A Season With South Melbourne
I started following South during the 1997/98 season, just in time for the first of the back-to-back championships. My old flatmate Graham and I used to watch soccer on TV, and one of his workmates suggested we should go watch South play.
I watched the 97/98 grand final on TV, taped from the night before. I spent the Saturday night at a party, but fortunately remembered to set the VCR. When I watched the game the next afternoon, I was intrigued - moments like half the team celebrating a disallowed goal while Carlton played on and nearly nicked one of their own, Boutsi brushing past Douglas to score the winner, the flares, the crowd going ballistic, Lozza's free kicks - though I didn't know any of the names then, these moments made me want to watch more.
Graham and I drove down to BJS in '98 to see South play Gippsland. We got hot dogs and stood behind the southern goal - it seemed a popular place to be. South scored in the first few minutes, the crowd behind the goals started jumping up and down, and there was something electric in the atmosphere. From that moment, I fell absolutely in love with South Melbourne.
Our relationship hasn't been the most perfect. Disillusionment after AGMs, arguments with mad women and children in Wollongong, and the 12 hour bus trip after getting thumping 6-0 by Sydney Olympic. But then there's been Brazil, Boutsi's goal scored in open play from 50 metres, Clarky playing in the 98/99 GF, and Clarendon Corner 10-minute epic rolling chants, and fantastic people I've met. Beating Olympic 2-0 a few days after the thumping also makes a difference.
With the NSL wrapping up early in 2004, South return to the Victorian Premier League. I've been warned not to be drawn too far in to the romance of it all, but the matches I've enjoyed the most have been the derbies against Carlton and the Knights, and travelling to away games to watch South steal the smiles off the faces of the locals. The VPL brings all this back home - well, not Carlton, who are buried 6 feet under Epping Stadium, but local derbies and away games every other week.
There might not be the interstate bus trips or rental Targas flying up the Hume highway, but I am looking forward to this season like no other. It's been a long wait - the NSL would have kicked off a few months ago - but the fixtures are out. This season's going to be a ripper.
I watched the 97/98 grand final on TV, taped from the night before. I spent the Saturday night at a party, but fortunately remembered to set the VCR. When I watched the game the next afternoon, I was intrigued - moments like half the team celebrating a disallowed goal while Carlton played on and nearly nicked one of their own, Boutsi brushing past Douglas to score the winner, the flares, the crowd going ballistic, Lozza's free kicks - though I didn't know any of the names then, these moments made me want to watch more.
Graham and I drove down to BJS in '98 to see South play Gippsland. We got hot dogs and stood behind the southern goal - it seemed a popular place to be. South scored in the first few minutes, the crowd behind the goals started jumping up and down, and there was something electric in the atmosphere. From that moment, I fell absolutely in love with South Melbourne.
Our relationship hasn't been the most perfect. Disillusionment after AGMs, arguments with mad women and children in Wollongong, and the 12 hour bus trip after getting thumping 6-0 by Sydney Olympic. But then there's been Brazil, Boutsi's goal scored in open play from 50 metres, Clarky playing in the 98/99 GF, and Clarendon Corner 10-minute epic rolling chants, and fantastic people I've met. Beating Olympic 2-0 a few days after the thumping also makes a difference.
With the NSL wrapping up early in 2004, South return to the Victorian Premier League. I've been warned not to be drawn too far in to the romance of it all, but the matches I've enjoyed the most have been the derbies against Carlton and the Knights, and travelling to away games to watch South steal the smiles off the faces of the locals. The VPL brings all this back home - well, not Carlton, who are buried 6 feet under Epping Stadium, but local derbies and away games every other week.
There might not be the interstate bus trips or rental Targas flying up the Hume highway, but I am looking forward to this season like no other. It's been a long wait - the NSL would have kicked off a few months ago - but the fixtures are out. This season's going to be a ripper.
posted by Curt at 9:43 am
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