Some ideas work better than others.
One that comes to mind is North Melbourne’s decision to bring an elephant to home ground Arden St before its game against Collingwood in 1979. The big beast took off down the wing with a young child holding on for dear life. Talk about an occupational health and safety hazard waiting to happen, but the crowd loved it.
I thought a more recent decision by U.S. minor league baseball team the New Britain Rock Cats to plan a hoax marriage proposal before a game was also a winner.
American men are famous for proposing to their girlfriends at sporting events, but the brains trust at the Rock Cats set it up so the girlfriend rejected the man on bended knee.
Formerly just known locally, the Rock Cats are now recognised worldwide as the planned video went viral, with almost 100,000 views online before the club admitted the ruse.
The proposer and the proposee are actually employees at the baseball club; eventually admitting the acting could have been better.
Even though the partnership was not real, the Rock Cats have now boosted their social media numbers without breaking the bank.
One partnership that’s anything but fake is the impressive form of Collingwood’s Luke Ball and Dane Swan when the pair play side by side.
The Pies will go into Saturday’s match against the red-hot Swans as clear outsiders, but the AFL Fantasy form of Ball and Swan at ANZ Stadium should not be ignored and may push Collingwood to victory.
The pair have played two matches together at the venue (in 2010 and 2011), averaging a combined 225 points in their team’s two big wins over Sydney.
Add that to the fact that Ball and Swan come into the game in very good form, combining for a total of 213 Dream Team points in their side’s 79-point win against the Bombers last week.
The much-lauded midfield of the Swans will attract most of the limelight come game time, but Dream Team form suggests the Pies’ midfield group will be more than competitive.
Mr Fantasy’s trade recommendations
Ins: Tom Rockliff (Brisbane Lions)
You need players in sizzling form as the season really heats up this week, and Rockliff has been brilliant of late. The midfielder has averaged 120.3 in his last three matches, including a super 144 last week – a PB for 2013. He will set you back $487,300.
Outs: Courtenay Dempsey (Essendon)
It’s the first week of the private league AFL Fantasy finals, so the time has come to spend big. If you have a little bit of cash in the bank, Dempsey ($337,400) could be replaced by teammate Brendan Goddard ($456,700) or the in-form Harry O’Brien ($402,600).
