A Sunday afternoon match at the MCG the day after an inconclusive federal election provides a haven of sanity in a sometimes confusing world.
The pundits thought Labor had won the campaign while losing the contest when the polls closed at 6.00pm. Melbourne was a bit like that today.
They fought this one out to the very end, but Adelaide were the incumbents sitting comfortably in the eight, and their bigger and more experienced bodies would get them home when 6.00pm. rolled around. Come September, however, and Adelaide in their turn will meet tougher opponents.
But that is not the main point. Here in the MCG on a match day time seems to stand still and the battles that rage outside the ground cannot disturb the meditative space inside it.
We learn over the loud speaker that a 90-year-old member has passed away during the week, having followed the red-and-navy brigade for an astonishing 82 years. We clap as one to applaud his dedication to this place and to this club.
In another announcement Russell Robertson reminds us that the National Sports Museum is a place for our children to learn more about the history and culture of sport in Australia.
And then there is the MCC Library, into which I tumble from time to time to undertake my research into the history of Australian football.
It is this continuity with a great game’s heritage that excites me as a member.
The young supporters around the ground are imbibing this sense of connection with a game that now stretches back more than 16 decades of wintry contests at this place.
Sitting amid the Demon Army, today behind the Punt Road goals, listening in to their chants, their whistling at every Jesse Hogan goal, their merciless banter about certain opposition players, and their enthusiasm for great passages of play, we are eavesdropping on the diverse youth of Australia, and on our nation’s future.
There is a young person sitting here today who will pass on to their children memories of the exploits of players like Jayden Hunt, the blond with the explosive speed.
Hunt wears the number 29, and looks a little like Andrew Obst, who wore that number in the 1990s. And when Obst’s golden locks flashed in the afternoon sun at this ground, older supporters loved to call out, ‘Get a haircut, Hassa Man!’, referencing the man who wore the same number in the crewcut years of the 1960s. And so on.
Down the seasons, the memories of players and their performances start to blend together in a seamless stream of human endeavour, taking us with them over our lifetime’s journey.
Today we added new memories to our storehouse.
We saw our heroic Hogan stand his ground and win several free kicks that led to goals.
We welcomed back our Jeffy Garlett, whose subtle blind turns in the forward line produced memorable goals from impossible situations.
We were cheered by our full-back Tommy McDonald taking strong overhead marks in the very last line of defence.
We marvelled at the clever ways Neville Jetta and Bernie Vince got the ball out of defence.
And our midfielders took the pill from Max Gawn and fired it around the centre like the ball in a pinball machine.
Adelaide could not get far ahead of us all day. They were five goals to two by the end of the first quarter, but an eight-goal burst in the second put us 11 points up at half time.
Of course they came back in the third term, to be nine points ahead at the last change, but it was deep in the final quarter before the result was safely theirs, with a 22-point win.
Melbourne had won the campaign, if not the contest. Players like Hunt, Jack Viney and Dean Kent had shown great zip, intercepting marks, scooting on the loose ball, and running unchecked into the clear on numerous occasions throughout the afternoon.
These young players and many others, especially Christian Petracca, Billy Stretch and Tomas Bugg, will be stalwarts of the club in the seasons that follow.
Their exploits will enthrall Melbourne supporters in ways that we cannot entirely predict.
But what we do know is that there will be other confusions in our lives – like the senseless bombings of Istanbul’s main airport, Britain’s vote to quit the European Union, the prospect of a hung parliament in Canberra, to name three from just the last fortnight.
And then we will troop willingly with our tribe into the MCG and everything will make sense for three gilded hours.
Robert Pascoe is Dean Laureate and Professor of History in the College of Arts, Victoria University, Melbourne. His Australian football history The Winter Game can be found on the shelves of the MCC Library.
Match Summary
MELBOURNE
2.3 10.4 14.5 15.8 (98)
ADELAIDE
5.2 8.5 15.8 18.12 (120)
GOALS
MELBOURNE
Garlett 4, Hogan 3, Watts 3, Kennedy, Kent, Harmes, N. Jones
ADELAIDE
Betts 3, Douglas 3, Walker 3, Cameron 2, Jenkins 2, McGovern 2, Lyons, Atkins, Lynch
BEST
MELBOURNE
N. Jones, Tyson, Hogan, Watts, Harmes, N. Jetta
ADELAIDE
Walker, Laird, Sloane, Cameron, Lynch, Crouch, Atkins, Lyons
UMPIRES
Meredith, Hay, Chamberlain, Harris
CROWD
29,133