Talisman Dan

Every team must have a talisman?

This is not something I realised until I watched the Socceroos play Iraq the other night.  Like everybody else, I enjoyed the contrasting emotions displayed by Tim Cahill towards his coach, Holger Osieck when he was taken of the field with 15 minutes to play (grumpy) when compared with the immediate aftermath of the victory (embarassing, overjoyed, contrite man-hug territory). 


The next day The Age, reviewing the match, referred to Cahill as the 'team talisman'.

What the?

Here's the definition I found:

tal·is·man  (tls-mn, -z-)

n. pl. tal·is·mans

1. An object marked with magic signs and believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

2. Something that apparently has magic power.

So, Boffins, the obvious question is - do we have a Talisman?

I'm building an argument here that our talisman is Dan.  

The criticism has been leveled at me that my last post suggested Dan contributes to our team chiefly as an object of considerable mass and girth that moves relentlessly towards its destination. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Nothing was said in the previous blog post that had not previously been given a test-run on the side of the pitch.  So choke on your self-righteous indignation you false defenders of the Dan. 

Here's the truth about Boffin Dan:

Dan is a sportsman

whose hands

or feet 

generally meet the ball

as planned.

Were Dan an ordinary

unskilled man

he'd still be

on the couch

only a fan.

Oh, he does that too. Too much. But he's a player first and foremost.

Each season

Dan

excites the fans

as fitness level

builds

to approximate his skills

and then

the season ends.

But, is the Dan

the Talisman? 

The TalisDan?

He's marked, I'm told

with magic signs.

Discretely, unlike Tim

Cahill.

He'll show you.

If you ask.

His presence and demeanour

Always

Keep the Boffins clean.

Dan is the keeper  - not the goalkeeper

you idiots -

but the keeper of

the Boffin Dream.

For Dan

sport's not the end

simply the means...