How refreshing it was to watch the GIO Cup match between Farrar Agricultural High and Westfield Sports High from Sydney at Tamworth’s Scully Park.The match was shown on Channel 9 last Sunday and replayed on Foxsports mid-week.
The quality of football was excellent, but the best thing was the sight of what looked like the entire student body from Farrar there supporting their side.
There are many reasons why most schoolboy matches are played in front of just a handful of spectators, whether the matches are televised or not.
I believe one of the chief reasons is that students do not feel close to their Open Teams when they are largely made up of imports, brought in solely to win football competitions.
Fellow students would always turn out for the Opens when they were made of students who had been there right through high school and were genuine ‘local heroes’.
There were 1100 students at Murwillumbah High when I played for the Opens, and you felt 10 foot tall and bullet proof running out for the big annual clash with Lismore High with the whole school there in support.
Ah. Glory Days, they pass you by.
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