Day 474 | Boulia: a cold, wet, Grand Final day
rest day
What a difference a day makes.
Yesterday 40ºC: today has it even made 20º, there’s even rain around.
I sat in the park for a while under the protection of a roof that’s primarily provided for shade rather than rain, the average precipitation out here is 250 mm and I noted that 40% of this year’s total had landed on one day back in April, I remember the dumping from Alice Springs.
Sadly there was limited interest in the Grand Final down at the pub, stark contrast to the frenzy of the week long build up in Melbourne, probably surpassing the Melbourne Cup by the locals and certainly that of the Australian Tennis Open or the Grand Prix. It’s all day full on TV coverage with interviews and ads but we weren’t even on the right channel, no one was interested it that either.
Eventually half an hour before kickoff the vision comes on, sound at a particularly low ebb, I was unconcerned having the forethought to be listening to the moderated tones of the ABC radio commentary team. At least the screen was big enough to observe the action, digital, so unlike the semifinal watched in Mt Isa last weekend where it looked as if it was fought in a snowstorm, here you could distinguish the teams.
It was a terrific game, as fast and fierce and dramatic as I’ve seen, Hawthorne kicked out to a substantial lead, the Swans came back, drew level, then went way ahead, 8 unanswered goals, as they said. With 10 minutes to go it was locked up, ie, scores equal, and talk was about having to come back next week for a replay.
That was not to be, Sydney kicked the last 2 goals and the more fancied Hawthorne had been surprisingly beaten, the team of champions being beaten by the champion team, as they say.
The other 20 patrons had come and gone, laughing, backs to the screen, what’s that you’re watching? err, Grand Final, but halfway through the final quarter a Victorian couple burst in to enquire what was happening.
Tomorrow the real game for this neck of the woods is on, the Rugby League Grand Final, we had the Sydney team winning in Melbourne today, it’s highly likely the Melbourne team will win in Sydney.
For the record I had two beers in almost four hours and fully charged up the computer battery.