Little Jack Flower smiled with his dad and grabbed a happy snap as Scott Pendlebury was named the Anzac Day medallist.
Like many a Facebook post, it would tur
n out to be a false recollection of a more dire truth.
‘They are booing him!’ Jack, 12, exclaimed as smiles turned to stunned disbelief.
As a 44-year old Collingwood supporter since birth, I’ve seen some shocking moments in AFL footy history, but this one was just mind boggling.
When Pendlebury walked up to collect his medal, the yobos in black and red should have clapped him – or at worst kept their mouths shut.
They clearly forgot or didn’t much care for the supposed Anzac spirit the game is meant to be played under.
If they’d bothered to watch anything other than footy replays that morning, they may have seen an old digger recount his respect for the German nurses and doctors who saved his life while he was a prisoner of war.
The Anzac game is supposed to make us remember about what our armed forces go through and the respect and dignity they have for their opponents, even in war.
Yes it’s just a footy game.
But if fans can’t hold onto a shred of decency on Anzac Day, well, I weep for the future.
As a kid watching the Pies at Victoria Park in the 80s and 90s, there is no doubt I booed many a champion player.
But they were usually the likes of the Bulldogs’ Doug Hawkins or Carlton’s David Rhys Jones – and they’d almost always done something dirty to warrant the abuse.
I was at Vic Park when Saints legend Nicky Winmar raised his shirt and pointed to the colour of his skin amid a sea of boos from rabid Collingwood fans.
It was a disgrace.
One, I like many, didn’t truly appreciate at the time.
While Pendlebury was visibly shocked by the boos, he’ll no doubt dust it off as just another day on the field.
There’s been a lot of controversy about booing in AFL matches in recent years.
Outspoken Swans champ Adam Goodes copped it and Geelong great Gary Abblett Jnr got booed on Easter Monday after he liked Israel Folau’s controversial Instagram post.
Scott Pendlebury hadn’t put a foot wrong. He hadn’t said or done anything other than play good footy.
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