Having returned from the stifling heat of Taiwan and his recent selection at number 34 in the
Huddle's mock draft, Mike took some time out to visit the pools of the BUB Manor, then sauntered inside to discuss his recent trip and achievements at World Games. The discussion went a little something like this:
BUB: Mike, thanks for avoiding the swarm of Taiwanese girls outside to come in and have a quick chat with us about your recent trip to World Games. Nice little medal around your neck as well we see.
MN: Thanks for having me on the page. The medal is very nice, a real point of pride from my 7 years of Frisbee.
You'd think those Taiwanese girls would have had enough by now hey?
BUB: Oh Mike, no one could ever get enough of you. We were hearing reports of crowds up to 5,000 people for some of the games over there. Given that the biggest crowd in Australia will be a couple of hundred people at a Nationals Final, what was it like to play in front of those sorts of crowds? Any signs held up saying "Marry me Mike Neild"?
MN: There were a few signs up in the stadium, no proposals that I noticed however it was a big stadium. During the opening ceremony for the whole event the stadium was full (40,000 or something) and there were people hanging out on the outside of the stadium watching on the big screen.
During the course of the 3 day Frisbee tournament 39,500 tickets were sold and during our Sunday night game against the host nation Chinese Taipei there were an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people in the stadium. It was absolutely incredible! I have a vivid memory of standing on the line at the start of a point three quarters of the way through the game. The commentator on the loud speaker was firing up the crowd and Mat Dowle was standing 5m away from me and yelling in order to make himself heard while calling the line, it was like nothing I've experienced before.
BUB: 12,000 people?! We'll have to try and get that to the next BPL Final. One of the big wins to come out of WG05 was the high level of spirit at such a competitive tournament. Australia won the spirit at WG09, but how did you view the overall spirit of the tournament? Feel free to name names if you like.
MN: The spirit was good at the tournament. Possibly slightly higher than at a World Championship event. Spirit is based heavily on respect for the individuals and team that are at the other end of the field. Respect between the players of the top frisbee nations in the world is very high. As always there was some fiestyness between GB and Australia however it never became disrespectful.
BUB: Don't worry about those brits, we'll have the ashes soon anyway. Heroic Australian Co-Captain Jonno Holmes was on a drip prior to the bronze medal playoff and then returned to the field to help lead the team to victory. Do you consider this a greater sporting moment than the incident involving
Graeme Smith and his broken hand at the SCG earlier this year? How much did this boost the team?
MN: Yeah Jonno looked pretty ordinary for a couple of days there and I suppose we needed to get him onto the essential salts or magic drip a bit earlier. He was so important to the successful performance of our team on the field that without him at top ability we struggled.
I was absolutely inspired and impressed by his performance in the bronze medal game after such a tough preceeding 48 hours. A total captain's effort.
BUB: Graeme Smith, eat your heart out! Given that most of you have been playing non-stop since WUGC training camps around 1.5 years ago, do you plan on taking any time off now to have a bit of a rest? Or are you going to keep going while the going is good?
MN: It is a shame that opportunities to play for Australia are so rare. I have feelings of regret that during the window of top level performance that I have as an athlete (while the going is good) I will only attend a small number of events for Australia. These feelings are mixed with an interest in not completing multiple running sessions each week for months on end.
To answer the question I'll lumber around at league with the Cougars, QUTies and Buggers for the rest of the year however travelling and tournaments hold very limited appeal for me at the moment.
BUB: How did you find the standard of the overall tournament? Did it live up to the highest level in our sport? Were any games easy at that level?
MN: They were all hard fought, desperate games. Credit must go to the host nation Chinese Taipei for developing themselves into a dangerous and challenging team. The results at the tournament give credit to the even nature of the teams, with all of the top 4 teams beating each other at various stages. There were also excellent individual challenges during every game, it was great.
It is different to playing with the Dingos though. The shortness of the tournament maybe, the fact that every game was challenging and vital to the overall result. A wonderful experience
BUB: Well Mike, thanks for your time today. We will let you get back to the autograph signing.
MN: Yes thank you Brisbane Ultimate Blog. The autograph joke is now a little less fantasy and a little more real - still pretty surreal and funny though.
Also thanks very much to everyone from Brisbane who wished me good luck and passed on their congratulations when I came home down at league or at the halibut. It has been really nice to feel the support of the community and I was well aware of the responsibility to represent the home frisbee community well while over at the tournament. Thanks again.
Mike waves to the fans as he enters the stadium.
The Crocs receive their bronze medals.
Mike signs some autographs for some adoring fans. Next shot was Mike being mauled by naked, screaming Taiwanese girls, but could not be shown for legal reasons.
