SPORTS

Sports Down Under
Make it a Makybe Mate

 

Darren Patterson, OP Contributor

 

Well hey there up over’ers. How’s life in the
grand ol’ C-to-the-D-to-the-A? It looks like
the Canucks are doing well, and that’s good to
see. I certainly miss watching hockey and I
read an article that said Bertuzzi finally put on
a little flash against Colorado last week.

But I’m not writing this bit to talk hockey.
I’m sure you must be doing that enough on
your own. I’m writing this bit to talk about
Australian sport where rugby (both union and
league) and cricket are numbers two and three
in the Aussie sporting scene.

“But what’s the number one sport?” you
ask. Why don’t you quit asking questions and
T’ll get to it, damn it.

In the spring of 2001, I fell in love. Maybe
it was the sun’s warmth, or the scent of the
blooming flowers, but everything about me
just heightened my love for the most beautiful
girl I have ever-What? I’m rambling? Oh.
Sorry....

In Australia, there is a single sporting
event that is more popular than the Rugby
League Grand Final and the Ashes Cricket
Series put together. It’s the “race that stops a
nation,” the Melbourne Cup. What kind of
racing is it? (No I wasn’t asking you, it was a
rhetorical question that I was about to
answer.) It’s horse racing. That’s right, once a
year every Australian is captivated by a few
minutes of horses racing round the track.

This year, there were over $56 million bets
on the race, one million of which came from
just one man who bet on a horse named
Makybe (Ma-kye-bee) Diva, the resounding
favourite.

Prior to the race, Makybe Diva’s fame was
being compared with some of Australia’s
greatest athletes (including Cathy Freeman,
Dawn Fraser, and even Fahr Lap, another
horse who had won the Melbourne Cup way
back at the dawn of the century...last century
that is. Geez, is it 2005 already?) for having
won two Melbourne Cups in a row. After the
race, Diva had cemented her status as a legend
in Australian sport, having won an unprece-
dented third Cup in a row.

In the newspapers, Diva is referred to like
a human athlete, having gained the respect of
all Australians. Little mention is made of the
owner, trainer, and jockey when 2005’s
Melbourne Cup is spoken of. Really only
Diva’s name comes up in those conversations.

For my part, I was rather disinterested in
the race until I heard that a record could be
set. But when it was related to me how impor-
tant this race is to Australia and how impossi-
ble it would be for Diva to win a third Cup in
a row, I was suddenly captivated. I love to see
the impossible made possible and, like Lance
Armstrong, Diva has set a new standard in
her class of racing.

Diva’s owner retired her from racing dur-
ing his podium speech, telling fans that she
will now play a role in the breeding of future

champions. But that is of little matter as her
fame and her place in sports history has
already been set in stone. ..at least in
Australia.

 

 

 

 

National
Defence

Défense
nationale

ivi

MUP U Ae

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Pah sh ee

 

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Rees