Here it is. Great article.
Scott Walsh wrote:There's something special about that unmistakable whiff of pies, booze and port-a-loos. Something pure. In an AFL age of closed roof stadiums, standing room slashed for flip seats and an apparent determination by every team to kick the ball towards it's opponents goal more often than it's own, grassroots footy is the salvation.
So agreed the 20,000 fans who used the AFL bye weekend to watch the four SANFL matches in the league's Rivalry Round.
Outside the ground, minutes before the opening bounce, a line of spectators stretches across the carpark eager to buy their tickets.
Inside, men, women and children fill the concrete terraces in front of the western-side grandstands. Hardcore fans from both allegiances stand on the southern-end hill, decked out in team regalia.
These blokes and girls - from the grassed area where empty beer cans crunch beneath your feet - know their stuff.
North Adelaide barracker Tony Bowering is so Red-and-White blooded that he's never even seen a game of AFL live - never will he says.
In fact the Prospect resident - a Roosters fan since 1947 - has missed only one North game in three seasons, and that was the Grand Final rematch on Anzac Day two weeks ago.
"I remember going with Dad to Prospect Oval when i was a kid," Mr Bowering said.
"We used to get there before the Reserves started; we'd have our bag of sandwiches and a bottle of Woodies lemonade and sit in the grandstand.
"I didn't like the clashes in 1985 and '86 - but '87 was OK. I have lots of pleasant memories from 1970's - '71 and '72 - they mean a lot to me, too."
He said the real appeal of the SANFL was the closeness between the players and fans. "I love the passion of people playing footy for not a lot of money - they're playing for the guernsey and they love the club," he said. "That's why i don't get into the AFL. There's too much money. I go back to the club (North Adelaide) after a game and you can feel the warmth of the players."
This is a footy environment where mums, dads and kids can stream onto the ground for a game of kick-to-kick during the breaks.
Where fans can wander out and stand close to their teams huddle as coaches address their players.
They don't expect their gladiators to hit every teammate or kick every goal. These SANFL blokes are human, after all, not drilled like the robots running around in the AFL. All the faithful asks for is an honest go.
"C'mon Lonie, when are you going to do something?", one exasperated Roosters fan cries as the Port Adelaide superboot fumbles a nasty bounce on North's half-back line.
Banter between opposing legions in the outer is colourful - it's frank and personal but never threatens to boil over beyond words.
"Oh, where were you half-an-hour ago," accuses one Tiger fan as a North supporter cheers a goal against the tide late in the third quarter.
But, as expected, the umpires are the targets of most of the barbs flying over the fence.
"You idiot, how'd he get rid of that?" protests one from the Glenelg camp after an undetected throw. "S**t for brains, blow your whistle."
Who even needs Rivalry Round? This goes on at SANFL grounds every weekend. Pies, booze and port-a-loos - it's as pure as footy gets.
Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 11:12 am
