I was at the MCG on Sunday when Alex Johnson went down with yet another knee injury since confirmed to be another ACL requiring his 6th reconstruction. It happened late in the first quarter and had a very profound impact on the crowd. Suddenly club loyalties and footy took second place as everybody seemed stunned that such bad luck should be foisted on one young man. It was a poignant moment and a testament to Johnsons character that he put aside his personal anguish to walk out to the quarter time huddle and speak to every one of his team mates and do his bit to try and focus the team on the job at hand. The players responded and won the game against the odds despite only having 2 rotations on their bench in the 2nd half. They were assisted by Melbourne’s appalling kicking but Sydney demonstrated the player culture and the mental toughness that has been part of their fabric for many years.
Mike you just beat me to it.I agree with everything you have said about this courageous young man.Nobody deserves the cards he has been dealt.
It personifies the attitude the Sydney Swans have when you consider what he did at 1/4 time.Yes he had his moment of why me on the bench. But you couldn’t expect anything else.But he lifted himself an thought team first.
What Sydney has in regards to attitude, club spirit, culture, call it what you want,is unable to be bottled and sold.But I bet every club wish they had a truck load of it.
I wish the young man all the best in his future endeavours, be it going through the pain of trying again to play AFL, or walk away from the game he obviously loves.
A sad day for Aussie rules and Alex Johnson.