juveniles, three-year-olds, veterans; fillies, mares, colts, gelding.
I’ve attended every Group 1 meeting in the Victorian spring, and there’s only a couple I haven’t attended in the autumn. I’ve been at the track for around a third of Sydney’s Group 1s too.
My ultimate bucket list goal would be to attend every Group 1 race in Australia, but the first goal would be to have attended them all in Melbourne and Sydney, the two homes of Australian racing, and where the best races get run each season. So for me, this is almost a bucket list within a bucket list.
Big Bash League T20
I’m going to end on a different note, with one for my Roar colleagues Ryan O’Connell and Brett McKay, and it’s actually a reverse bucket list item, for an event that I’m going to attend even though I have no inclination for it.
Some readers may be aware of my distaste for the BBL, to the extent that in the four years it has existed in the current form I’ve never actually watched a ball of it, despite constant baiting in the Twitter-sphere from the aforementioned Roar experts.
Well… this season I’m actually going to attend one of these ‘entertainment showcases’ – as a father taking his son, not a curmudgeonly cricket traditionalist scowling “bah, humbug” at an undeniable future.
Summary
No American sports on my list, which is probably unusual for an Australian in my age group these days. I’ve been to an MLB game at Yankee Stadium, and would go to the NBA or NFL if offered, but it’s not something I need to do.
The boys keep telling me I need to get to a rugby league State of Origin game, which gets held in Melbourne periodically, and I might, I might. But I’d much rather see my beloved Richmond win a final instead.
The Tiges have only played nine finals in the last 30 years, for three wins in those matches, and I was only able to go to one of them. One winning final in three decades of ardently following a team… no wonder I’ll need to travel the world to see some sporting magic.
Will you be attending any bucket list events this summer? If so, let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to be sun smart and where possible to stay #prettyshady.
BE PART OF THE GENERATION
Pretty Shady was established in NSW in 2013. Our aim is to stop skin cancer, one summer at a time.
Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Stopping sun damage can stop 95% of melanomas, the deadliest from of skin cancer. We believe our generation can make a difference and lives can be saved with #prettyshady