It’s tough enough with Tour de France on the tele at the moment to get a good night’s sleep, however that’s one event, one channel, no flicking. On the eve of The Open however, it’s only going to get tougher. My Foxtel ‘Back’ button is going to get a smashing as I alternate between cheering (yes, out loud) for Cadel and Cavendish, and tip-toeing to the kettle so as not to distract Scott, Ogilvy or my man Jason Day from a testy 3 footer or uphill approach at Royal St Georges (and trust me it’s hilly!)

AB - Ashes 1989

It’s a challenge and we complain about time differences every single year. Yet despite the moaning, red eyes and perpetual search for a non-job threatening nap location around 3pm every afternoon, many of my most vivid memories include being awake with the tele on whilst most of Australia slept. Remember 1983 when Bertrand brought the Americas Cup home (Bob Hawke I still think you’re a star for THAT quote)? Wayne Gardner’s first ever 500cc MotoGP win at Jerez in 86? AB leading the Aussies back to the pinnacle of world cricket smashing the Poms in the 89 Ashes series? And who could forget 1987 when a young Patrick Hart Cash won an epic against the machine that was Ivan Llendl?

Fed Square 2010

Just thinking back puts a smile on my face. All before you could watch ‘on demand’, and no VHS tape could cover a whole day of test cricket or TDF, so you simply HAD to watch it live! In my opinion it was quintessential in the Australian sports psyche, and actually still is if the World Cup 2010 South Africa was anything to go by. On tour in South Africa it was incredible to see the fan sites set-up ‘back home’…made us all very patriotic!

It’s no surprise to anyone then, that I have ended up working here at Sportsnet Holidays covering these events for the most part LIVE on location with our clients, people who all watched the same as I growing up. Different memories of the same events certainly make for fascinating discussion! There’s nothing like the sense of ‘belonging’ you feel next time you can’t make it and are forced once more to watch on tele, it’s strangely comforting. I even know of people, and I’m serious here, who dress in team colours in their lounge rooms while watching, or turn on the heater and drink the relevant foreign beer to add some semblance of authenticity to their viewing experience.

Well, it’s almost 3pm (and we all know what that means!) and I’d love to hear, or even better SEE anyone out there who takes overnight sport viewing to a new level here in Australia. It IS part of who we are and I love it.

Naturally feel free to join me with Sportsnet to see your favourite event LIVE, but in between, show the world why you are the most passionate armchair fan! What do you do to make those long nights of sporting TV more exciting??

So it’s been a couple of days that our little group has been back in Australia. Which group? Good question. Together with the Essendon AFL club, we at Sportsnet put together the trip of a lifetime to Gallipoli to pay our respects on ANZAC Day. My co-host? None other than former Essendon and All Australian hard man, veteran of 6 AFL ANZAC Day clashes vs Collingwood, Jason Johnson.

The reason it’s taken me this time to pump a blog out is that after experiencing the whole build up and Dawn Service at ANZAC Cove, I needed to see where my head was at upon returning home. Perspective is something we often talk about after a life altering experience and we return home on our soapbox, or moral highground. The South African experience on the Sportsnet 2010 FIFA World Cup tour for example gave perspective, however in a matter of days, we were back to complaining about work and things that in the scheme of things, mean nothing.

Hearing about, no SEEING where the battles took place in Gallipoli smacks you right between the eyes, lets you get up, then smacks you again…harder…to make sure you get it. What these young men endured defies modern understanding. Imagine telling a Gen Y “Right, we’re all going to jump out of this trench, run 16 metres into heavy machine gun fire and take that Turk trench just there. Because that’s what we are ordered to do” No…..chance…. Seeing just how close opposing trenches were to each other, the stories of cease-fires where the dead were collected and Turks and Diggers shared cigarettes and water, and the unquestionable courage and commitment for a cause unknown to most ANZAC soldiers highlighted to me in a very emotional way how much we owe these heroes. Heroes that spent 8 months advancing just over a kilometre only to be asked to retreat after losing most of their mates. Incomprehensible.

After the service, our small group watched the Essendon vs Collingwood game on the web back at our hotel. It was strange. Sure we were exhausted, we’d been up for around 32 hours. But the eerie feeling in the room proved that the impact of the Anzac Cove experience was still resonating in all of our minds. The cheers were muted and the excitement reserved, almost as if it were disrespectful to celebrate something so ‘insignificant’ as a goal or great mark in light of what we had just witnessed and learned.

It’s something I now believe every Australian needs to do. The more of us that do, the greater the chance that this newfound ‘perspective’ we few brought home has of surviving. The greater the chance that respect, courage, commitment and the greater good become more important than career advancement, monetary gain and social status. I cannot for a second profess to know what the mindset of these Aussie and Kiwi heroes was back in 1915 but I feel that whatever it was, we in the 21st century could do with a healthy dose. I hope I can hold onto this perspective, work harder, complain less and value family, friends and freedom more. After all, that I can even choose to do so is what our heroes died for on that God forsaken peninsula.

Cannot wait to host our next group to the 2012 ANZAC Day at Gallipoli and see what a second dose of reality does to my psyche. Till next time…

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