Anyone who can remember back all the way to round one might remember Rhys and Kristy, the Roos fans who took me on my first trip to the ‘G on that glorious sunny early autumn afternoon. You may also remember how that game ended in dire tragedy – with Shannon Grant’s inability to kick the winning goal from dead in front (and right in front of me) the only thing that separated me from a life of cursing the fact that i’d picked a team that moved to the Gold Coast.
Well, those who remember the game (or just clicked on the link above) might also remember that Kristy told me that her father had left the Roos after rising all the way through the ranks and taken a job at another football club. Indeed, i believe (and don’t tell anyone because i am not sure how legit this is) i may have even been admitted to ‘G on that first fateful weeked on her father’s pass as a life member of the Roos.
Well, i am pretty sure I saw Kristy’s father last Sunday night in his capacity as the Director of Football at the Tigers.
At the beginning of the first quarter, he was sitting briefly amongst the fans in the VIP area where we sitting and i had fancied the idea of wandering over at quarter time saying hi and sparking up a little gentle inter family rivalry about which was the better club to support. Unfortunately, at about thirty to blot about a third of the way through the first quarter, Greg Miller disappeared from the fan section and wasn’t seen again. After six weeks i’m no expert on the game but I suspect there were some things going on that he needed to attend to.
Round one’s loss to Collingwood was described by many Roos fans as “hardest loss to take that i can remember.” When I ended my review of the Roos devastating loss with an acknowledgement that “I felt their pain” I never imagined that pain would become a recurring theme when i cross paths with the Millers. After Sunday’s tragedy, the worst in Richmond’s 120 year history, Greg Miller wrote to all of the Tigers fans with a call for calm and an acknowledgement that “We feel your pain!“
I will totally understand if the Millers don’t invite me for Christmas this year.
