Their First Home Game

It was their first home game,
The Queensland Reds played
Wellington Hurricanes on a
balmy night at Suncorp Stadium.

We joined the throng who crowded
the sidewalks along the way, past
pubs in full cry, past fast food joints
and cafes jammed to the street,

listened to the beat of a dozen
tunes competing pumped energy,
joined the cheerful mob drinking
beer from disposable plastic.

We sat in the Red Zone, not by
informed choice although price
was a trite less than wherever
else we might have gone.

Sat amongst fans dressed in Queensland
Rail sponsored T shirts organised by
leaders who wore maroon and white
face-paint with horned Viking hats.

The night pulsed with tribal energy
resounding from empty tiered balconies,
a visceral feast for the eyes and ears,
crowned in bright iodide lights.

Conversation tried and failed, we
shouted short, pithy words – clapped,
jeered, whistled the referee, the enemy,
the favoured team, the reserves who

warmed up just metres away.
Gladdened we came, soaked up an
atmosphere so alien to the echoless
backwaters and quieter reaches of
our daily lives. For the record, Reds won
25 – 16, playing ugly.
© I.D. Carswell 2007-02-04