Take Romeo and Juliet for example. Just thinking about it makes my heart heave in pain. I can only conclude Shakespeare was in a foul mood when he wrote that ending. Why else would he have killed off Romeo prematurely because he mistakenly thought Juliet was dead? Of course we all know what happened next. Juliet wasn’t dead after all. She woke up, saw her dead lover and then stabbed herself with Romeo’s dagger. Really Shakespeare who benefits from that sort of an ending? If I was writing it the feuding families would’ve sorted out their differences and the two protagonists would have opened up a restaurant together in Verona and lived happily ever after. Not a drop of blood spilled.
I have another bone to pick with the Bard of Avon while I’m at it too. The play ends with an elegy delivered by the Prince of Verona:
“For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
I beg to differ with you Prince. You should have been at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon. There was more woe there than all of Shakespeare’s tragedies combined. Cordelia’s undeserved death in King Lear included. We all know she shouldn’t have died either but there was no stopping Shakespeare and his penchant for pain and suffering. But that’s a topic for the next writers’ festival I find myself at, hopefully somewhere warm with a view of the sea like the last one in Byron Bay.
Back to the scene of our modern day tragedy and I really haven’t got time to dissect the entire elimination final against Collingwood so I’m going to pick up play deep into time on in the first quarter. Edwards is tackled high and has a shot after the siren from a tight angle. He slots it through and the Crows cut the margin to 13 points. Here we go.
The second term begins with a Johncock goal, quickly followed by another from McLeod. Before I could (eloquently) spit out the word momentum Scott Stevens materialised with his first for the quarter and the Crows were on their way. The fresh-faced Mackay added his name to the list of goalkickers before someone from Collingwood (I can’t remember who and to be honest I don’t really care) broke the run of Adelaide goals. Maric goaled nearing half time and Stevens closed out the term with two more to take his tally to four. That made it seven for the term. The roof at Bell's Hotel in South Melbourne almost lifted off and we strapped ourselves in for the act III.
Enter football lesson 565 – this game can dump you mercilessly. Enough said.
But as someone who doesn’t like sad endings I’m going to sign off for 2008 on a positive note. Congratulations Nathan Bassett; passionate and honest until the end.
And one more thing - Go you mighty Redlegs.
