Sporting Weekend
I've had a great sporting weekend. First the West Coast Eagles beat the Adelaide Crows to make it into the AFL Grand Final, and now the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals, have won gold at the basketball world championships.
The latter means the most. I've been following women's basketball for a long time -- it's much more worth following in Australia than the men because the men are mediocre, while the women are world class. The reasons for that are actually related to Australian Football, because if footy didn't exist, there'd be another thirty or forty excellent tall athletes who'd probably be playing basketball instead, and quite a few would be stars. Women don't play footy professionally, so all the best tall female athletes play basketball instead.
For a long time the Opals have been stuck with very mediocre coaching, but Jan Stirling has steadily improved to the point where I can't find anything to complain about (imagine!) and she's blessed with some awesome talent, Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson in particular. I'd honestly rather watch those two play than just about any male player you could name, including NBA superstars. Penny and LJ have more talent than most men, and talent has always impressed me more than pure strength or athleticism. Yeah, we got a bit lucky that the USA lost in the semis... but we creamed Russia in the final, after Russia beat America, so that's nearly as good.
Then there's the Eagles, in a rematch next weekend of last year's AFL Grand Final against the Sydney Swans. This is just a battle of good versus evil, pure and simple. The Eagles play fast, exciting, offensive football, the way the game ought to be played. The Swans play defensive, slow, choke-hold football that's ugly to watch yet disturbingly effective, like mustard gas. The Swans won last year, and I was subjected to a Paris bar full of cheering Sydney fans at some unGodly hour of the morning, reflecting that I'd rather have stayed in bed. Now, it's revenge time!
The latter means the most. I've been following women's basketball for a long time -- it's much more worth following in Australia than the men because the men are mediocre, while the women are world class. The reasons for that are actually related to Australian Football, because if footy didn't exist, there'd be another thirty or forty excellent tall athletes who'd probably be playing basketball instead, and quite a few would be stars. Women don't play footy professionally, so all the best tall female athletes play basketball instead.
For a long time the Opals have been stuck with very mediocre coaching, but Jan Stirling has steadily improved to the point where I can't find anything to complain about (imagine!) and she's blessed with some awesome talent, Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson in particular. I'd honestly rather watch those two play than just about any male player you could name, including NBA superstars. Penny and LJ have more talent than most men, and talent has always impressed me more than pure strength or athleticism. Yeah, we got a bit lucky that the USA lost in the semis... but we creamed Russia in the final, after Russia beat America, so that's nearly as good.
Then there's the Eagles, in a rematch next weekend of last year's AFL Grand Final against the Sydney Swans. This is just a battle of good versus evil, pure and simple. The Eagles play fast, exciting, offensive football, the way the game ought to be played. The Swans play defensive, slow, choke-hold football that's ugly to watch yet disturbingly effective, like mustard gas. The Swans won last year, and I was subjected to a Paris bar full of cheering Sydney fans at some unGodly hour of the morning, reflecting that I'd rather have stayed in bed. Now, it's revenge time!
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