Specky Magee and the Season of Champions

by Felice Arena

  It was hard for the team not to get caught up in all the excitement – except for Specky, that is. It was a bittersweet time for him. He was happy for his team-mates, but the celebrations were just a gut-wrenching reminder that he wasn’t going to be a part of the action on Grand Final day. He couldn’t help feeling like an outsider all week long.

  ‘This is so cool!’ remarked Danny, during Thursday morning recess.

  ‘Yeah, it’s unreal. Man! I hope we win after all this,’ added Robbo. ‘Speck? Isn’t there any way you can convince your folks or your doctor to let you play – it’s the Grand Final!’

  ‘It’s no use,’ said Specky, tempted to tell his friends the real reason, but holding back.

  ‘Simon, can I talk to you, please?’

  It was Coach Pate – she was on yard duty. Specky ran over to join her.

  ‘Yes?’ he asked.

  ‘Simon, I know it’s probably been very difficult for you recently, not being able to play in the team and all.’

  Specky knew that his parents had called Coach Pate, and told her the real reason he couldn’t play. She continued. ‘I know you won’t be at training tonight, but I’m hoping you can come to our Best and Fairest evening afterwards. I would love everyone to be there. I want you to know that your presence has a hugely positive impact on the team.’

  Specky was touched by Coach Pate’s kind words, especially since he had been less than honest with her about being allowed to play.

  ‘And I also hope you’ll be there this Saturday, although I know you’ll have to ask your parents.’

  ‘Okay, I will. Thanks,’ said Specky, knowing he’d probably have more of a chance selling ice to Eskimos.

  ‘Anyway,’ Coach Pate smiled, ‘back to yard duty. I hope I’ll see you tonight.’

  To Specky’s surprise, his parents did give him permission to attend his team’s Best and Fairest evening. Specky couldn’t believe it, especially since he knew his mother was going to a netball function for Alice, and his father was busy launching some art exhibition at his gallery so neither of them would be able to come along and keep an eye on him.

  ‘We’re only letting you go because we know there won’t be any footballs being kicked about,’ his mum said, still sounding very upset with him. ‘And Coach Pate knows you’re not allowed to play.’

  ‘That’s fine,’ said Specky. Whatever the reason, he was rapt that he’d be joining his team-mates once again – even if it was only for a couple of hours off the field.

  ‘I reckon you’ll win Best and Fairest again,’ said Robbo, reminding Specky of last year’s awards.

  ‘No way!’ snorted Specky, even though he knew he’d love it if it were true. ‘I’ve missed too many games. Nah, I hate to say it, but I reckon Screamer’s probably the favourite to win this season. Speak of the devil.’

  Specky and his friends turned to see Screamer making his way into the school hall, for the Booyong High Best and Fairest Evening. All the teams, from the Under 13s right up to the Under 16s, were gathering with parents and teachers for a barbecue followed by an official presentation in the auditorium.

  ‘What’s up with him?’ quipped Danny. ‘No dirty look today?’

  Specky stared at Screamer. Since he had seen Christina at the MCG a few weeks back, he and Screamer had done everything they possibly could to avoid each other. But Specky sensed that if there was to be a confrontation, there would be trouble.

  ‘Okay, can we have everyone in the hall, please. The presentation is about to begin.’ Coach Pate’s voice echoed through the auditorium speakers.

  Specky, Robbo, Danny and about ninety other boys shuffled into the hall and took their seats in the first rows while their proud parents congregated at the back.

  ‘Right, we’re going to begin presenting the awards firstly to the Under Thirteens, then move on to the Under Fourteens and so on,’ said Coach Pate into a microphone on stage.

  Standing beside her were Booyong High’s other PE teachers and football coaches, Mr Fletcher and Mr Crane.

  ‘The first award, for the Under Thirteens’ leading goal kicker, goes to …’

  As Coach Pate announced the Under-13 award winners, Specky and his mates squirmed and wriggled in their chairs impatiently.

  ‘Once again, congratulations to all those boys!’

  Everyone clapped enthusiastically.

  ‘Right, now for the Under Fourteens …’ said Coach Pate.

  Robbo nudged Specky.

  ‘I’m telling ya, it’s you again,’ he whispered loudly, making Specky feel very nervous all of a sudden.

  ‘Now, the Leading Goal Kicker award goes to – oh, hold on. I’m sorry, but the trophies for the Under Fourteens and Under Fifteens aren’t here.’

  Coach Pate was looking to the collection of trophies displayed on a table behind her and the other coaches.

  ‘They must have been left in the car. Okay, well, could someone … Simon, yes, Simon Magee, pop out to the car park and get them, please. There are two boxes, so can you take someone with you, um … Derek Johnson, can you go with Simon? And, while you two do that, Mr Fletcher can present the Under Sixteen awards. Thanks, boys.’

  Coach Pate flung her car keys to Specky, who caught them without flinching – as if he was a fielder for the Aussie cricket team.

  He made his way out of the hall, with Screamer reluctantly following a few steps behind. Nothing was said between the two as they walked to Coach Pate’s car, retrieved the boxes from the back seat, and headed back to the ceremony – not a word, that is, until Screamer stopped midway, placed his box on the ground, and started to rip into it.

  ‘What’re ya doing?’ said Specky, looking on horrified.

  ‘Shut ya trap, Magee. Just gonna have a look. Just make sure I won,’ he grumbled, already placing his hand into the box.

  ‘You can’t do that!’ said Specky.

  ‘Rack off, Magee!’

  ‘No, I won’t. You’ve got me into enough trouble as it is. I can’t play footy ’cause of you!’

  ‘Awrrh, boo hoo. You’re breaking my heart. Well, that’s what you get for cracking on to my girlfriend and stuffing up my chance to go to New York!’

  Specky shook his head, and smiled bitterly. This infuriated Screamer.

  ‘What’s so funny, you loser?’ he asked, confused by Specky’s response.

  ‘You don’t get it, do ya?’ said Specky. ‘Christina likes me, that’s not my fault, and it was your old man that wrecked your chances of going to America, not me.’

  ‘What? What are you talking about? My old man?’

  All the pent-up emotion and resentment Specky had toward Screamer finally surfaced and spewed out of him. Nothing could stop him now.

  ‘Yeah, your old man paid off one of the contest organisers. He cheated for you – that’s why you were disqualified, not because of Christina’s dad. Christina didn’t tell you because she didn’t want to hurt your feelings. Well, boo hoo, my heart’s bleeding.’

  Screamer’s bottom lip began to quiver. His nostrils were flaring and his chest was heaving. Specky knew he had hit a nerve and wondered if it had been such a good idea. Screamer charged at him, throwing him to the ground. The boys wrestled and punched each other, brawling like drunken thugs in a bar. Specky tried to kick Screamer off, doing everything he could to defend himself. But Screamer kept going at him like a madman.

  ‘What the …? Simon! Derek! Break it up, now!’

  Coach Pate had come out in search of them, wondering why it was taking them so long to return. She pulled the boys apart, almost getting hit by Screamer in the process.

  Specky was the first to calm down, with Screamer settling down a few moments later.

  ‘I don’t believe you two,’ said Coach Pate, disgusted, standing in between Specky and Screamer. ‘I send you out on a simple task and this is what I find. And, to think, you two boys are my Best and Fairest winners!’

  Specky and Screamer shot a surprised look at Coach Pate. What did she say?<
br />
  ‘Sad, isn’t it? And after I had called your parents, Simon, to ask them to allow you to come tonight,’ she exclaimed. ‘You two have tied for the Best and Fairest award, and here you are fighting. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Utterly ashamed. I know I am.’

  20. the great plea

  On Saturday, Specky woke up two hours earlier than he did most mornings. But this wasn’t most mornings. It was Grand Final day. He hopped up out of bed and looked out his window. The winter sun was slowly rising over the neighbours’ rooftops.

  ‘Not a cloud in the sky,’ he whispered to himself. ‘It’s gonna be a perfect day for footy.’

  Specky sighed, and moped his way downstairs.

  ‘This really sucks,’ he moaned, making his way into the lounge room and switching on the TV.

  With the volume turned down low, he tried to distract himself from the upcoming Grand Final with a little channel surfing, flicking between music-video clips and bad Japanese cartoons. But trying to block out the fact that he was actually going to miss the biggest day of the year was no easy task.

  Maybe I should sneak out! I’ve gotta be there for my mates, he thought. But then I’d have to lie to Coach Pate again, I’d have to tell her Mum and Dad allowed me to come and watch. She wouldn’t believe me if I said I was allowed to play. Not without a call from Dad. Specky’s mind was ticking over at a hundred miles an hour.

  He let out another huge sigh. He was more agitated than ever. He wasn’t going to lie anymore, but was he really going to miss the Grand Final?

  Specky had an uncontrollable urge to talk to Tiger Girl. He hadn’t spoken to her for some time now, and he knew she’d be able to make him feel better. He had tried reaching her a couple of times during the past week, but had quickly hung up each time when he got her mum on the other end of the line. Specky was terrified that Mrs Shepherd would give him an ear bashing for taking Tiger Girl out of hospital.

  I hope she’s awake, he thought, picking up the receiver.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Simon, get off! I’m talking!’

  It was Alice, chatting to the Great McCarthy from upstairs in her bedroom.

  ‘Again!’ complained Specky. ‘You were on the phone for three hours last night! And it’s not even eight o’clock, yet!’

  ‘Get off, will ya?’

  ‘G’day Speck.’ The Great McCarthy’s voice echoed over their bickering.

  ‘Hey, Dieter.’

  ‘You gonna see your mates play the big one today?’

  ‘Nah, Mum and Dad won’t let me go.’

  ‘Awrrh, that’s a bummer.’

  ‘Um, excuse me,’ said Alice, raising her voice. ‘Get off, Simon!’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, all right. See ya, Macca!’

  ‘Yeah, see ya, Speck!’

  Specky hung up the phone and made a mental note to call Tiger Girl later. In the meantime, he decided to head back up to his room and continue feeling sorry for himself.

  About an hour later, there was a heavy thumping at Specky’s door. It was the Great McCarthy.

  ‘What?’ Specky muttered, confused to see him so soon after having spoken to him on the phone. ‘What are ya doing here? You can’t be that in love with my sister!’

  ‘Let’s go!’ he said excitedly. Specky noticed Alice standing in the hallway, pulling a face over his shoulder.

  ‘Go? Go where?’

  Specky still had a confused expression plastered across his face.

  ‘To see your mates try and win the flag!’

  ‘What? But Mum and Dad –’

  ‘Don’t worry. It’s sweet.’

  The Great McCarthy explained to Specky that he and Alice had talked to his folks and promised them they’d keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn’t play. He had convinced Mr and Mrs Magee that Specky would learn a greater lesson by watching his team-mates and not being able to participate than if he were to stay home.

  ‘I don’t believe it,’ Specky said, hoping it wasn’t a sick joke. ‘Thanks, Macca. You’re unreal! You really are the Great McCarthy!’

  ‘Don’t thank me,’ replied Dieter. ‘You can thank your sister. It was all her idea.’

  Alice screwed up her nose affectionately at Specky.

  ‘Dieter told me how you helped that sick friend of yours. You’re a softy, squirt!’ she said.

  Specky wasn’t sure if he was more in shock because his parents had fallen for the Great McCarthy’s argument or because his sister had done a nice thing for him. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t get out of the house quickly enough.

  21. grand final

  By the time Specky, Alice and the Great McCarthy made it to the Booyong High oval, the battle for the Premiership had already begun. Specky was surprised by how many spectators had turned out for the big game. The crowd was bigger than the one at Gosmore Grammar. A sea of Booyong High supporters, most of them kitted out in blue-and-green clothing, lined the boundary line for half the ground, while on the other side of the field, an equally large number of grey-and-orange barrackers for the Latona Avenue Sharks made their presence felt.

  Specky’s heart was pumping rapidly as he walked over to where Coach Pate and his team-mates’ parents were standing. His stomach was fluttering just as it always did when he was about to play.

  Maybe this isn’t a good idea, he thought, now wondering if he could handle missing out on all the action.

  ‘G’day, Speck. Good to see ya. Too bad you can’t be out there, lad. They need ya,’ said Robbo’s dad, patting Specky on the shoulder.

  Specky turned to the game. The Sharks had possession of the ball and were quickly driving into their forward line. Specky did a double take when he saw the scoreboard.

  ‘Five-goals-two, to one-goal-four. They’re killing us!’ he gasped.

  ‘Yeah, and it all happened it the first ten minutes. Our guys couldn’t handle the big-game jitters – dropping and fumbling all over the place. And those Jones brothers! What do you guys call them? The Bumfluff Twins? Well, they took advantage of our mistakes. God, they’re good,’ mumbled Robbo’s dad, not taking his eyes off the match.

  Specky thought the boys would have benefited from playing in the previous year’s Grand Final. He could recall how nervous he had been in the build-up to the big game. No matter how often they were told by their former coach, Coach Pappas, to treat it like every other game, the reality was that it wasn’t. The whole school was involved in Grand Final week, and wherever the players went there were people stopping and wishing them luck. And, while their intentions were good, all it did was add more pressure to a very tense week. They hadn’t trained as well as they had all year, either; because they were so excited, and they were trying too hard to impress the coach to make sure they were included in the team. Then, instead of concentrating on what they, as players, had done to earn their place in a Grand Final team, they started to worry about how bad they would feel if they happened to lose. They had obviously started this year’s Grand Final in the same way. They were nervous and looked like they were scared of making a mistake in front of the large crowd. Specky silently urged them to remember the advice they had been given by Richmond champion Matthew Richardson, who had been good enough to come to their final training session before the previous year’s final. He had told them to enjoy the fact that there was a little extra attention on them in the lead-up to the game, but to remember that it was what happened after the ball was bounced that won Premierships. Too often, players think they have to do something extraordinary to win a Grand Final. But they wouldn’t have made it to the finals unless they deserved to be there, and if everyone contributed in the same way that they had throughout the year, then the result would look after itself.

  The Latona Sharks’ cheer squad roared and cheered loudly as one of their boys took a mark directly in front of goals. Once again, it was one of the Bumfluff Twins. Specky shook his head in disappointment.

  In a matter of moments, the footy shot directly through the middle of the b
ig sticks, just as the umpire sharply blew his whistle. The first quarter was over.

  The Lions were stunned by their disgraceful start as they grouped around Coach Pate.

  Specky hovered inconspicuously on the outer huddle, trying not to draw any attention to himself. He caught Danny and Robbo acknowledging him with a nod, but then they quickly turned to focus on Coach Pate. They looked embarrassed and, naturally, upset. The whole team did, as Coach Pate gave them all an earbashing.

  ‘I don’t care if you win or lose this Grand Final, boys. What I do hope is that when the final siren sounds, you walk off this oval with no regrets. There IS NO TOMORROW here, boys. You don’t get this opportunity very often. Some players will go through their whole football careers without ever playing in a Grand Final, and here you guys are – with your second opportunity in two years to be the best football side in the competition – and you are letting it slip away. Have a look at Simon, standing over there.’

  Specky felt himself turning red as every eye in the huddle – players, parents and students – turned to look at him.

  ‘What do you think he would give to be out there playing alongside you guys? He did all the hard work with you boys, earlier in the year, and when the finals come around he has to sit it out on the sidelines. You know, he would be trying his heart out out there, if he was able to. Let’s show a bit of respect for the fact that he isn’t playing, and at least have a go.’

  The Lions sparked to life and shouts of ‘on ya, Speck’ could be heard among the yelling.

  ‘He couldn’t help this lot. Bloody useless! The lot of ya!’ huffed Screamer’s dad, loudly. Coach Pate shot him a look to let him know she was not impressed. She continued.

  ‘Rightio, we can’t leave our run any longer. We have to start pegging back their lead, this quarter. I know you can do it. You’ve proved it all year.’