Jesse's Carlton Holiday
- Jesse's Walk to the 'G
- We Beat the Magpies
- Jesse's Day at Training
- Two In a Row
- Carlton holiday ends
Boy, I've had a big week in Melbourne since the win over Collingwood on Sunday! On Monday Mum and I went to the Carlton shop where I bought yet ANOTHER Carlton teddy; Tuesday we went to the zoo; Wednesday we went to some playgrounds; Thursday we went on a bus and a tram to the museum; Friday we went to the Melbourne Market and then to see the Carlton boys at training; and Saturday we went to Princes Park again, not only to watch the Northern Bullants (Carlton's reserves team) play against Tasmania, but also to meet the player that Mummy helps sponsor, Richard Hadley.
WHAT a fun time I've had!
On Friday afternoon Mum and I went to Princes Park to see training. Melbourne Storm (rugby league) use Princes Park as their home base and they were finishing training as we arrived. Then the Blues came out. I had fun watching Houlihan and others right in front of us doing some cool handball drills. They were juggling the footballs so fast!! Michelle was there to meet us (remember her from the Collingwood game? - we met up with her then to rub the magic balls to wish the Blues luck) and she had a present for me - lots of Carlton posters (mostly of KOUTA) and stickers and tattoos and footy cards! How lucky was I?!
When the players finished their training, we talked to them and Mum got some photos. Mum had quite a talk to Houlihan - unfortunately he is now injured and he told Mum all about his hip operation he'll be having next week. Remember, Houla is the only player remaining at Carlton who met me when I had my heart surgery back in 2003. He has seen me since, when I was about one (the first photo). So he was very surprised to see how much I've grown - I'm very much taller now that I am five! I showed him the player badge I have of him on my cap - we bought it at the Richmond game earlier this year.
When Fev went to leave the ground, there were kids and grown ups everywhere trying to get his autograph or their photo taken with him. He talked to me and Mum took our photo - I showed him the badge that I bought of him on Monday - I now have lots of player badges on my Carlton cap!
When Marc Murphy left he gave me a high five - you can see that his hand is a little bit bigger than mine! Murph liked that I had his badge on my cap as well - I bought his badge last year. Murph was our first Number One Draft Pick, taken in 2005.
Then it was time to meet our newest Number One Draft Pick, Matthew Kreuzer. Remember it was his Dad, the really tall man who I shook hands with in the photo of the Telechoice clinic last week? (not really his Dad, but that's what the MC said). And you guessed it, I showed Matthew I have HIS player badge on my cap as well.
Lastly it was time to meet Richard Hadley for the first time. He's a new player to our club (he used to play for the Brisbane Lions) and my Mummy is part of a group that sponsors him - they are his 'Player Partner'. Richard remembered the picture I drew for him at Christmas time, and said he would see us at the sponsor day tomorrow. I told him that we tried to get a player badge of him to put on my cap on Monday, but the Carlton shop was all sold out!
Then on Saturday, Mum, Dad and I walked back to Princes Park again - this time to see the Northern Bullants. They are a red team, and it took me a while to understand what Mummy was telling me - that a lot of Carlton players actually play for the Bullants. These are the players who aren't able to play in the main Carlton side. We saw lots of them running around out there, and it was good to see that they beat Tasmania. As well as watching the game, we also met up with some of the other sponsors in the group with Mum who are Player Partners of Richard Hadley. We were able to use the John Nicholls room at the top of the Carlton Social Club for the day. There were quite a few kids there and we all had great fun playing together.
At the start of the day I got to have a sausage in bread - really delicious. And at half time, Michelle came out onto the oval with me and Mum and Dad for us all to have a kick of the footy. I really like Michelle - she and I did lots of handballing and kicking together.
At 3 o'clock, about three-quarter time of the Bullants game, Richard Hadley came up to our room to meet us all. He stayed with us for about an hour. He told us that he was really loving living in Melbourne - he is from Perth, but has lived in Brisbane for the last six years. He was living with Chris Judd when he first moved over here, but will soon be sharing a house with Jarrad Waite. He reckons it has been fantastic playing in front of such big crowds already this season - and he absolutely loved beating the Magpies on Sunday. He couldn't get over how much the crowd was cheering for Carlton! I'm sure he must have heard me screaming and clapping. He reckons we should all be very excited about the future of the Blues, because we are heading in the right direction. I'm excited, that's for sure!! I asked Richard to sign the top of my cap for me, and he signed lots of other things for people too. Mum took a photo of him with all the kids:
And then it was time for the grown-ups to have their photo taken with Richard - these are some of the people who make up the Player Partner group (many of the group couldn't make it, coming from outside Melbourne and other states of Australia and even in London!). These people are all members of the Carlton Supporters Club (www.carltonsc.com.au) and it was the first time most of them had actually met each other in person:
One of the sponsors, Enzo and his family, were late in arriving, getting there just as the game ended and Richard left. At least they got to see Richard as he was leaving. We all went outside then to have a kick of the footy so Mum took a photo of Enzo with Michelle since he'd missed out on being in the photo with Richard.
Enz brought his little boy Jack, who I played with. He's almost three, and he likes footy just as much as me.
We all just had the BEST time then for the next hour, kicking the footy on the beautiful oval - the grass is so green and lush and in great condition. The grown ups had just as much fun as us kids - balls were flying around and Mum and Michelle and I had lots of goal kicking practice. I tell you, 50m is a long, long way out - we have no idea how Fev can kick his goals from that far away! Being on the Princes Park oval meant a lot to Mum because this would be one of the last times she'd be out there seeing the old Robert Heatley Stand and the George Harris Stand (Carlton Social Club) - the John Nicholls room was where the big glass panels are just to the left of the Social Club sign - because both those stands are being demolished soon in preparation for the big facility upgrade that will soon be happening.
And then, at about 5 o'clock, it was time for us all to say goodbye. As we were leaving, who should walk towards us but David Teague, ex-Carlton player and now playing coach of the Northern Bullants. He remembered me from the time that I won Mummy a Carlton watch in the Carlton Social Club a couple of years ago at Telstra Dome. He posed for a photo with me, and we said well done on winning the game today. We reckon he played really well. He joked and said the only way he could get himself a kick these days was to become the coach so the players would do what he told them!
I was a bit surprised as we were walking out of the ground when a lady came up to me and said "Are you Jesse?" She recognised me from the stories I do on the Carlton website! Her name is Toni and she looks after all the jumpers for the Northern Bullants. She reads the Carlton website all the time and has read all of my stories. She said she'd have liked to get my autograph if she'd had a pen with her! She also said I was even more beautiful in real life than in my photos. Mum told her not to tell me that or I'd get a big head.
And that was the end of my first exciting week on my holidays in Melbourne. I'm all geared up to go to see Carlton play Melbourne tomorrow (by the time you read this it will be all over). Hopefully I'll be seeing another Blue win!
Over and out from Jesse.
