Out in the open
ON Tuesday night I logged on to watch my first live streaming of a council meeting. I was pumped.
Earlier in the day the mayor had been on Twitter, encouraging the good citizens of Geelong to get on board.
In a video from City Hall he reminded us that the live streaming of council meetings was not a brilliant innovation that had been brought about by his new council, but a recommendation from the Commission of Inquiry.
That’s right. Live streaming had been recommended to enable accessibility and transparency.
These were some of the issues identified as “problems” by the commissioners in the lead-up to the sacking of the previous councillors, including our current mayor.
I agree with the innovation. Technology can expose the truth. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 7pm.
When the City tweeted the link, I hit the log on button and I watched a blank screen. 7.05pm came and went. I tweeted back and asked if I should be pressing something or doing something? Nothing. Just a grey square that said I was getting nowhere.
I discovered that others out there in cyberspace were receiving the council images loud and clear.
Maybe this was a Mac v PC thing, who knows?
But this unexpected Tuesday night grey-out gave me a moment for some much-needed reflection.
What a crazy week we had already had in Geelong.
The city was at the centre of the cuckoo universe.
It all started after the Geelong v Melbourne game on Saturday night. GMHBA Stadium was rocking. The Cats produced an amazing conclusion to a titanic struggle.
In the last 40 seconds they moved the ball from end to end with the joy and urgency of the class of 2007.
Backman Zach Tuohy marked in the forward 50 with one grab and went back and slotted a goal to win the game after the siren.
Then the world went mad.
Then the mayor’s sonin-law came under the social media spotlight.
After the Tuohy goal, Bernie Vince from Melbourne and Patrick Dangerfield from Geelong shared a smile and a conversation in the middle of the ground. This pleasant exchange between former Adelaide teammates was met with derision by some former football greats like Dermot Brereton. Social media went into meltdown. Condemning the two men for being open and transparent in public. They know each other, they respect each other. What’s wrong with being friendly? They were behaving like grown-ups who understood that a game is a game and the siren had sounded a good two minutes before they even made an effort to speak to one another. Their reaction was exemplary. And yet it was met with condemnation. We teach our kids to play for the enjoyment, and to shake hands after the contest. Vince and Dangerfield were doing this, meantime on the Gary Ablett Terrace a few middle-aged blokes who had not played 120 minutes of football that night decided they would deal with the result in a different way. Embarrassing vision emerged of a drunken collision, equal parts Melbourne and Geelong. The yobbery was caught on camera. Public exposure is revealing. I’ve been standing in the outer for almost 30 years.
The best days on the terraces are when you’re shoulder to shoulder with opposition supporters and everybody is concentrating on the game.
That’s when you can share a laugh, crack a joke about an umpiring decision, get involved with a discussion about the prospects of another club.
Standing Room at Geelong is a unique part of the history of the ground. When the development of that area takes place it should be retained in a special fashion.
I am not the only one in Geelong who has introduced my youngster to the game by propping him up on a milk crate. That part of the ground is special. We have to work to protect it, like a good friendship.
We probably also need to look at the responsible serving of alcohol policy, but most of all we need to look to the middle of the ground and take our cue from Paddy and Bernie. We’re not physically involved. This weekend when we host the Lions, let’s remember: the game is not played in the terraces.
Just like watching a live stream from council chambers, we have every right to get emotional, passionate and vocal, but let’s keep it civil.
Try to be friendly. Keep it witty. The wit is what’s missing from current public life. Ross Mueller is a freelance writer and director