Football madness

I remember when Jen first came to live in Melbourne in September 1993, just after we were married, she was astounded by the level of coverage of the AFL grand final -- she went to the supermarket, and it was even on a TV there! Perhaps from having grown up in NSW, she remained a football atheist her whole life. There was one solitary day when we thought we might go and see a football match in Melbourne, on Anzac Day. We naively left our home in Brunswick about noon, and made our way to the MCG. The game was sold out (more than 90,000 people) and they closed the gates before we even got close to the head of the queue. So we never saw the game, and instead we had a pleasant picnic in a nearby park, while hearing a roar in the distance.

In preparing for her funeral I was reminded of the following joke. If Jen has lasted until September, I might have used it.

As the grand final is about to start, there's a man sitting in a good seat with an empty spot beside him. At some point the next person along asks if anyone's coming to occupy it. The man says: "My wife and I always bought tickets to the Grand Final every year. She's been very ill and she died only a week ago, but I thought I'd still keep the tickets.". His neigbour says "But couldn't you find someone else who could come with you instead, friends or family?". The man replies: "No, they're all at the funeral".