Stadium Wars and new news.

Okay folks, first some GOOD NEWS.

Yeah, I know - you're used to me whinging and complaining like a bitch, but just for something different.

Firstly my interwebs appear to be unbrokined. Not only is my pathetic 3 mobile broadband (which I have panned repeatedly on this blog) back up, running and connecting (nearly every time), it is also now fast enough to actually, you know, do - stuff.

Secondly, my latest musical project "Fine Dining In Scotland" has been COMPLETED (YEAYHES!!) and is being sent out to the lucky recipients as I write this. You can still listen to the rough drafts of these songs (not far off the finished product) via the links I provided in previous posts below.

When I say "completed" what I'm really telling you is that the two songs that were giving me the most grief, and taking the longest to get right, have now been dropped in order to get this baby out for Xmas. So the 'travel' song (which has a killer chorus, but the rest I can't get right) and Oscar and Rose's little ditty (which is nice, but not quite up to the rest) get left on the cutting room floor - destined to be revived for my double-sided greatest hits and rarities to be released not long after my death.

And thirdly, perhaps most importantly, I am now a FULL-TIME STUDENT!! Who woulda believed it? I have been accepted into CAE's Professional Writing and Editing Certificate next year. AWESOME! I'm gonna be a real writer. But before then I'm destined to be a poor starving student again. Brother can you spare a dime?

Now that the latest personal news is out of the way...

Australia are biding for the right to host one of the 2018 or 2022 World Cup of Football tournaments. You'd have to be deaf and blind to have not heard this news, and you'd have to be stoopids as well if you think we're a chance to actually host this event with things as they currently stand.

For one, the AFL (and their bestest buddies in the whole wide werld The Herald-Sun) are stirring up as much anti-football sentiment as they can muster. Not only are they exaggerating facts about the bid and its resultant impact on our most anacronistic indigenous football code, they are also making up fairy stories about such things as having to shut down the AFL for an entire season. Smell the fear.

The other main farce surrounding Australia's World Cup bid is that of appropriate stadia to be used during the tournament.

Our beloved new Clamshell Stadium by the river is shaping up as one of the most awesomest things that ever thung. However it is not big enough to be considered for a World Cup venue, and the cost (in excess, it has been reported, of $150MIL) to expand it would seem prohibitive.

The AFL are telling football that they cannot have the Dome at Docklands for the tournament, despite the fact that their autonomous deal at Etihad expires before the tournament is scheduled to commence.

There is talk that the MCG could be modified to provide a rectangular configuration, which has all of Melbourne up in arms it seems; although this correspondent can't understand why the MCG can't be used as is at it were for football at the '00 Olympics (and that was before the new Northern Stand redevelopment).

Now the AFL are suggesting a new stadium near the North Melbourne station. At a cost of over $250MIL. Which can be constructed in rectangular configuration for the World Cup, and then have the seats retracted for AFL use. This is perhaps the most brilliant idea I've ever heard of [/sarcasm].

Only about 200 meters away from this site is a stadium that has seats in a rectangular configuration that can be retracted for AFL use. It's called DOCKLANDS, dickheads!

I've been a minority voice in some circles defending the cost of the new Rectangular Stadium, given it's construction fills the last remaining hole in Melbourne's impressive portfolio of stadia. However I could not in a million years defend spending $250MIL+ on a new stadium that is just a slightly smaller cookie cutter than the existing stadium next door.

The AFL has successfully moved all Melbourne teams out of their original local homes for the majesty of having all games at super stadiums. Now they are worried that the stadium deals are going to hurt the clubs when West Sydney and Gold Coast are brought into the competition and crowds inevitably plummet.

I say: "YOU BOUGHT IT... NOW EAT IT!"

Until next we chat,

xxx
Craig