Thursday, December 3, 2009

Sydney FC Blog: Have A Pie, It's On Me

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I was standing on the balcony of the Sky Blue Business Lounge eating a meat pie and drinking beer thinking to myself: How cool is this?

Then Matt Thomson scores it’s 3-0 and that’s my buzz killed...

The Party

Here I am celebrating my brother’s imminent marriage to the woman of his dreams with a view of the pitch that is fit for a king, what better way for Phillip to bid farewell to single life than to be amongst family and friends and have a bucks party in the prawn sandwich section of Sydney Football Stadium?

It was all going to script (except it’s now 3-0) even though James Venn the corporate sales manager would have preferred that the organiser of this doo my brother George had told him it was bucks instead of attending the game under the guise of this being a corporate shin dig.

The thing is George kept true to the story that we were here under the name of Half-Time Heroes and not as a bucks party because, well, they don’t like bucks parties in the Sky Business Lounge, it’s supposed to be only for the high powered types.

James however was not so easily fooled and once he saw that we were all blokes and Phillip was sporting a Sydney FC jersey with Stamocostas 09 on the back, he started to suspect.

“Is it a business celebration or as some other type of celebration?” James asked.

“Both, but more of a bucks celebration if I was to be honest,” I added pointing at my brother.

“You should have told me,” James said. “I would have chucked you on the other side away from everyone.”

I replied back: “Chill James, look at us? Do we look like we are going to cause trouble?”

Of course, I ask this question sporting one of those ugly unkempt beards were the side burns have grown out in a disproportioned length to the rest of the beard and I’m wearing my season one hat and season one jersey.

James was probably right to be a bit suspicious of us behaving badly as the following story I tell you has been added to the new chapter in my soon to be published memoirs entitled “The Faux Pa Handbook, A guide to surviving the Noughties”

The Pies

At half time these beautiful lamb pies are served and a bunch of us are sitting in the comfy chairs of the Sky Blue business lounge munching away. A stranger approaches the table and takes two pies out of the basket and says I’m taking these.

Now I’ll be honest, in a somewhat sarcastic smart arse tone I say to the stranger “You know there is a lady that comes around and serves them to you” He looks at me and says it’s ok, it’s for my kid.

He leaves and of course we all start talking behind his back saying things like. “That well dressed gentleman was rude”. The consensus around the table was that it was rude behaviour. So we down another beer and we arrive at the consensus again. “How very rude!”

Then right out of my blind spot the gentlemen that took the pies reaches around the table and replaces the pies that he took with brand new ones. “Here you go” he says. Everyone around the table and in the most hypocritical of tones say “No, no don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter.”

The Bozza

We go head back to our seats just in time for the start of the second half.

Mark Bosnich walks through our section and sits right next to the pie thief, now the pie replacer, who now has the moral high ground position all alone.

So for most of the second half, I concede that with my earlier indignant response to what was only a couple of lamb pies(albeit very nice and tasty meat pies), I have now thrown away the chance to get an interview with Mark Bosnich.

I mean I insulted the great man's friend.

So finally with not long left in the game I do get the courage and give Mark a hand written note with a request to interview him one day.

I hope anyway, I bet that pie thief tells him I was one rude bastard who wanted to keep all the pies for himself!

The Game


And my thoughts on the actual game: Vitezslav Lavicka has been outcoached in each of three losses the Bling has suffered recently.

Mad Miron, Dave Mitchell and Branko “Batman” Culina have all out-thought and out-strategised the highly credentialed Euro-boss.

Simon “my Melbourne Heart is still in Sydney” Colosimo has been one of the obvious culprits. He has gone for the killer tackle or killer ball too many times and it has cost Sydney goals. His inner midfield has come out at the worst time.

Recent calls by some football pundits that this squad is the best Sydney team ever and possible World Cup call ups for messieurs Colosimo and Brosque have been far off the mark.

Remember the A-League and remember your limits, and don’t get upset about the pies!