Friends and family of Kew Bears…

That time is upon us, two and a bit weeks until the real shit starts! It’s a delicious time to be at a footy club. Sure, you’ve got issues with your girlfriend or you’ve fallen behind at work, university and school or you’ve twanged a hammy. In the end, footy comes back to prove that it is the greatest thing in the world and something we should all cherish. You might fall out of love with it from time to time, you might piss off to the States for a few months to forget about it or you might just quit altogether, but the feeling will persist. That feeling of longing for just one more game, just one more win and one more premiership.

Last year, Grand Final Day was one of the greatest days of my life. Not only did I individually win my first senior premiership, not only did I get to share it with my brother, my best mates and my new friends but we made a lot of people who haven’t been able to play for a long time very happy and it was just an unbelievable feeling. I love playing at Kew because I feel like I belong. It’s a weird place, there are some weird eggs around but you’ve got to embrace that because diversity is what makes you a more balanced and interesting human being. You gain a whole lot of life experience from being part of a simple Amateur football club.

We’ve lost a fair few good players and some good blokes as well. It’s a massive shame but unfortunately that’s life and that’s footy. We’ve gained and kept blokes we didn’t expect to keep and already you can feel the 2014 group differentiating itself from the 2013 group. You can’t live in the past and hope that everything will stay as it was, it’s just not possible. But we can keep those essential Kew elements part of our make up. We play hard footy, we support our mates on and off the field and we have fun while we do it.

Footy is a microcosm of society. Things go wrong, people lose loved ones, get hurt, have relationship breakdowns, lose their jobs. So we give them a slap on the back and have a chat about it because we care about them. Just as evidently, when the times are going well we revel in them together. It truly is a beautiful thing and something that I hope stays alive for a very long time.

We’ve all got busy lives outside of footy. Working hard to start or further a career, moving house, traveling overseas, meeting the girl of your dreams, getting smashed at Tramp far too many times; that sort of thing. But footy is often that one aspect of your life that ties it all together. Ammos gives you a chance at great work/life balance. You don’t owe anyone because they don’t pay you, you don’t have some fat slob like Mark Robinson following your every move and most importantly, you play with a bunch of blokes who actually want to be there… And I happen to think that’s pretty special.

Anyway, I’m leaving for a few months to do some damage in the States but on the eve of round 1 I thought I would remind the 2 or 3 people who actually read this post that Kew is a club that isn’t just about footy. It’s about a whole lot more. It’s a support group for your problems, a group to celebrate with when things are going right, a place to enjoy a beer, a place to play hard and a place (hopefully) to continue winning premierships.

Footy’s back. Go Bears. See you in a few months.