by Felice Arena
The TV commentators were beside themselves, screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs. A post-match review followed, and finally, Teddy McMahon looked directly down the barrel of the camera to make a special announcement.
Specky quickly sat up and turned up the volume.
‘This is probably what Christina was talking about,’ he thought, looking on with great interest.
‘This is a call for all footy kids across Australia,’ Teddy began. The camera pulled back to reveal Ron Barassi sitting beside him.
‘In association with the network you’re now watching and the AFL, this is a ripper of a contest open to all footy-loving boys and girls. It’s called The Great Footy Contest. At the end of the contest twenty lucky kids will participate in a three-week cultural exchange trip. Some will go to America, some to Ireland. The winners – our own Young Aussie Rules Ambassadors – will be placed in families to teach and promote our great game to American and Irish school-kids.’
‘Awesome! Unreal!’ Specky said, as he turned the volume up a bit more.
‘What a fantastic experience! If this sounds like your type of contest, and I’m sure it will be for thousands of you out there, then listen carefully …’
Specky got off the couch and sat himself down only centimetres from the screen.
‘To enter the contest you have to turn up at either of these venues on these dates – I suggest you grab a pen and paper now, we’ll keep the list up for awhile. In the meantime, I’ll speak to Barass here about his role as the official spokesperson for this contest.’
Specky ran into the kitchen, scrambling through the drawers for a pen and paper. He dashed back into the lounge room with a Chinese menu and blunt pencil. ‘This’ll have to do,’ he thought. He looked down the list to find the venues for kids who lived in, or near, Melbourne. There they were: Telstra Dome Stadium or the MCG, at 9am on Easter Monday during school holidays. He quickly jotted down the details.
‘Well, we hope you’ve had a chance to get that down and if not, we’ll run through the whole thing again this week on ‘Sensational Stuff.’ But for now, Barass, what can the kids expect once they turn up?’
Specky was eager to know how the contest would be run.
‘Well, Teddy,’ said the former champ and legendary coach. ‘The kids have to come in clothing suitable for playing footy. Once they get to the venue and register, they’ll be taken through a physical skills test. Every single child will be marked on their physical ability by a group of selectors, but then there’s a catch – two in fact!’
‘Hey, Squirt, did you eat that last piece of cheesecake?’ said Alice, bouncing into the lounge room. ‘That was meant for me and I –’
‘Shhh!’ hissed Specky, annoyed by the interruption. ‘I gotta hear this.’
Ron Barassi continued, while Alice stormed upstairs in a huff, cursing football all the way up to her room.
‘Well, the first catch is, once the young footballer gets to their venue they will have to nominate another kid as their partner. That’s the only way they can enter the contest. There will be ten pairs chosen to be ambassadors. Scores will be accumulated for each pair. So, for example, if you score eighty out of one hundred on your physical skills test and your nominated partner scores forty out of one hundred, then as a pair you have scored one hundred and twenty in total. The highest possible score a pair can get is, of course, two hundred.’
Specky wondered who he would nominate as his partner.
‘And what’s the second catch to the contest?’ asked Teddy.
‘Well, this contest isn’t going to be based just on physical ability. The second half of the contest will be held at a later date, and all I can say, at this stage, is that the kids will need to use their brains. But this will all be explained in detail on the day of the physical skills test.’
Teddy then thanked Ron Barassi and moved on to another topic. Only moments later Specky’s home phone rang.
‘Did you see it? Are you gonna enter?’ It was Robbo, sounding just as excited about the contest as Specky was.
‘Yeah, I did. It sounds unreal. I’m definitely gonna be there!’
‘Yeah, we’ll have a great chance of winning if we do it together. Anyway, I gotta go, Mum’s calling. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, bye.’
Specky hung up the phone, realising that Robbo had already presumed that they would be partners in the contest. When the phone rang again almost immediately, Specky had a fair idea who it would be.
‘I bet that’s a hyper little Italian rover,’ he thought.
‘Did you see it?’ It was Danny, just as Specky had suspected.
‘The Great Footy Contest – pretty cool, huh? And I reckon we should enter it together. I bet we can get a top score.’
Specky wasn’t sure what to say. He was happy, and relieved, that his best mates had thought of him first – but who was he going to choose?
9. deals & warnings
During the last week of school term, it seemed that everyone was talking about the contest. Specky, who had already fantasised a dozen times what it would be like to win, wanted desperately to join in the conversation. But he found himself changing the subject whenever Robbo or Danny started talking about it. He was torn between the two, wondering which one he should pick as his partner. He considered them both to be equally his best friends and he didn’t want to upset either of them. He even thought that perhaps they should team up together, but what would that mean for him? There was no way he wanted to be left out of such an amazing competition. Strangely enough, neither Robbo nor Danny had asked each other who their partner would be. Specky was slightly relieved about that, even though he knew he should sort out the misunderstanding.
He had tried a couple of times to tell Danny and Robbo; each time their over-enthusiasm and excitement made him freeze up at the last minute. But unless he told them, he would have to take the risk and hope there was someone there he could team up with – someone who was in the same position he was in: partnerless.
‘Hey, Screamer! Are you entering the contest?’ asked Danny.
The boys had all gathered around their lockers and were looking for the books for their next class.
‘What contest?’ asked Screamer, sounding as if he really wasn’t interested either way.
Danny filled him in.
‘Nuh,’ Screamer grunted, unimpressed. ‘Doesn’t sound like my sort of thing.’
He wandered off to class, leaving Danny looking a little dejected. Specky was surprised to hear that Screamer wasn’t going to enter the contest, especially since he knew better than anyone else how much Screamer loved to win. But Specky quickly became too annoyed to be suspicious when Screamer doubled back and tagged on:
‘I forgot to say, I reckon you guys will do really great. Good luck.’
Robbo and Danny grinned proudly, obviously touched by Screamer’s good wishes.
‘Oh yeah, go Pies!’ he added, acknowledging the upcoming blockbuster game between Collingwood and Essendon.
Danny beamed more than ever.
‘You bet,’ he nodded in agreement.
‘Hang on. I thought you barracked for Carlton? That’s what you told Christina,’ said Specky, jumping in like some lawyer in a movie proud to have suddenly caught the suspect off guard.
‘I do,’ said Screamer, casually. ‘But I also like the Pies.’
‘That’s crazy,’ said Specky, who somehow thought Screamer would look more worried than he did. ‘I’ve never heard of a Blues supporter who liked Collingwood. That would never happen, not in a billion years.’
Specky felt smug, certain that he was close to exposing the true Screamer to his friends.
‘Well, I do,’ he shrugged, coolly. ‘I also like the Swans – they’re probably my third favourite team.’
Now Robbo was grinning proudly.
‘You’re just saying that because Robbo barracks for Sydney and Danny for Collingwood,’ Specky rebutted.
‘No, I’m not,�
�� said Screamer. ‘I do like them. Anyway, don’t you barrack for five teams? At least I know I barrack mainly for Carlton.’
‘He’s right, Speck,’ Danny and Robbo added in unison. Specky winced, knowing that once again Screamer had won his friends over.
‘We’ve been telling him for ages he should just go for one team,’ remarked Danny to Screamer. He turned back to Specky.
‘You should, Speck. It’s about time you picked one team to follow.’
Specky began to feel pressured. He didn’t want to barrack for just one club, but he also didn’t want to look foolish in front of Screamer.
‘All right, I will then,’ he said.
‘You serious?’ asked Robbo, not believing that Specky was actually going to choose.
‘Yeah, I am. But I need some time to think about it. I’ll tell you the team I’ll barrack for on the day we get the results of the Great Footy Contest. Okay?’
Robbo and Danny consulted each other, then turned to Specky.
‘Yep. You’re on,’ they agreed happily as they made their way to class.
Screamer walked alongside them, smirking to himself. He was really starting to get on Specky’s nerves – and he looked like he was aware of it, too.
Before Specky knew it, the week had ended, first term was over, and school holidays had arrived. For Specky, it meant more time to kick his footy around, watch late-night TV, sleep in, and surf the Net. Specky spotted Christina on-line and instant-messaged her.
FOOTYHEAD: Hey! How’s the cut?
CHRISkicks: It’s Ok. You can hardly c it.
FOOTYHEAD: I’m really sorry again. I still feel bad.
CHRISkicks: It’s kewl! Don’t worry about it! I know u didn’t mean it. Are u excited about the contest? I can’t wait!!!
FOOTYHEAD: Yeah, me 2! Which venue r u going 2? I’m going 2 the MCG – it’s the closest 4 me.
CHRISkicks: Telstra Dome 4 me. So how’s Screamer?
FOOTYHEAD: What? Y?
Specky was confused by Christina’s question. Why was she thinking of Screamer? Did he impress her that much the other day?
CHRISkicks: I just think he’s nice, that’s all.
FOOTYHEAD: Nice! U gotta b kidding!
Specky told Christina everything he knew about Screamer. He hadn’t told her anything until now because he didn’t want to obsess constantly about him. But this time, he wasn’t holding back; he let it all spill out on screen. He had to protect Christina.
CHRISkicks: Wow! He sounds like a creep! I didn’t know. Sorry he’s been terrible to u.
He let out a sigh of relief – finally someone believed him about Screamer.
CHRISkicks: But still, he was really nice 2 my friends and me after our game on Sunday. While we were waiting 4 my dad 2 pick us up, he came back after he left with u guys and hung out with us. He was telling us really funny jokes. We even swapped e-mail addresses.
Specky almost fell off his chair as he read Christina’s last comment. He fumbled over the keyboard making lots of spelling mistakes. His stomach had cramped up and his heart was racing.
FOOTYHEAD: NOooo!!!! Itss an act! Yooou gotta trus mee Chris! I’d keeep rigt away fromm hm, if I werrre u.
CHRISkicks: Ok! Ok! Don’t worry, I will, especially after what u told me about him! Thanks for filling me in. Hey I gotta go! Good luck tomorrow at the contest. Cya X
FOOTYHEAD: U2! Cya!
10. the great footy contest
‘Look at the crowd!’ gasped Specky, as he, Danny, and Robbo disembarked from the train at Richmond station and merged with the hundreds of kids streaming towards the grand old MCG – the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
‘There must be thousands of us,’ added Robbo.
‘How are they going to test us all?’ wondered Danny.
As they approached the giant stadium Specky couldn’t help but look up in awe.
‘One day I’m going to play here in an AFL side,’ he promised himself, under his breath.
The boys continued moving with the crowd towards the AFL members’ gates. They clicked through the turnstile and shuffled along the vast concrete hallways, past a sea of empty seats to the boundary fence, and onto the immaculate green turf, joining a crowd of other hopefuls.
It would have been hard for Specky and his friends not to get worked up by the whole event. There was a buzz of excitement and anticipation in the air. Added to that was Specky’s nervousness about finding someone to partner him. He wished he had had the courage to tell Robbo and Danny, earlier.
‘Look! It’s the news,’ said Danny, pointing at a television news crew that was filming the incredible turnout.
‘Cool, we’re gonna be on TV.’
‘Hey, look there’s Ron Barassi,’ said Robbo, who caught a glimpse of the former champion, the man who – after he retired – became known as Super Coach. He was standing at the front of the gathering crowd, surrounded by a number of selectors dressed in bright yellow fluorescent tracksuits and holding clipboards.
‘Hey, Specky! Take a specky, Specky, man.’
Specky’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he turned to see who was calling him; right there, in Melbourne, at the MCG. He found himself doing a double take before realising it really was Johnny Cockatoo.
‘How? Wh wh what are you doing here?’ Specky stuttered, totally thrown by Johnny’s appearance.
‘Yeah, it’s good to see you, too, Specky, man,’ he said, flashing a smile.
‘This is unreal,’ Specky said, happy to see his friend from the Northern Territory.
Johnny had turned up barefoot. He had his footy boots slung over his shoulder.
‘Why are you in Melbourne?’ asked Specky again.
‘I came down with a visiting Territory team – I was picked for it a few weeks back. We played on Saturday, here on the MCG at half-time during the Kangaroos and Demons game. It was bloody good! We go back tomorrow. My team-mates have gone to see Luna Park, today, but I wanted to do this. So, you wanna be my partner today, Specky, man?’
‘Sure!’ said Specky, quick to answer.
‘What?’ said Robbo and Danny, appearing confused and shocked by the turn of events.
‘But we were gonna be partners,’ said Robbo, looking disappointed.
‘What do you mean you?’ added Danny, turning to Robbo. ‘I was gonna be Specky’s partner.’
‘Hang on! Hang on!’ said Specky, stepping in between them. He was aware that other kids standing nearby were watching, and he was a bit embarrassed.
‘Look,’ Specky said, firmly. ‘I think it’s unreal that you both want to be my partner, but to tell you the truth, I wasn’t going to pick either of you; it’s too hard, you’re both my best mates. So, I was hoping there was someone here in the same boat I was. If there wasn’t anyone, then I don’t know what I would’ve done. But now that Johnny’s turned up, it’s all worked out for the best. We’ll be partners and you two should get together. Okay?’
Specky didn’t get any reaction from his friends. For a few moments they just stood there stone-faced without giving any clues about how they were feeling. But suddenly they both sputtered and broke out into laughter.
‘… it was hard. And you’re both my best mates …’ Danny mimicked Specky. They teased him a little for sounding so serious.
‘Yeah, that’s cool. Danny and I will team up,’ Robbo said, through his laughter.
Specky screwed up his face as if to say, ‘what’s going on? What am I missing here?’
‘We knew all along!’ blurted Danny, smiling at Specky’s confusion. ‘Your mum called Robbo and me and told us that Johnny phoned, saying that he would be in Melbourne and was hoping to be your partner. She wanted it to be a surprise.’
Specky took a second or so to let the information sink in. He turned to Johnny to see if his friends were somehow still stringing him along.
‘Yep, we gotcha, Specky, man!’ he chuckled. Specky felt as if a huge load had been lifted off his shoulders. He couldn’t help laughing a
long with his friends.
‘Welcome, girls and boys!’
It was Ron Barassi, making an announcement through a large megaphone. His voice echoed around the hallowed grounds of the MCG.
‘Welcome to the first-ever Great Footy Contest! Today’s turnout is absolutely sensational, and I want to wish you all a fantastic day. Since there are so many of you, it will be no doubt a very long one. So listen carefully.’
Specky, Danny, Robbo, and Johnny all grinned and nudged one another – they couldn’t wait to get started. Specky looked over his shoulder, scanning all the faces around him.
‘Who are you looking for?’ whispered Robbo.
‘No one,’ Specky lied.
He had been half expecting to see Screamer sneering at him through the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen. Ron Barassi continued.
‘I want you to all line up with your partners in front of the registration table beside me, where you will have your photo taken. An ID card will be made up for every contestant. Each pair will then be given the same number with a different letter. These will be velcroed on your backs. This is what they look like.’
He held up two square pieces of cloth as examples. Both had the number seven printed on them, with either a letter a or b. One was MCG 7a, the other MCG 7b. When Specky and Johnny got up to the registration table, they were assigned the numbers MCG 142a and MCG 142b. Danny and Robbo, who were right behind them, got MCG 143a and MCG 143b.