I didn't want to leave the Cricketers. You know the feeling: you settle in at the pub with a group of people that you like - you can stay there all night. Besides, I was comfortable and feeling pretty nervous about the next step - and we hadn't heard one of Joffa's pre-match inspirational speeches yet.
Joffa was a bit slow getting started and we had to leave, we had to be at the ground at 5:30. The last AFL match Nick saw was as an 11 year old at VP in 1996 for that historic final bout against Fitzroy and I hadn't been since the 70s and here we were heading off to the G for the President's dinner.
The President's dinner is held in the Jack Ryder Room. It is a typical MCG function room, long and narrow with a glass wall facing the ground. It was much bigger than I had imagined, stretching almost out of site and seating 400 people - and it was full, as you would expect for Collingwood / Essendon. We found our table, great position near the centre of the room and the podium, sat down, had drinks placed in front of us by ever present waiters and then soaked in the surroundings. Eddie was there of course, Lou Richards was at an adjacent table, an old favourite of mine Terry Waters was there and Kevin Rose seemed to be everywhere. Others I recognised were Matthew Lloyd making the most of his holiday, Graeme McMahon and Wayne Jackson. Illustrious company for a couple of guys from the back blocks of Tassie.
Food was served and speeches were made and then Ross Wilson sang some Daddy Cool classics. I had scored one of those magical glasses that can never be emptied - every time I drank from it a hand would appear from behind me and fill it. This is the life, I could get used to this very easily.
Between speeches Eddie had come wandering down the room saying "Where's Nick?" People turned and looked to see where and who Nick was. Nick was identified and Eddie came over and welcomed us both.
He stood behind us and with one hand on each of our shoulders said, "When Ross Wilson is singing his last song I'm going to stand up and nod and you come and stand beside me" and then he went back to his table. I was aware of people around us looking and wondering who the hell we were.
Ross Wilson sang, Eddie stood and nodded, we got up and stood beside him and then began an adventure I'll never forget. Eddie led the way and we followed. Through the room out the door and down through the crowds and closed and guarded gates to the race onto the ground. We were moving so quickly that only about 1 person in a hundred realised that it was Eddie McGuire pushing through. Eddie described it as a panzer movement and that's just what it was like.
Down the race and onto the ground, the crowd seeing Eddie, erupted and it suddenly dawned on me that here we were on the MCG with Eddie McGuire in front of 70,000 screaming fans. The unreality of it was staggering. I asked Eddie where the Cheer Squad was and he pointed them out, they were just beside the race we'd come down and were obviously responsible for a large part of the noise we were hearing.
Around the ground, up the players' race and into the rooms and we were with the team. Meanwhile the fireworks had begun out on the ground and Eddie said to us, "You don't have to stay in here, you can go back out into the race and watch the fireworks if you like.", but for some reason neither Nick nor I were much interested in fireworks. There weren't many hangers-on like us - about half a dozen extras in there I reckon. The team were psyching up for the game and seemed completely unaware of people around them. They did warm-ups and ball-handling for about 10 minutes and then Mick took them into a closed room for 5 minutes before they ran out onto the ground.
Everybody left, the room was empty, except for us. My phone beeped, a text message from Joffa: "Appear behind Eddie with a cigarette!
". I knew what it meant, but I'm not going to tell you lot. Then Eddie appeared and took us back down the race that the players had just used and out into that unbelievable atmosphere, back around the ground and into the stand. He made sure we knew where to go to find the Cheer Squad and left us. That was the last we saw of him for the night.We are both still totally over-awed and humbled by the whole experience. That Eddie, the President of the Collingwood Football Club, would take the time to personally provide us with that experience is beyond dreams and is a mark of the man.
I've just read what I've written and have realised that I can't do it justice, I just don't have the words to describe what he did for us.
Next, footy with the Cheer Squad and we meet more of you.
A night at the footy - Part Three
[This message has been edited by Mike (edited 23 August 2001).]
