Friday nights are always fun; full of fabulous people indulging in friendship and frivolity but then add footy to the mix and yep, Friday night goes off, it becomes a frenetic mix of folly and fervour.
I have always had a thing for the colour purple so it was easy for me to become a Fremantle Dockers fan and given I am a new footy fan, being drawn to the colour first then the game was an OK choice. I just love the ‘prettiness’ of the sea of purple when all the fans gather and I love the vibe that footy Friday creates in Subi.
It is interesting to watch, this mix of folly and fervour. The silliness of dress-ups, coupled with the passion of the people for the sport creates a vibe that is electric if not somewhat ritualistic. Yes, footy is a rite of passage for our men, indoctrinated as early as age 5 through Auskick. Yes, I understand that Auskick is available to both genders, but let’s face it – footy (or sport) is to boys as lunch (or shopping) is to girls; both rituals, that start at a very young age. See my Lunch with the Girls story.
Friday footy certainly brings out the men; usually in packs, almost all decked out in ceremonial colour, holding and waving the ritualistic paraphernalia, AKA – midi of beer. There is nothing more lovable than seeing this play out; dads with their mini me’s, the women (out with their men) that got, very early on in the relationship that true love is about understanding the bond between man and his ritual, the nanna’s and granddads dutifully weaving the second generation into the ritual and the young-uns – male and female – that simply like to mix the vibe of sport with their favourite other sport — drinking; all in all a very special sight to see. And I do understand the need to play down alcohol and sport but let’s be real; Aussies and alcohol have been flirting for a lifetime!
So here we are, out and about on a footy Friday night. I am standing with my back against the wall, shoulder to shoulder in the front bar, waiting for my friends to arrive when a body decides to simply plonk in front of me, relegating me to a position of back stalls, which is not really the intent of being in a packed bar and certainly not when being visible is necessary when waiting for friends to arrive. I was slightly puzzled by this move and rather bemused, so I dutifully tapped him on the shoulder and suggested he move along; well if looks could kill ..? So, my first ever encounter with a grumpy person. It may be that he was not a footy fan, and the sheer intensity of footy fever was too much for him. He was alone, seemingly no friends or perhaps he was lost and in search of his friends. Either which way, do not … I repeat … do not stand in front of me making me invisible in a bar full of people on a footy Friday night!
The friends finally arrive and the bubbles flow … the footy crowd thins out as the game commences only to return once the game is done. It is interesting when Friday in Subi is your regular hang-out and you are used to flitting in and out of various venues only to find on footy night it all changes through sheer numbers. We went to eat dinner only to find on our return – queues! Queues of people trying to gain access to all our favourite night spots! And not just little queues but queues a mile long. Bummer, this is the down-side and perhaps even a slightly irritating by-product of footy Friday; I mean what is the point of having all these extra interesting people, if you can’t get into a venue to enjoy?
So, footy Friday night became a bit of a fizzer. I don’t do queues, so I was home and snugly tucked up in bed by a civilised if not somewhat early 10:30pm with the comfort of knowing however, that my Dockers membership is on the way. So next season here I come. Rather than soak in the atmosphere from a distance, I will be at the actual game in regalia splendour (something deliciously purple), and if the timing is right I will be indulging in both rituals: lunch first, followed by the game – oh, yeah … nice!
