#181 The 'Blues...'
AFL games have started again and, as I write, learning how to lose graciously returns to the top of my agenda.
Once upon a time, learning and graciously were words that would not have been included in that sentence, however, one becomes accustomed and just a touch wiser.
The Carlton Football Club, with 16 Premierships including a breakthrough victory against the Fitzroy Football Club in 1906, has not won a VFL/AFL Premiership since September 30 1995.
And for a more poignant dose of perspective, until last Thursday night, no current Carlton player had played in a game where the Blues defeated the Richmond Football Club.
And for even more poignancy, the Blues have not won a game of football before Round 3 of the AFL home and away season for ten years. Insert laughing with tears emoji...
I am poor at losing as those reading this column who know me could well attest.
White-line-fever, once referring to truck drivers who could become hypnotised on long hauls staring at the white lines on the road at night, is now commonly used to describe sportspeople, usually amateurs, who struggle to control their emotions once crossing the white boundary line of a sporting field.
My sporting career was hampered by this dreaded rise in temperature that interrupted weekends and often resulted in a migraine.
There are mildly mannered Australians; hard-working tradespeople and teachers and surgeons and librarians who spend their working week making a difference and their weekends making mischief.
White-line-fever is far beyond the dark arts of gamespersonship, rather, it is the loss of relative control often triggered by a slightly questionable act or a clever quip or sledge or, most commonly, losing, resulting in the protagonist wishing to turn every contest into a show of machodom underpinned by aggression.
It's not a good state; rarely beneficial for the team or player involved and ends with numerous apologies to teammates and opponents at the conclusion of games before returning to their families and purposeful roles in society.
A more instructive term is resilience or lack thereof. Resilience describes the ability to knuckle-down when the going gets tough. It also describes the ability to recover when adversity strikes.
White-line-fever is often destructive where resilience is productive, setting players and people apart. But it is not that simple.
Elite players regularly demonstrate mental toughness including the ability to control their emotions in difficult situations or when facing relative hardship, but it can take its toll.
Naomi Osaka, Glenn Maxwell, Ash Barty, Serena Williams, Andres Iniesta, Simone Biles, Tom Boyd, Sharni Norder (Layton), and Lance 'Buddy' Franklin have all discussed their mental health challenges.
Many sporting heroes have taken time out of their chosen careers to focus on themselves.
The pressure of the 24-hour news cycle, social media and the drive and expectation to succeed that ironically makes them great, must be extraordinarily draining.
Sadly, if you rely upon social media for your news, you will hear and read of the old school way to describe these challenges including asking for or seeking help and/or taking a break as weakness or an excuse or even worse, faking it for sympathy.
I desperately try to disregard this ignorant diatribe; however, it is difficult.
We still have a very long way to go to accept and understand the importance of good mental health and the strategies to recognise and support each other when challenges and sadness and worry and grief and perceived failure arise.
It is frustrating for sufferers and frustrating for those providing care, but there is no simple solution, nor a one-size-fits-all recovery model.
As a result, more and more sporting clubs across Australia are implementing programs to support vulnerable members and to provide the skills required to assist. SPEAK Up! Stay ChatTY and a focus on mental health first-aid have been two proactive steps that several clubs across Launceston have engaged to assist.
This is a proactive and positive move by key volunteers who provide an incredible service to their own and broader communities.
It has been noted that the need for resilience in our young people is more important than ever before.
Young people's lives and choices are more varied and complex, and while the wish to fit in and have good friends remains true, the unparalleled pressure that social media creates to participate and to stay tight with the 'in' crowd can be debilitating.
"Are you really posting those teeth to Snapchat?" I hear myself question rhetorically rather than genuine inquiry.
But that is the world we live in and maintaining a streak can be just as addictive, stressful and meltdown-inducing as feeding a Tamagotchi back in the day when I first started teaching.
Carlton last beat Richmond in the 2013 Elimination Final. They were not even meant to be in the finals' series having finished ninth, but Essendon's troubles were of assistance. Blues coach Michael Voss was an AFL coach...of the Brisbane Lions...
Carlton's former captain, Sam Docherty, a two-time testicular cancer survivor, played a full game and kicked a goal on Friday night. Now that's resilience.
For help call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636