Gutted but proud of the boys. We fought to the end, but the Hawks had a little too much class.
Friday's planned blog update didn't survive an encounter with the Guinness. Probably for the best, I didn't have much to say beyond:
1. Being nervous about the game
2. Being excited about the game
3. Goto 1
This morning was frustrating on so many levels. Whether it was because of the hotel's shitty internet connection, the media servers back home being swamped or a combination of both, for much of the game I was relying on Facebook updates and messages from friends to find out what was going on. Video was a non-starter, audio kept failing and even text updates were unreliable.
Then the video came good in the final quarter, just in time for me to watch the Hawks seal the win. An improbable late surge was never going to bear fruit, and it looks like the yips that plagued us all day buried us in the end.
What little information I gleaned in the first quarter seemed to consist mainly of easy shots on goal sprayed hopelessly wide. Hawthorn appeared to dominate the second, and yet we finished the half still in touch somehow. My only knowledge of the 3rd quarter fightback came from Facebook updates as the wireless connection dropped out completely from time to time. Usually accompanied by muttered profanity at my end as I wondered why the hell I was in a Third World Country come Grand Final day. Seriously, the guesthouse in the middle of the tundra in Iceland had better connectivity than this.
*sigh* First World Problems, I know.
I'm immensely proud of the team, and I know that under Ross Lyon they will out the disappointment behind them and reset for another charge next year. Pav has another copule left in him yet, so there is time for him to hold the cup. I'm proud of the supporters, particularly those here on Dockerland...even on the other side of the world I've basked in the warm glow of our solidarity.
Bracing now for the inevitable nasty remarks and snide jokes from the followers of the mob up the road, not that their idiocies will bother me all that much. We've got s bright future ahead of us, and they do say after all that you have to lose one to win one (tell that to Adelaide, Brisbane and Port).
Thanks for being with me, as I languished in frustration half way across the world. I've learned an important lesson, one that I will never forget.
September is no longer a month for holidays.
Mick Bailey
Clifden, Republic of Ireland