Oh Happy Day

I am in such a wonderful mood tonight after a fantastic afternoon. Today was Bert’s first football game at the MCG and he loved it.

The parking gods were against us but thanks to the stellar efforts of The World’s Best Brother In Law And Uncle, Rob, who parked that car, Bert got his face painted and we were able to see the boys run through the banner. He was full of confidence until we walked in to the stadium proper. It was the biggest building and most people he had ever seen, and then when the roar went up for the start of the game he didn’t know what to do. He clung tight, a little overwhelmed and unsure of where he was and what was going on.

As the first quarter unfolded, and Uncle Rob found us, he began to warm up and not cling so tightly. When we moved upstairs for cover he really began to enjoy himself. He watched the game, played with Uncle Rob, clapped when we scored a goal and even yelled out ‘Go Richo!’ at random times. We kept him going with snacks and drinks all day and a  little footy and ‘I Heart Tigers’ badge from the shop made him smile. He’d had enough by three quarter time so we walked back to the car, grabbing him a jam donut on the way.

Thanks Rob, Bert loved having you there and it meant a lot having you as part of the day. The best moment though came as we drove home. Without prompting he piped up “That was fun.”. My boy is now undeniably a Tiger and while he’s too young to have this day as a memory it’s an afternoon I’ll never forget.