Loyalty and that bloody game

Most people see themselves as loyal - it's a characteristic most people wish to be seen to possess and also how they would like to define themselves. I see myself as loyal to my family, my friends, my choir, my teacher, my values, my self. I express my loyalty through my deeds, my words, my actions. Of course, if you asked any of the above, including myself, there'd be plenty of breaches of those loyalties. But somehow I still rise about that and continue to identify this quality in myself. Interesting, eh?

At lunch one Friday in September I sat in a city cafe and was distracted from my book by two bouncy young suits chomping down on burgers and chips for a mid-day calorie boost (my lemon pepper calamari suddenly looked desperately girly next to such manly meals). Their conversation was a wall of almost automatic self-inflation - the nonstop bragging sat as comfortably on their lips as the sauce on their chips. Real estate, promotions, chicks...my Virginia Woolf novel was laughing in my lap but I couldn't not listen.

"How do you think the game will go tomorrow?"

The AFL grand final was soon upon us.

"Well the forward line is strong but ..." - well please don't expect me to recall football conversation, I'm the daughter of a folk guitarist, not a spectator sport enthusiast. I zoned out as they punted inpenetrable words like "Gablett" and "push the behinds" across the table but tuned in again as one asked:

"So what are you going to be like on Saturday night then?"

I could see the zing of energy from Suit No. 2 as he leaned forward. "Mate - if the Saints win, I'll be partying hard! And if they don't - well, I'll be collecting big from my bookie!"

I always thought of football fans as being - well - fanatical. Seems in these times that other loves can sway the passionate to more profitable idols.