Oh crap I thought as Monday rolled in bringing with it continuous showers, this had better clear by Friday when the Kiwi bros head up to the Gold coast to play United. Crowds are hard to drum up at the moment let alone being played on a Friday and with 80% of the Coast talking nothing but the NRL Grand Final.
Who could blame them, League is bigger in Southeast Queensland then it is anywhere across the country. As the week wore on and the rain kept coming my wife declared she wouldn't be going this week in the rain with our two year old. Hmmmm, should I still bother or stay at home in the warmth? Of course I went as I'm not one of the "staying home will save my team" types. My plan was a simple one; if I'm flying solo then I'm heading straight to the pub to join the mighty men and women of The Beach.
True to Friday form by the time I got home and fed the family, grabbed my supporter gear and arrived at the pub there was just enough time for one beer. After meeting all the friendly faces and talking a lot of football it was off to the game, and for the first time in a long while I thought - stuff the crowd, I'm here and so are all these supporters and we are going to have a great night and hopefully a win.
In reality my problems are probably less urgent then others. I have a respect for Newcastle and was truly glad that they were 'saved' but for all the doom and gloom most local Gold Coast media and rival fans like to paint us in, we have never really come that close. Then there was the breaking story at the beginning of the week that Phoenix where very close to being sued for money owed. A last minute stump up of the cash doused the fire but rumours abound of several suppliers seeking payments as well. Is it a case of Paul Ifill or the bills?
So with this frame of mind I took my place behind the goals and sang and jumped and yelled at the ref. It was already evident that even without a win this was the best time I had experienced at the ground this season, so it was surreal icing on the cake when super Bruce Djite scored two amazing goals and helped set up a third. It's too early to say Shane who - but I'm thinking it loudly. All this despite some frayed nerves courtesy of Miron doing his best Rafa Benitez impersonation and changing the team again, but in the end the players he chose proved him right.
After the game back at the pub I listened to some travelling Welly fans and their take on the game, and that going to Gold Coast is a great way to see their team and have a holiday. Even the typical GCU backlash on the forums the next day could not bring me down. Ex-GCU fans who don't attend but have the best vantage point of the crowd questioning if the totals were fabricated and the obligatory away fans 'being robbed'. It was all memorable so let's do it again real soon, and I look forward to being the first team to topple Adelaide on Sunday 17th.
