Have you ever lost a loved one?
I don’t mean some parent, kid or fellow sibling that you have vague nostalgic affection for.
I mean a real loved one, someone who by their very lack of existence leaves a void in your soul, a hole in your heart, a vacancy in your raison d’etre, a dissipation of your erection, a pain in your gut so hurtful it feels like a million miniature pitbulls are attacking every part of your insides.
Pain.
Severe pain.
Pain of a level that getting your foreskin caught in a zipper feels like nothing, getting your foot run over by a station wagon doesn’t register, having that first girl tell you she doesn’t like you is palatable, losing that special grandparent, you know the one you really like is something you can handle, living a life of such tedium that you fantasize about killing the people you work with is acceptable compared to this.
The “this” is Bryce’s shoulder is still no good.
He is out of the first test.
He may be out of the tour.
He may never get to play test cricket.
This shoulder of his, this fucking rebellious limb, is fucking up my universe.
It’s taking my hope away.
The story of Bryce McGain is supposed to be special, he is supposed to be a prophet for anyone who had a dream and didn’t give up.
His age didn’t stop him.
His kid didn’t stop him.
His job didn’t stop him.
The continuing disappointments of life and love didn’t stop him.
He had a dream, that no one else believed in, and he was this close.
So close he could almost feel how the baggy green would feel on his head.
And the fucking shoulder, that cunt of a shoulder, fucked up the whole story, the feel good story of all time, the story that shows us that dreams can come true, the story that shows us that belief in ourselves can move mountains, the story that shows us that hard work can overcome anything, and that shoulder, that motherfucking prick of a cunt of a shoulder with no sense of history or happy endings just comes in, and it fucks it all up, it shits on Bryce’s dream, it shits on the cricket battlers story of the new millennium, it just reaches into my chest and takes away my heart, and fucks up everything, every fucking little fucken thing, it just came in and it ruined it all, when we were so close, so fucken close to seeing one of us, a working stiff, a family man, a cricket fan, a weekend player make it to where each and everyone of us dreams we could, test cricket, he was our portal, he wasn’t some professional athlete who has had his balls licked since he was 12, he was an IT guy who rocked up for his team on a weekend, he wasn’t some millionaire whinging about the stress and tireless nature of international cricket, he fucken loved every bit of training, traveling the whole bit of it he was just one of us, he calls himself Joe Average, and now the dream is all fucked up, it might never come back.
He might not ever play test cricket.
It took him 36 years to get this close, and he still might not make it.
I can’t deal with this.
Today is not a rainy day, today there is no sun.
I can’t bloody empathize, but I am sorry for Bryce.. I’m sure he’ll play in the 3rd Test..
Such pain! Such torment!!You exceed yourself UJ..Superb post!
I’m sorry for your loss. My condolences to your country.
I really feel sorry for indian fab four. Now they have one less australian spinner to feast on. I mean what difference can a 36 year old debutant make.But still i fell so attached to this guy after reading all the posts jrod made.He just felt like a team mate.Dun worry jrod. Dreams do come true. Think he will come back even stronger.Dat guy is a fighter.
Could it be a trick and that he is being hidden Imran Tahir style?
I suppose this isn’t the time for me to complain about Aaron Heal not getting a look in?
I suppose this isn’t the time for me to complain about Aaron Heal not getting a look in?
John, we can only hope. Homer, cheers. NWG, Not to my country, but to all working class people, the world over. Yad, he may have even played them into form. Mims, alas, no, he doesn’t even wear an alice band. Balls, I do like Aaron Heal, but his uncanny resemblance to billy bowden does him no good.
He didn’t get a game for the Vics for so long because he was behind Warne and White. And yet you say he didn’t let anything hold him back. What about moving to another State to get a game? Like, oh, I don’t know, Krejza. or Casson. Or Hauritz. Or Shane Watson. Was his IT job for the bank such a ballsy hell-ride that he just coudn’t kick the adrenaline rush? Hell, I have had to come and live in Victoria to progress my career (not in cricket obviously), and I can promise you a move in the other direction could be no less scary. It’s Krejza who is giving it a real go. Big spin, big flight, big aggression, willing to make sacrifices to follow his dream. Convicts will always beat conservatives. Long live the convicts!!
He didn’t get a game for the Vics for so long because he was behind Warne and White. And yet you say he didn’t let anything hold him back. What about moving to another State to get a game? Like, oh, I don’t know, Krejza. or Casson. Or Hauritz. Or Shane Watson. Was his IT job for the bank such a ballsy hell-ride that he just coudn’t kick the adrenaline rush? Hell, I have had to come and live in Victoria to progress my career (not in cricket obviously), and I can promise you a move in the other direction could be no less scary. It’s Krejza who is giving it a real go. Big spin, big flight, big aggression, willing to make sacrifices to follow his dream. Convicts will always beat conservatives. Long live the convicts!!
He didn’t get a game for the Vics for so long because he was behind Warne and White. And yet you say he didn’t let anything hold him back. What about moving to another State to get a game? Like, oh, I don’t know, Krejza. or Casson. Or Hauritz. Or Shane Watson. Was his IT job for the bank such a ballsy hell-ride that he just coudn’t kick the adrenaline rush? Hell, I have had to come and live in Victoria to progress my career (not in cricket obviously), and I can promise you a move in the other direction could be no less scary. It’s Krejza who is giving it a real go. Big spin, big flight, big aggression, willing to make sacrifices to follow his dream. Convicts will always beat conservatives. Long live the convicts!!
I feel for you Jrod. Looking beyond the personal loss for Bryce its a big blow for Australia it self. I think he would have made a real difference.Krejza some how doesnt exhume the same confidence. Lets see how he goes in the tour game today.
Ned, That behind Warne and White stuff is just simply not true. Warne played for Victoria maybe twice a year, and White has batted in the top 6 since 2003. The reason he didn’t move to another state was probably because he had a kid unlike every other player on that list. I would suggest that with a joint custody agreement he would have only seen his kid on holidays if he went to another state. I like Krezja, and i was glad he was getting a go, but at 0/123 off 20 overs in this warm up game, he might not even get a test if he keeps bowling like this.
Fair call, Jrod. I hadn’t realised that he wasn’t with Liam’s mum anymore – although the kid is only eight and Bryce is like a hundred, so he was already well old enough to have shifted before that.I suspect what really held him back is that the safe option is always to play quickies over spinners. Victoria invested their support in developing future test stars like Sizzle and Eyelids.Sadly I suspect Kraze will never get a test match for the same conservative reasons. Too risky.And, of course, he got ssaaa-mashed.