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This may be hard for those who have never been to the MCG on ANZAC Day to comprehend, but there is nothing like standing among 90,000 other people, in one of the great arenas of sport, in complete silence.
Absolute silence. You can hear a pin drop.
The bugle plays, the flags are lowered, and the stands cease to sway with the chatter and noise of enlivened football fans.
The teams are lined up and the silence is a mix of paying tribute to those who gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice and our anticipation of the contest that is to come.
The ANZAC Day game is a highlight of the Australian sporting calendar, not just for fans of Essendon or Collingwood or AFL fans for that matter. Rather, it is a day that highlights how we, who call ourselves Australians, live in a culture where we play, watch, laugh and cry at our sporting heroes together.
What is it that we have that other sporting nations and cultures don’t have?
We have a level of respect and maturity.
What makes our sporting culture so great isn’t just our performances on the field, but they way we behave off the field.
Football fans in this country are not segregated. We do not have to sit at opposing ends of the ground. We do not have to wait two hours for the opposition fans to leave the area.
No. We enjoy our sport among friends.
I’ve always gone to the ANZAC Day game with a group of friends, of whom half support Collingwood and the other half support Essendon.
We have a beer, or three. We have a laugh. We celebrate and we commiserate together.
Most importantly, we are not the only ‘mixed group’ at the game.
I know this happens week in and week out at any AFL game in the country, but it is the ANZAC Day game that always makes me stop and reflect on this important point in our nation’s sporting culture.
Today, we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. We think about all of the elements that have gone into the making of our society and the things that make us Australians.
To some, it may seem strange that we value a game of football on such a day, but today’s game is an extension of the formation of our identity and is in fact, an important part of it.
Today we remember the dead, think of those serving in current wars and celebrate our freedom and our maturity as a society that allows us to love and hate a football team, while still loving each other.
Enjoy today’s game and go Bombers!
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