Chasing the Glory

It’s simple. The Brisbane Roar are A-League Champions. If you were inside Suncorp Stadium in the dying moments of that Grand Final, you would want to live in those moments for the rest of your days. Bottle up that excitement, emotion, noise and the fanfare. Carry it with you always, put it in your morning coffee, take it on your afternoon strolls, wrap it up for Christmas, wear it around your neck as a fashionable piece of art. What happened at Suncorp in the last 3 minutes of the A-League Grand Final is the type of stuff that ignites the soul. It’s why we love sport and it is certainly why we Chase the Glory.

A huge shout out to the Central Coast Mariners for playing the whole game with undeniable spirit and passion. It’s fair to say in the first half of extra time they taught Brisbane a lesson and sent Roar fans packing. But that very lesson showed the Brisbane boys that anyone could score two goals in fifteen minutes. And once again it took sports to show us, the devoted fans, that anything is possible. From 2-0 down with three minutes remaining in extra time, to 2-2 and consequently 4-2 in a penalty shoot out, this game capsized the very idea of sporting emotions. Even the Premier League was jealous. The Brisbane Roar lifted the spirits of a scarred city and empahsised that never say die attitude that the Queensland capital has resonated throughout their recent hardships. It was a victory for the people and a sporting achievement that won’t be easily forgotten.

One half of Chasing the Glory was present at Suncorp Stadium for this historical match and the ineffable moments that followed the 120th minute equaliser. Breaking a few rules and getting our guerilla on, Chasing the Glory had to document the final moments of an unprecedented sporting experience. We had to work with the tools we had on the day as Roar goalkeeper and all round hero Michael Theoklitos blocks a second consecutive shot before Henrique steps up to the mark and seals the championship.

When the All Blacks take themselves too seriously, our mates and Rugby’s loveable larrakins Drew Mitchell, Benn Robinson and Adam-Ashley Cooper know how to make their fans laugh and show our friends across the ditch how it is really done.

The videos below show the Tahs and the Brumbies boys occupying their Summer training sessions with some intense and unique skills sessions. Check them out, have a laugh and don’t forget to sign up to Chasing the Glory’s membership on the right…promise we won’t spam you.

Last Saturday evening the Chasing the Glory boys did what they do best – shameless infiltration of the ranks within another professional sporting team and its playing unit. Matty & Patty paid a visit to brand spankin’ AFL franchise the Greater Western Sydney Giants for a free feed and some Glory-related activity with this youth filled up-and-coming footy side.

Matty & Patty just ‘happened’ to be in Sydney (surely not a fluke), and so slipped out to the NSW Academy of Sport at Narrabeen to the inaugural GWS Giants pre-season training camp. The boys eventually got sprung, and so they spent some time in front of the players and staff, hosting a unique and light-hearted ‘getting to know your team-mates better’ character and communication building session with the team’s newest recruits. These players were the first ever audience for ‘Chasing the Glory: People’s Drills’, and it turned out to be pretty successful; the session was spent in fits of laughter due to some classic footy cliches, heavy interest in bakery foods and heroic game-day exaggerations, all ending with cheers and smiles from a bunch of blokes eager to get involved in a unique team building exercise and learn a little bit more about their new team-mates.  Check out these photos of Giants players in action with Matty & Patty:

So there you have it. Matty & Patty are Chasing Glory all the way into 2011. Don’t forget to keep Chasing the Glory with them…there will be plenty more to come on this blog and from the boys as Aussie sport moves into what could be a corking year all round. But in the meantime, have a happy and GLORY-filled Christmas and New Year’s.

(And don’t forget to sign up in the box next to this post to become a Glory Chaser!)

In case you’ve been focusing too much on other ball sports (and fair enough), brand spankin’ AFL franchise the Greater Western Sydney Giants has recently announced their playing roster and coaching staff.

Check out  the team (plus bold new team brand & colours) here: http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/player-profiles/

Over the last month, the unit of emerging talent has begun training which will take them into the 2011 NAB Cup. We here at Chasing the Glory have a strong belief that character building is one of the first steps a team must take as a whole in order to find success, and ultimately Glory, on the field. As fans who have sat through some pretty tough losses or draws, but tinged gracefully by the sweet tasting Glory of victory from the stands, we reckon we have a pretty good idea on how to build character through humour and raw communication.

So, this week Matty & Patty have shamelessly invited themselves out to The Giants’ pre-season camp.

The boys will get in front of the new team, hosting a light session in what they have coined ‘Chasing the Glory – People Drills’: Basically, the drills, created by Matty & Patty, provide some interactive and unique ways to assist young sports people of similar age to them in building confidence, individuality and mateships amongst their new teammates. With the likes of Israel Folau being one of the oldest players on the team’s roster at 21 years of age, Matty & Patty are enthused about getting to meet this young generation of AFL stars and teammates as they get to know each other, show off their elite skill level and look with confidence towards their futures as AFL professionals within this exciting new club.

Stay posted for pics and a wrap of the ‘People Drills’ session with the GWS Giants. In the meantime, check out this epic video promo piece from the GWS Giants below. The coming together of some serious cross cultural boundaries in sport and community seem to be the vision of this new franchise which sits deep in Rugby League heartland. Could this kind of attitude and embracing of a region united by its differences become the emergence of Australia’s largest AFL franchise in years to come?

Chase it. And leave a comment if you want to share some thoughts. ARE YOU A GLORY CHASER? Sign up by giving Matty & Patty your email in the drop box next to this post. They won’t spam you.