Edgy

Saturday night was real edgy. It seemed like every second person was hard-wired to arc up at the slightest crack, peculiar look or dodgy manoeuver.

A tough lesbian had to be restrained by her girlfriends from attacking me. “I don’t like his attitude,” she fumed. “He’s a footballer meathead.”  “Lady, I’m doing you a favour,” I responded, “we're going the shortest route.” I wondered whether she was on ice or it was just my new haircut.

When making a late turn into gridlocked traffic on Crown Street a motorist attempted a blocking move, then yelled, “What the f___ you think you’re doing!?” So I yelled back, “I’m a taxi driver, whada you expect!?”, then drove around him.

It was one thing after another and finally I called a time-out for coffee, where I complained to the gay barista, “Someone just called me a f_____ poofter.” He slapped both hands on the counter and leaning forward sneered, “That you should be so lucky.”

Later, cabbies received a radio warning regarding the Cronulla Sharks footy match,

DON’T GO TO SHARK PARK. YOUTHS ARE THROWING ROCKS AND BOTTLES AT CABS.

And their team won!? That’s the full moon for you. 

Comments

[Harry Buttle]

How do you know that it was Cronulla supporters throwing rocks and bottles?

Don't you think that it would be more likely to have been supporters of the losing team.

[kae]

ArrrrrrOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The full moon and windy days.

They do something to people, don't they, Ade?

[Anatole]

Nobody said it was Cronulla supporters, but having driven cabs for many years, I wouldn't doubt that it was. They're not too friendly down there.

[beaker]

Bloody hell. How do you do it?

[Nashdale]

Knowing that the other team was Canberra and that 90% of their supporters would have travelled up to the game on buses from Canberra they would have been back on the buses straight after the match to travel the four hours home and not standing outside the ground throwing things at taxi drivers.

[Harry Buttle]

Anatole, he stated that "their team won", who do you think he meant, Canberra? - the rest of your post is a generalisation.

It only takes a few to throw stuff, so the "on the busses" argument from Nashdale doesn't hold water - it could just as easily have been Canberra fans who wanted to get to the airport, had a cab go by and got angry.

No facts and you've already decided who is at fault - nice bit of prejudice guys.

[Anthony]

Maybe they were wearing jerseys? That can be a giveaway...

[adrian]

Whilst Harry makes a fair point - losers would normally be the ones terrorising - I made an educated guess that Sharks fans' were responsible. Namely due to them never having won a premiership; horror period losing captain and key player after his glass attack on girlfriend; home match, overwhelming crowd numbers and heightened anticipation; underdogs...call it instinct.

So after work I spent an hour reading Sharks and Raiders fan forums and learnt that the Sharks fans did indeed lose control - targeting visiting fans throughout match; stealing their banners and setting them on fire; pitch invasion after match; kicking windows; vicious abuse, etc. Many complaints on Raider's forum yet scant mention on Shark's forum.

Unless contrary evidence implicating Raiders fans can be unearthed it would appear that the Sharks fans were the offenders.

[Harry Buttle]

What rubbish adrian, it never occurred to you that the offenders might want to shift the blame?

BTW, the Sharks haven't lost their captain, Gallen played and Greg Bird has yet to be proved to have attacked his girlfriend - she insists he didn't. Oddly enough, the Broncos supporters didn't riot and they have 3 stars facing sexual assault charges, their captain assaulted a bar manager on camera and the LOST their game - how can that be? by your logic, they must have rioted.

The "evidence" you produce is a series of unsupported allegations in a Raiders forum.

Not one word in the press and you believe the people with the most reason to act up. Funny, I watched the game on TV and not one of those supposed "burning banners" attracted one second of camera time - you'd think that would be pretty TV friendly, nor did the commentators mention it.

Sheer prejudice. I hope to god you never get jury duty, you are clearly unqualified to consider evidence.

[adrian]

Gees, Harry, settle down. All I did was make an assumption which I still believe to be correct. The evidence you find unsupported, whilst admittedly circumstantial, is indeed corroborated by a number of sources.

Until you can produce contrary evidence then this is all we've got. Therefore on the balance of probabilities, the riotous behaviour came from the Sharks fans but you're welcome to disprove my finding. Canvassing St George cabbies would be a good starting point.

Sheer prejudice? Methinks you protest too much.

[Harry Buttle]

Corroborated by a "number of sources" all you have is it was supposedly stated in a raiders forum (anonymous posters hiding behind screen names, it doesn't get better than that!) and given that their team got flogged on the night, it seems far more likely that they acted up and then tried to shift the blame.

"Methinks you protest too much", or to put it another way, I provide too many arguments that show how flimsy your position is and you are grabbing at straws.

Tell me that you really believe a TV producer would not put ONE single camera on a fire in a football crowd in this day and age? yet the raiders forums supposedly say it happened several times, it wasn't screened, and you believe them.

You believe that bottles get thrown in Wellington and the NRL wants to see the tapes, but you can set fire to property in Woolaware and the NRL says nothing?

Windows kicked, yet no police reports?

Thefts, destruction of private property and vicious abuse, yet ground security does nothing and the NRL doesn't ask to see the crowd footage?

As you say "this is all you've got" - sheer prejudice.

From a position of no evidence you then require me to prove a negative - traditionally if you want to name a culprit, the onus is on YOU to find proof and so far, you have nothing.

They say "when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging", but keep at it and let me know how it works out for you.

[James]

Harry, I am 'Zip Zip' on the Raiders forum, so as just to show I'm not an "anonymous poster hiding behinda screen name" and it was a group of Sharks supporters who told me about the banner burning incident in the Sharks leagues club after the match!

Upon walking away from the club I was also abused by other Sharks supporters simply for wearing my Raiders jumper.

I have also heard numerous reports of the incidents mentioned on this page and the people on these forums are also my friends, they are not anonymous, and I have no reason to doubt them. They certainly wouldn't just make these things up for the sheer hell of it.

[adrian]

Harry, why would there be television coverage of events which occurred post-broadcast - taxi attacks; burning banners; kicked windows (which don't attract a police report).

Mate, still waiting to hear of any eye witness accounts refuting that Sharks fans were out of control. You can stamp your feet all you like but until such evidence is forthcoming, my point stands.

[Harry Buttle]

James, you are still anonymous, for all I know you are named susan or adrian and now the story has changed from "banners" being stolen and burned to a single banner incident, with it being burned IN THE LEAGUES CLUB? (you've not heard of smoke alarms or fire regulations I take it?) at least get your story straight before you parrot it.

An outside broadcast producer would grab footage of such behaviour for the late news and kicked windows do attract a police report.

keep going with the shovel adrian and its nice to see james has hopped in to help dig.

So far, all you've got is a nice line in defamation going.

[Anatole]

Of course everybody knows that the inhabitants of the Shire are a peaceful mob. They'd never attack taxis (well, except mine on several occasions over the years, but that must have been just bad luck). They'd never attack people from other places (except when they're having race riots, attacking people with different coloured skin). And of course they're tolerant and relaxed when it comes to their footy players.

I believe Adrian is only reporting what he saw. Perhaps, Harry, you should actually venture into that area after a footy game - Cronulla is up there with Manly as an area to be careful in.

There are many good things about that area, and I've spent plenty of time down there myself. But I have seen and experienced too many problems to ever let my guard down there when I'm working.

[Fred Bloggs]

I did see Greg Bird glass someone thou and then paid this person off to say nothing

[nashdale]

And of course Harry are not some anonymous person!!

Now that Adrian is on holidays for a while how about giving it a rest so you don't clog up his blog.

[Michael]

I was sitting in the Peter Burns stand when the banner burning happened.

It was towards the end of the game and there was a bit of banter between the fans in the standing zone next to the Burns stand. Some Raiders fans tried raising their banner which was taken from them and the Cronulla fans tried to light it (albeit unsuccessfully - the damn thing wouldn't burn!).

There was a bit of smoke, but it didn't really catch fire like you see on TV when folk burn flags.

[James]

Ok Harry sorry if that was a tad ambiguous. I didn't mean the banner was burned in the leagues club, I meant that a group of Sharks fans in the leagues club told me they saw the banners being burned.

I'm hardly "parrotting" I'm just contributing what I know to the conversation.

[SBomb]

Harry wake up!
Your a delusional sharks supporter who cant admit your fellow fans would cause trouble.I dont follow the sharks or the raiders but have a keen interest in the NRL. Unlike you and your armchair support form your lounge room, I was actually at the game and the crowd was extremely hostile. they werent too bad for most of the game but as it became clear they were going to win the supporters (not all but a huge number of males aged 16-25) started mucking up big time. They were trowing stuff. pouring beer on raiders fans, trowing things at them and i actually saw the banner burning incident. and let me tell you it happened, not in the leagues club as you think you read above. It was simply uncalled for. I dont know what it was, maybe Adrians comment about the fans getting into such a state because they are close to thier first ever premiership is correct. But something certainly happend in the second half and the sharks fans started going wild. I also saw a sharks supporter pour a full beer over a raiders fans head then punch him in the face because the raiders fans dared to tell him to wake up to himself. So Harry mate dont come on here with all these opinions and bullsh1t excuses for your fellow sharks fans when you werent even at the game to have a opinion. what would you know buddy? wake up to yourself!!!

[Justin]

Noone in the so called Shire has ever done anything wrong - right Harry?

I was at the game and while I have plenty of time for a lot mates/hobbits in the Shire, You have to be very aware that theres is a strong subculture of drunken, group violence under the seeming peaceful guise of Northies and Fusion...

Funny how you've gone quiet since the Shark's last game.

What was the score again?