The myster of AFL

yWARNING : SERIOUS CONTENT. Those who know me may be shocked there are some subjects I don't joke about too much :)

Last weekend I went up to Sydney with my sister, mum, dad and cousin to take part in the "Field of women" that was on at the Telstra stadium before the Swans vs St Kilda match. It was a top weekend but I have to say that I still don't get AFL - I really don't. I sat through the whole match with some people sitting behind me who really added new meaning to shallow end of the gene pool (you weren't there, it was scary. I kept waiting for them to start playing banjos). After a very confusing match, all I got out of it was tired eye muscles trying to find the ball and sore legs from climbing up and down the stairs - we were in the nosebleed section - in search of a drink and toilets. These were exclusive events - I did not drink out of the toilet.

Some background for why I was there - two years ago, a few months after my youngest son was born, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't have words to say how shocking this was and how scared we were when this happened. There is no other way to say it - cancer sucks. It scares the crap out of you, reminds you how mortal you really are and just how much you shouldn't take loved ones for granted. These are also good things - my mum is amazing and just took it on. She didn't get all agro or freaked out (well, she did get freaked out. We all did). She just sort of went "right, ok, this sucks balls. Let's get on with it". She had surgery, then chemo and then radiotherapy. She is one tough lady - even on really crappy days she just kept on going. The great news is that her hair has grown back, the scars are healing and her 5 year prognosis is good. A result of this is are whole family are pretty committed to raising money for breast cancer research, so when the field of women event came up, we all jumped at the chance to wear a pink poncho and stand on the hallowed turf of Telstra stadium. 13 000 people wore pink ponchos and 100 wore blue, which represents the average number of women and men diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Australia. Of that number, around 5000 don't win their battle with the disease. Sobering statistic. I can't describe how proud I am of my mum and how much I admire her and her strength. I don't know if I could ever be as brave as she was. My dad was also incredible - some stories I've heard since mum started her treatment included those of women whose partner's walked out because it was too hard for them to cope. Dad stepped up and supported mum every step of the way. People think that maybe that is just what a partner should do, but I think it's great the way he just did it, even when he was scared too. Yay dad!


So, we all turned up at he appointed time at Homebush to get our ponchos and I have to say, with 13 000 odd people all in an enclosed space with these things, it smelled a lot like a floatie convention. Ah, I love the smell of plastic in the afternoon. Also have to say my dad looks surprisingly good in hot pink - I told him he should wear it more often. My aunt and uncle joined us up there and then we all trooped over to the stadium. After a bit of "hurry up and wait" we went out onto the field. It looked a lot like the annual meeting of the secret society of pink poncho enthusiasts and after a while it felt a bit like I was wearing a sauna suit, but it was all in a good cause. It w as very moving and the good news is that over $650 000 was raised on the night for the national breast cancer network. All in all, a top weekend and I will do it again the next time they have it - I hope this time it is before a rugby union match. Made an idiot of myself when I kept yelling for the ref to pack the AFL players down in a scrum or to do a line out.