An Ugly Win is Still a Win

Inky and I got out of bed before the sun rose this morning, which is no normal occurrence, I assure you. I like to get every last wink before heading off to work, and Inky isn't exactly the early to bed type. What roused us from our glorious slumber? Sports of course.

The biggest downfall to liking an international sport is they have a tendency to take place at odd times here. And so it was that our Geelong Cats played a game at 5:30 this morning against the Western Bulldogs, which for them was a night game. We wiped the sleep from our eyes and settled in to watch the game, footys in hand.

The way the Cats usually win is, well, devastating. They take the ball away from their foe in defence and move it across the field with unbelievable skill, speed and efficiency. They kick, mark, handball and run better then just about any other players they come up against, and normally it's all over by the half. Sure, they've been tested a few times this year, but only one side has been able to beat them, once again in a game that Inky and I were at. The only game we've ever been able to see Geelong play live, but I digress.

This game wasn't really like that, or, at least it wasn't like that to Inky and I. Even though the Cats win was pretty well a certainty from midway through the second quarter on, it was never a complete certainty like we're used to. The final score was 12.11(83) to 7.12(54) which is good for a 29 point win, but it was the way they won that had us nervous. They looked like a regular old team, not the 23-1 giant that is the shortest ever odds to win it all.

I know that in the end, all that matters is the win, but I rather enjoy the amazing heights that the Cats can play at. In the first round of the playoffs they nearly doubled up their opponent, and that was with them taking their foot off the gas with about 15 minutes to go. In the end they are both wins, but we are left to feel much more vulnerable in the face of Hawthorn/St. Kilda in a weeks time. And that is a feeling I don't much care for. See, I'm stuck with the Orioles and Redskins as the only other teams that I really care about in the world, and they aren't going to be giving me a whole lot to cheer about in the next few years, so this is it for me. Right now.

That said, I was a bit nervous this time last year after the Cats eeked out a 5 point win over Collingwood in the Preliminary Final, and it all worked out for the best then. So maybe I'll try to stay positive. Maybe.