Far-West Footy

My hometown of Porto Alegre is a two-club city just like Adelaide. I got the meaning of the Showdown really fast. I already knew the basic recipe; I only needed to grasp the local seasoning. I have learned from my experience in watching derbies in the stadium that a substantial presence of visiting barrackers causes a tremendous effect in the game’s atmosphere. The Showdown should have that. --- I am from Porto Alegre, and we have a football derby: the Grê-Nal. Whenever my beloved Grêmio plays against its archnemesis, Internacional,[1] the entire state of South Rio Grande stops.[2] I imagine you all are well acquainted with such a story. Even though the Grê-Nal is played under Association football rules, it is grounded on a similar spirit as the Showdown. In Porto Alegre, the derby has currently lost a bit of its charm. The visitor team in Grê-Nal derbies would get 25% of the tickets. So, in a home game, one would see one fourth of the stadium filled up by the opposing suppor...

I know I should have written last week, but I am suffering from Footy Holiday Blues. If there is nothing good about which to write, should I write at all? I don’t know. Here, it follows an effort to tell you all how I am feeling about our club at this moment. --- What to expect while you are expecting? Last season, at this point, I was full of hope. Port had been bold in the off-season after a strong, even if disappointing, season. We had identified our issues, and we sought the pieces that would fill up those blanks. 2018 was promising! And I was feeling good. Twelve months later and here we are, having trouble writing about footy and the Port Adelaide Football Club. It is not that there is a shortage of materials about which to write: the club has made moves again [there are new assistant coaches, new players, and a new Board member]; Boak has stepped out the captaincy; supporters started the #BringBackTheBars movement; the fixtures for both Power and Magpies have been re...