Tigers eat em alive in London ! ... and the party after !

Im sitting waiting for the hour delayed flight at London airport coming back from one hellova weekend ! A bloody TERRIFIC TIGER TRIP ! I flew to London for the big game - Richmond Tigers vs. Essendon Bombers Oct 12 at The Oval in London.

After being in bed with a bad case of the flu which was runninig riot throughtout parts of Europe including Czech Rep and UK, was still on "flu-drugs" and meant to be in bed sweating it out; but still got on the plane Friday the day before the game, and while the rain was pelting down all Friday night and Saturday morning, I was still sweating it out in bed in UK from my bloody flu, having to change clothes throughout the night. Yeah sure this is not really Tiger Tough, but more Tiger-Tormented...craziness, but nothing was gonna stop from me ! NUFIN ! It cost about 5 grand final tickets, but it was worth every penny...or rather pound, AND every minute !

As the rain pours down here at the airport; typical London I guess; not to mention the train strikes on today (again), Im looking back on the weekend full of memories to stay with me for life. Damn I didnt take video, but you`ll have to dig into my head and your imagination for the story :) The highlight wasnt just that the Mighty Tigers thrashed the Bombers, with Richo bagging 5, but the after-match celebrations !

As the Tigers celebrated their triumph from the grandstands, yours truely was there mingling with Richo, Ottens, Rodan and the Tiger gang waving at the crowds below. (Naaa it wasnt a dream, but bloody reality, I pinched myself to make sure !). I spotted a friend below and even made his dreams come true by inviting him up and joining in on the celebrations from the grandstands and Tiger rooms. He got signatures all over his Tiger guernsey, while I got our Prague Tiger`s footy autographed by all the players and Danny (our great coach), as well as bagging Richo`s sweaty socks n shorts, and my dream-come-true the number 3 guernsey !!! :) (No.3 used to be my childhood idol Dale the Flee`s). Thnx a mill Richo & Duncan !

I landed an invite to the after-game VIP function and had a "Tiger-Terrific-Time" mingling, dancing and getting drunk with the players and staff till the wee hours. I had a few beers and chat with Danny, Clinton Casey, as well as getting to know the real person behind the persona of players like David Rodan, Kayne Pettifer, Craig Bisscombe - GREAT BUNCH OF GUYS ! I was chatting with Craig Bisscombe over a few beers and Baracadii Breezers along with Greg Tivendale, but didnt recognise Bisscombe, so I had to ask him who he was, then we had a good laugh, and he brought over a few more beers :) The 4 of us talked quite a bit, so I just had to bag the massive goal-kicking blunders Tivendale made in a few games ecsp. the Kangas game. He said (as well as David Rodan), that once you start off the wrong foot (excuse the pun), you loose your confidence, and it becomes a viscious cycle you cant snap out of. Obvious but this is where the 4 points are - in the mind ! If it wasnt past midnight and 10zillion beers behind us, I`d love to talk that through and add my 2cents worth.

David Rodan`s a really cool guy ! Had nice chats with David, and must say he`s a real down-to-earth nice guy, and as zappy on the dance floor as on the ground. But the funny story was with Ben Holland. At 3 Qtr time during the game, I went out to buy a few pies for me and my friend, as we hadnt had a chance to buy a real meat pie, and I wasnt gonna leave UK without trying one after being away from OZ for so long. But after trying all the stands, there was only one last stand that had pies, but as I got to the front of the queue, there was just the ONE LAST lonely pie left ! Ill take it ! Then I got a tap on my shoulder from the guy next to me (who was in the queue before I got there but his line was moving slower so I got there first in the double-queue). Anyway, he asked for the pie, and the first thing I saw was his official Richmond Footy Club suit so I bit my tongue and said "OOOKAY you`re a true tigerman, you take it", so he took the last pie in the damn ground and my friend and I were pieless ! DAMN ! (Tiger-tears...). But Ben Holland and I had a good laugh about it at the party after the game and he even signed the Prague Tigers footy with a memo "the last pie, tasted great !" A few of the guys gave me their emails so we`ll be in touch and look fwd to that ! ... and a Tiger Premiership in 2003 !!!

Re. footy business, I got to meet up with the execs from the British Aussie Rules Football League (BARFL). They were very surprised and keen to hear that we have a Czech Aussie footy team, so we`ll be hooking up and organising pan-European tours amongst other footy business. Speaking of business, Ive gotta get on this bloody delayed flight now, so as the Englishmen would say "Cheerio", or "Top of the day to you" !

PS: Im now on the plane shaking as we fly through the rain and wind (beautiful London weather), anyway forgot to mention that my flu has almost healed ( thanks to the party ?), but now my voice is completely gone !

May the TIGER-ROAR live on !
Tiger JD