“Some football zealots like nothing more than a one-point victory; the common wisdom being that it’s better than sex. To my way of thinking, a one-point win is like a quickie in a lift – it makes your heart race, but mainly with anxiety – whereas a thumping win is more like spending the day in bed with champagne and dark chocolates.”
The Goddess Advantage, 2006, Angela Pippos
I’VE BEEN singing the praises of Jason Porplyzia all season, so much so that if his sparkling form continues I may have a hit single to go with my book by year’s end. (On second thoughts that’s not such a good idea. In my one and only public singing performance I almost cleared the room with my rendition of I Got You Babe.
In the opening minutes of Sunday’s game at AAMI Stadium Porplyzia was in everything; swooping on a loose ball to slot through his first, dishing one off to Burton and then following up with another one of his own. There were plenty of other contributors and at quarter time the Crows had a deliciously accurate eight goals one on the scoreboard; their best first term of the year.
The Crows outscored the Demons four goals to two in the second term thanks to a couple from Birdman and one each from Tippett and Vince. Johncock and Doughty provided the comic relief on the boundary line mucking up one of the interchanges but nothing could detract from Adelaide’s performance, not even a wayward post-it note.
The third term was played almost exclusively in Adelaide’s half but the kicking was a bit like the free kick paid against Tippett to begin the quarter – dubious at best. The Crows added 3.9 to their tally but all three goals were outstanding. The first was off the boot of Stevens 55 metres out, the second was courtesy of a slick McLeod handball and the third capped off a stunning run by Bock. You should know me by now – I can find a positive in just about any situation. The nine points weren’t bad either.
I got up to put the kettle on at the start of the third. I didn’t miss much though just three consecutive Melbourne goals. In a piece of exquisite timing I was back on the couch just in time to see the Birdman fly. Needless to say I was off the couch again in a flash, catapulting myself into orbit. And, like all good screamers, it just got better with every replay. It sparked a flurry of activity on the field as well, including back to back goals from Jericho and Goodwin. Jericho’s third for the quarter was a stunning right foot snap while Tippett brought up the 150-point milestone with great athleticism.
The final score was a beautiful set of numbers in any politician’s language – 22.18 (150) to 11.8 (74). Yep, give me champagne and dark chocolates any day.
