THE PASSING OF SATURDAY. - memories of the SANFL circa 1969

[The Crumber]

"THE PASSING OF SATURDAY" - memories of the SANFL, circa 1969.

Chapter One:-

It is Saturday. Somewhere in the dusty, dour, beautiful backstreets of old suburban Adelaide, the normally placid atmosphere is rudely interupted by the sound of roaring, barging motor vehicles. The air is filled by the beckoning aroma of jasmine and log fires, and red and white geraniums sprawl uncontrolled through decaying wooden fences. On a footpath, a bewildered old woman clad in ethnic black, stands like a sentry in front of rickety drive-way gates, for she knows if she leaves her post, some indifferent, alien motorist, too lazy and too late to search for a parking spot any longer, will claim her little frontage until dusk.

Not far away, an event of great importance is in progress. Even before the great, foreboding, red-brick grandstand comes into view, one can hear the muffled roar of 15,000 people, rising and falling with the winter wind. Drawn, as if by a massive magnet, people are coming from all directions laden with thermos-flasks, rugs and gaily coloured scarves which draggle behind them in the dirt, disappearing rapidly through clicking turnstiles into oblivion in the shoudler-to-shoulder throng. A child, overwhelmed and excited by it all, outnumbers dad's steps three to one..........

Within these walls, for the next two and a half hours, the great Australian game of Football will be mercilessly devoured in a multitude of different ways. Herein lies a whole world within a world, revolving like a captured planet around an all-empowering sun...........

[Dogwatcher]

I remember, I remember.
I go in leaps and bounds.

Great piece - I still love that jaunty Saturday afternoon walk into the footy at suburban grounds. The anticipation that keeps the heart skipping a beat and makes you wish you were one of the suburban heroes battling it out for district pride.

[GWW]

I can remember as a kid living in the country in late 70's/early 80's and not being able to go to games due to distance from Adelaide.

2:20 seemed to take an eternity. Watching the live Reserves on tv (on occasions when i wasn't at local country footy) kept me occupied for a couple of hours, but i can remember the massive disappointment when the telecast ended just as the league players ran out onto the ground

So I would follow the scores on the radio, and then would wait with anticipation for watching the replay that night if my team happened to be one of the teams featured that Saturday night.

[FattyLumpkin]

The joys of following the footy via the wireless in country SA. I'd be armed with the teams from Friday's 'tiser and (as a Sturt supporter way back then) wonder why they were calling the back pocket players name when the play was "in front of the players race on the wing", or why if Greenslade had the ball -why wasn't he having a shot????

Thursday nights - we even got to listen to the team selections. IIRC - it was breaking news on virtually all am stations.