By Lynda Carroll
The people picnicking in Yarra Park on Grand Final Day 2020 were obviously channelling the spirit of all those who have ever been drawn to the surrounds of the MCG, even when the stadium is closed to the outside world. Atmosphere and memories make it far more than stands and seats. It is a special place, and many have shared that sense of emptiness throughout Season 2020.
It is somewhat compelling to do the comparisons of what has undoubtedly been the weirdest football season any of us can recall, mostly for the lack of games being played at the MCG. While the interstate hubs have kept the competition going, for most Victorians it has felt very strange.
Undertaking the exercise tells some of the story. In 1897, ten games were played at the MCG. This was the first season of the VFL competition, complete with eight teams, rule changes and the season starting in May. An entire round was played over one day, and it was noted in The Argus that ‘It has greatly gained as a spectacle…there were good crowds, who admitted readily the general improvement in pace and play by the opening up of the game.’ Venues included the MCG from Round Two, with Melbourne taking on Geelong.
There are four elements that have – over the years – caused substantial gaps in the MCG’s regular fixtures. These can be broadly identified as war, international sporting festivals, major construction projects and – as we are sitting here now – the COVID-19 pandemic.
The First World War had a massive impact on the then VFL, leading to some sides taking recesses from the competition. In Round 16, 1915, Melbourne lost to South Melbourne at the MCG, by seven points. In Round Two, 1919, Melbourne again lost to South Melbourne, but this time by 51 points. It was the beginning of a tough season for the home team, as Melbourne, according to The Argus ‘alone of all the League clubs refused to play football during the currency of the war, and they have accordingly to build up a new team.’ Between these two games of 1915 and 1919, the only football games to take place on the MCG were finals, with the last global pandemic to hit also infiltrating during the latter stages of the war.
The ground and its stands were requisitioned by authorities as wartime accommodation and transit camp facilities from 1942 onwards. First came US Army Air Forces personnel, followed by the RAAF in two stints, as well the First Marine Corp (US Marines), recuperating at the MCG after the Battle of Guadalcanal. In a major difference to the First World War, clubs such as Melbourne did not shut down ‘for the duration’. Instead, the Demons were taken in at Punt Road, just across the other side of Yarra Park.
In Round 17, 1946, Melbourne defeated Hawthorn in what was a much anticipated return to the MCG. This game – the first after wartime occupation – followed seven months of preparation, with a July 1946 report in The Herald noting that:
The world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground is regaining its pre-war spruceness, after a fine war job…with a groundsman cutting the grass with a motor mower…the ground seemed strangely quiet – in sharp contrast to the huge excited crowds that will soon be crammed there for League finals and the third Test.
With peace came the return of patterns of play at the MCG. But with big events taking place on the ground – Olympic sized, in fact – regular sporting seasons were gently nudged aside. In 1956, as the ‘Friendly Games’ burst onto the calendar, football was not played on the MCG until Round Five, 1956, with a minor break due to construction. Melbourne had not been able to train there, and had to wait until this game (and eight point win) against Geelong to unfurl the 1955 pennant at the scene of their recent triumph.
Having farewelled another AFL season, and with the strangeness of the 2020 fixture behind us, it is apparent that the MCG has been far too quiet for far too long. Even as the Gabba sparkled on 24 October to another Richmond premiership, the sounds of ‘Up There Cazaly’ were captured on the breeze, and shots of earlier Grand Final crowds – way back in 2017 and 2019 – seemed like a different time altogether.
The last huge occasion that the MCG hosted was the final of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup back on 8 March 2020, with the International Women’s Day match attracting a crowd of 86,174 – a record attendance for a women’s sporting event in Australia.
Now, at the other end of a long, tough year, there is excitement that the Boxing Day Test will make its regularly scheduled appearance to round off 2020, albeit with a smaller audience than usual in attendance. Discussions are already taking place regarding who will be able to attend football games in 2021, and there is no doubt that the MCG is shaking off solitude and silence, ready to welcome its people back.
The people picnicking in Yarra Park on Grand Final Day 2020 were obviously channelling the spirit of all those who have ever been drawn to the surrounds of the MCG, even when the stadium is closed to the outside world. Atmosphere and memories make it far more than stands and seats. It is a special place, and many have shared that sense of emptiness throughout Season 2020.
It is somewhat compelling to do the comparisons of what has undoubtedly been the weirdest football season any of us can recall, mostly for the lack of games being played at the MCG. While the interstate hubs have kept the competition going, for most Victorians it has felt very strange.
Undertaking the exercise tells some of the story. In 1897, ten games were played at the MCG. This was the first season of the VFL competition, complete with eight teams, rule changes and the season starting in May. An entire round was played over one day, and it was noted in The Argus that ‘It has greatly gained as a spectacle…there were good crowds, who admitted readily the general improvement in pace and play by the opening up of the game.’ Venues included the MCG from Round Two, with Melbourne taking on Geelong.
There are four elements that have – over the years – caused substantial gaps in the MCG’s regular fixtures. These can be broadly identified as war, international sporting festivals, major construction projects and – as we are sitting here now – the COVID-19 pandemic.
The First World War had a massive impact on the then VFL, leading to some sides taking recesses from the competition. In Round 16, 1915, Melbourne lost to South Melbourne at the MCG, by seven points. In Round Two, 1919, Melbourne again lost to South Melbourne, but this time by 51 points. It was the beginning of a tough season for the home team, as Melbourne, according to The Argus ‘alone of all the League clubs refused to play football during the currency of the war, and they have accordingly to build up a new team.’ Between these two games of 1915 and 1919, the only football games to take place on the MCG were finals, with the last global pandemic to hit also infiltrating during the latter stages of the war.
The ground and its stands were requisitioned by authorities as wartime accommodation and transit camp facilities from 1942 onwards. First came US Army Air Forces personnel, followed by the RAAF in two stints, as well the First Marine Corp (US Marines), recuperating at the MCG after the Battle of Guadalcanal. In a major difference to the First World War, clubs such as Melbourne did not shut down ‘for the duration’. Instead, the Demons were taken in at Punt Road, just across the other side of Yarra Park.
In Round 17, 1946, Melbourne defeated Hawthorn in what was a much anticipated return to the MCG. This game – the first after wartime occupation – followed seven months of preparation, with a July 1946 report in The Herald noting that:
The world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground is regaining its pre-war spruceness, after a fine war job…with a groundsman cutting the grass with a motor mower…the ground seemed strangely quiet – in sharp contrast to the huge excited crowds that will soon be crammed there for League finals and the third Test.
With peace came the return of patterns of play at the MCG. But with big events taking place on the ground – Olympic sized, in fact – regular sporting seasons were gently nudged aside. In 1956, as the ‘Friendly Games’ burst onto the calendar, football was not played on the MCG until Round Five, 1956, with a minor break due to construction. Melbourne had not been able to train there, and had to wait until this game (and eight point win) against Geelong to unfurl the 1955 pennant at the scene of their recent triumph.
Having farewelled another AFL season, and with the strangeness of the 2020 fixture behind us, it is apparent that the MCG has been far too quiet for far too long. Even as the Gabba sparkled on 24 October to another Richmond premiership, the sounds of ‘Up There Cazaly’ were captured on the breeze, and shots of earlier Grand Final crowds – way back in 2017 and 2019 – seemed like a different time altogether.
The last huge occasion that the MCG hosted was the final of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup back on 8 March 2020, with the International Women’s Day match attracting a crowd of 86,174 – a record attendance for a women’s sporting event in Australia.
Now, at the other end of a long, tough year, there is excitement that the Boxing Day Test will make its regularly scheduled appearance to round off 2020, albeit with a smaller audience than usual in attendance. Discussions are already taking place regarding who will be able to attend football games in 2021, and there is no doubt that the MCG is shaking off solitude and silence, ready to welcome its people back.
