QUEENSLANDER!!

Hi everyone and thanks for coming back again. What a marvellous opening round of rugby league we had!! Record crowds, a few good matches and plenty of points. Unfortunately for some (Cronulla) things haven’t changed, but it was great to see the Cowboys flair return and sides like the Bulldogs back to some winning form. Today’s column is a little bit different and something I’ve wanted to write for a while. I want to explain exactly what being a Queenslander is all about, even though we’re far from Origin time.

Origin Magic

For 30 years at State of Origin time, those of us north of the Tweed get into the spirit and that feeling that gets the Maroons home. It’s a belief that the boys in Blue never seem to understand. They’ve written it off as a myth while the Queenslanders stand by this.

Well earlier this year I saw it – Queenslander is real. It’s not just this State of Origin gimmick or catch cry anymore. It is something everyone living in this state can now attest to.

Queensland Floods

In January this year up to 80 per cent of Queensland was under water. We saw lives taken, lives and businesses destroyed and for many the world they knew was turned upside down. Since then we’ve of course seen devastating earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan which in comparison have had a catastrophic loss of life.

But remember the floods were the first of the big four disasters we’ve had in barely three months and it hit every Queenslander hard. Unless you’ve been through it, you can’t explain the empty loss you feel seeing your city slowly submerge under the murky waters. You don’t know the sinking feeling of the streets you walk or places you go slowly disappear.

That’s not even talking about those who lost their homes or their business – I was not one of those, but saw it with my own eyes. As Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, the floods were breaking our hearts but weren’t breaking our spirits.

Queensland Spirit

That week was one I will never forget. And you know the feeling that will stick with me the most? The fact that I had never been prouder to call Brisbane my city or Queensland my home. I’d never been prouder to be a Queenslander.

The spirit in this place was amazing from both those directly affected and those who just wanted to help. That’s exactly what being a Queenslander is about – people getting their gum boots, grabbing their shovels and cleaning through the mud.

I went out a few times myself and I didn’t do anything special. I helped clean up a warehouse and met a young couple who had their two storey house completely go under water. Both occasions I arrived at the location, found who was in charge and asked where they wanted me. I don’t know their names now, I don’t know their stories. I wouldn’t recognise them in the streets or even find my way back to their locations. It was the Queenslander spirit that I had, that everyone had. We just did it, no questions asked.

That’s the key – people just did it because it’s who we are. I didn’t feel obliged or feel that I HAD to go. I just did and had no second thoughts about it. It was the same for everyone and that’s what I mean about the Queenslander spirit.

You could physically see it across the state and feel it in the air. ‘Queenslander’ is real. No doubt about it.

What does that mean?

Danger for New South Wales in the 2011 series!! We’ve seen ‘Queenslander’ in State of Origin forever but at the end of the day, it’s just a game of football and winners and losers don’t matter. But come a few months time, it will mean everything to the people here who suffered in January. It will mean everything to the people who saw ‘Queenslander’ in real action. These experiences have only made ‘Queenslander’ stronger and this could very well be on display again in Origin football as the Maroons strive for their sixth consecutive title!

TIPPING
Tips – Eels, Broncos, Titans, Tigers, Cowboys, Bulldogs, Roosters, Dragons

Thanks for reading, that’s something I wanted to share for a while and hopefully it can renew all our spirits as the world battles on against Mother Nature. For a few hours each weekend we can take a break and enjoy the greatest game of all!

Let me know what you think at this site, over on Twitter (@keyto316) or directly on email (andrew.keyte@gmail.com).

Cheers,
Keyto