Yarn from Christopher Davis, New York, USA ,

An americans accidental introduction to the greatest game of all - and how he grew to love it..

Christopher Davis
New York, USA
Club followed Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)
chrisd@mcmahonmed.com

Approx date and year of story: August 3-5, 1997

I discovered Rugby League football by accident.

A New York store selling overseas newspapers displayed the Sydney Morning Herald's Grand Final coverage.

I assumed they meant Australian Rules football; I didn't know what game Canberra and Balmain played.

Three years later, the Tigers, Toreador's March and all, were featured on a Radio Australia broadcast I listened to on Sunday morning, 1 AM.

Earlier in the week, the Rodney King verdict had sparked riots, and the commentator said that the ref at Leichardt "must have been on that Los Ange-leez jury."

I finally got to see this great game ; a Friday night on the hill in Newcastle the year the Knights broke through (a controversial loss to Manly, avenged eight weeks later), the Roosters beating Gold Coast at the SFS on Saturday and then North Sydney Oval on Sunday, as evocative as Geoffrey Moorhouse's description in At the George, on Flo Day with the Bears running out to ZZ Top's "La Grange."

I'm loyal to the football of Bronko Nagurski and Joe Montana, but who wouldn't want to be Puig-Aubert or The LIttle Master, if only for a weekend in August?