David EdwardsOrigin Hype-Ups and Nostalgia
June 10th 2008 05:22
Origin two this Wednesday night promises to provide hatred, unremitting passion - whilst providing the citizenry their tri-annual fix of legitimated binge drinking and improper behaviour. However SportingMind will be delivering pizzas in his HECS imposed part-time gig as a delivery driver. So "what's doing" here??
Quite simply, I can't do it anymore.
Amping oneself up for an ORIGIN clash is a difficult process, particuarly when you actually have a life. When i was 14, Origin was my life. I would stop at nothing to watch the game, to delve into the over-analysis of it all. To surrender myself to the slow-motion nostalgia and "expert" commentary - which generally consisted of a panel of overly biased ex-Origin players ranting about how great Origin is. To soak up the full 45 minute Kenny Sutcliffe spiel about the history of Origin (we all know it now, it started in 1980 and Artie Beetson was great, yada yada..) was honestly like sipping the Holy water. The emotional rollercoaster that was Origin was a ride that i never tired of. Each year, 3 times a year. Whilst my parents would watch the game with the radio on - tuned to Roy and HG's subtle brand of smirking irony, i would turn up Ray Warren at full blast, embracing every syllable like a long lost sibling. To listen to "golden tonsils" Warren was a privilege, and still is.
Now that i am older and jaded, i see Origin for what it is worth. A good game of football, but a game nonetheless. I won't put my life on hold, i won't go out and buy a Wizard jersey for $149.95 - instead i'll read about it on Thursday in the Herald. What do i care about what Greg Bird has had to say about Scott Prince's frailties in defence? Or if Willie Mason has again offered some deliberately inflammatory comments in the direction of the "redneck" Queenslanders?
Even the fights aren't as good as they used to be. Sure, people bleed, but it isn't enough for me. De-sensitised from years of Hollywood gore-films and television, nothing short of severe head injuries will cut it for me anymore. I blame Benny Elias, for bleeding profusely from the eye in an early 90s Origin game. He was the one who ignited my insatiable thirst for blood in origin and etched an enduring memory ito my brain. Watching a bunch of clean-cut Mormons run around on a paddock isn't the same as watching Wally Lewis fire-up at Mark Geyer at half-time, or seeing Andrew Johns get decked by Jamie Goddard. If i want to watch young religious types, i can do that every Saturday morning on "Hillsong TV", or just hold out for the upcoming World Youth Week.
I am not some old timer pining for the days of Vautin, Lewis, Carroll, Lazarus, etc. I am just looking for a reason to care again. I don't need Mason to sell me an Origin game by blurting out some poorly thought out quote, or to be "surprised" by the fact that the NSW forwards are going to attack the QLD halves. Nor do i need that amphibious looking Phil Gould to rant endlessly and aimlessly about the gloriousness of Origin football.
Critics may argue that Origin football is a form of escapism for the modern audience, just like the "Screwball" Hollywood comedies of the 30s were for a post-Depression American audience. That in this post 9/11 political climate, the best we can do is allow ourselves to be whisked away to a better place, to forget the rising interest rates and oil prices and to surrender to 80 minutes of vicarious violence. To allow ourselves laughter, enjoyment and frivolity in a geo-political world gone mad!
I'll listen to Roy and HG calmly explain the score to me whilst i do my shift tomorrow night. I urge you all to either do the same, or just skip the whole event.
-SportingMind.
Quite simply, I can't do it anymore.
Amping oneself up for an ORIGIN clash is a difficult process, particuarly when you actually have a life. When i was 14, Origin was my life. I would stop at nothing to watch the game, to delve into the over-analysis of it all. To surrender myself to the slow-motion nostalgia and "expert" commentary - which generally consisted of a panel of overly biased ex-Origin players ranting about how great Origin is. To soak up the full 45 minute Kenny Sutcliffe spiel about the history of Origin (we all know it now, it started in 1980 and Artie Beetson was great, yada yada..) was honestly like sipping the Holy water. The emotional rollercoaster that was Origin was a ride that i never tired of. Each year, 3 times a year. Whilst my parents would watch the game with the radio on - tuned to Roy and HG's subtle brand of smirking irony, i would turn up Ray Warren at full blast, embracing every syllable like a long lost sibling. To listen to "golden tonsils" Warren was a privilege, and still is.
Now that i am older and jaded, i see Origin for what it is worth. A good game of football, but a game nonetheless. I won't put my life on hold, i won't go out and buy a Wizard jersey for $149.95 - instead i'll read about it on Thursday in the Herald. What do i care about what Greg Bird has had to say about Scott Prince's frailties in defence? Or if Willie Mason has again offered some deliberately inflammatory comments in the direction of the "redneck" Queenslanders?
Even the fights aren't as good as they used to be. Sure, people bleed, but it isn't enough for me. De-sensitised from years of Hollywood gore-films and television, nothing short of severe head injuries will cut it for me anymore. I blame Benny Elias, for bleeding profusely from the eye in an early 90s Origin game. He was the one who ignited my insatiable thirst for blood in origin and etched an enduring memory ito my brain. Watching a bunch of clean-cut Mormons run around on a paddock isn't the same as watching Wally Lewis fire-up at Mark Geyer at half-time, or seeing Andrew Johns get decked by Jamie Goddard. If i want to watch young religious types, i can do that every Saturday morning on "Hillsong TV", or just hold out for the upcoming World Youth Week.
I am not some old timer pining for the days of Vautin, Lewis, Carroll, Lazarus, etc. I am just looking for a reason to care again. I don't need Mason to sell me an Origin game by blurting out some poorly thought out quote, or to be "surprised" by the fact that the NSW forwards are going to attack the QLD halves. Nor do i need that amphibious looking Phil Gould to rant endlessly and aimlessly about the gloriousness of Origin football.
Critics may argue that Origin football is a form of escapism for the modern audience, just like the "Screwball" Hollywood comedies of the 30s were for a post-Depression American audience. That in this post 9/11 political climate, the best we can do is allow ourselves to be whisked away to a better place, to forget the rising interest rates and oil prices and to surrender to 80 minutes of vicarious violence. To allow ourselves laughter, enjoyment and frivolity in a geo-political world gone mad!
I'll listen to Roy and HG calmly explain the score to me whilst i do my shift tomorrow night. I urge you all to either do the same, or just skip the whole event.
-SportingMind.
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