There’s nothing quite like it, is there?
Just as the weather warms, the blossom arrives on the trees and the shorts start to come out of the deep recess of the cupboard, the signs are everywhere.
Finals are here, baby.
The line out the front of Ironbark stadium stretched six or seven cars back when I arrived in Rushworth on Saturday, and would have been longer still ahead of the seniors game beginning a few hours later.
A ground that wouldn’t have been flush with spectators during the Tigers’ rough 2022 season was suddenly packed to the rafters for the Kyabram District League qualifying finals.
The entire town of Avenel seemed to be in attendance, with both seniors and reserves lining up in the footy, while swathes of fans of Shepparton East — for whom your humble correspondent lined up in the reserves — appeared to watch their netballers and reserve footballers strut their stuff.
And my gosh: finals are something else. After two long years without local footy and netty deciders, we remembered what it is we love about them.
Where often so many attend during the season to catch up with mates and keep an eye on the game in the background, come finals the crowd is riding every bump and whistle.
You can’t — and wouldn’t — look away from the field or the court, because anything can and will happen.
On the field, it’s harder, better, faster and stronger, and makes you feel more alive than you remember being before.
The Goulburn Valley League begins its finals this week, and there’s already magic in the air following Mooroopna’s fairytale run into the finals following an upset win over Echuca on the weekend.
The looks on the faces of the Mooroopna boys as the final siren went were everything anyone who loves sport dreams of.
Everything that makes sport great is magnified a thousand times over at the pointy end of the season.
And we absolutely love it.
There’s something in the air. Get around it.