Hockeyroos Don't Bend and Don't Break, and They Win
The train that winds into Olympic Park was slowly easing by the hockey stadium earlier this week when a boy sprung from his seat like a trick snake out of a can.
Sticking his painted face against the window, he was searching the empty field in the distance. 'Where are the Hockeyroos?,' he asked. Better yet, what are they? At first, the name sounds like a cuddly team mascot or the title of a Disney film.
But the Hockeyroos are neither. They are a team that is as tough as a hammer's head and very much real. This is the Australian women's field hockey team, a group of unflinching, unrelenting players who have become their nation's most dominate international team. With a following that goes well beyond just a cult niche, they have left their country dizzy with their success over the last decade years.
Tonight, a swarm of chanting Aussies packed the hockey stadium for their beloved team's gold-medal match against Argentina. And by the end of their 3-1 victory, after the Hockeyroos had dismantled their opponent's will with their deceptive stick skills, opportunistic scoring and aggressive attack, they were free to enjoy the buildup to their gold medal.
While the crowd counted down the last 10 seconds in a crescendo, the Hockeyroos embraced each other, linked arms like papers dolls and started celebrating. The Olympic favorites -- a team that has now won three gold medals in a row -- could finally feel relief.
'I must say there was some tension,' said Rechelle Hawkes. 'There were a few girls who were nervous. It was pretty quiet before we came out. But once it started, we all came together.'
Now, some of them will be going their own way.Richard Charlesworth, the coach and the adored taskmaster who pushed his team to be perfectionists, but was visibly moved as he watched his players bask in their moment, is expected to depart.
'Afterward, he just stood up briefly and said he was really, really proud of us,' said Jenny Morris. 'He had some tears in his eyes.'
Others were waiting for the emotional impact of the night to hit them. At age 32, Hawkes is retiring from competition with three gold medals, equaling the total of Australian icon Dawn Fraser.
'To be mentioned in the same breath as Dawn Fraser is amazing, but I couldn't have done it without this team,' Hawkes said. 'Winning in Atlanta was special, but this is the best way to go out. I'm really just over the moon.'
She was among the many. As the team completed a victory lap around the field, the steel-framed stadium trembled with the roar, but perhaps the most touching display of admiration came from Argentina. The silver medalists lined up in two parallel rows, formed a bridge with their hands, and then ushered the Aussies through their gauntlet as a show of respect.
'What we achieved was important,' said goalkeeper Mariela Antoniska, who endured a flurry of 17 attempts, saved a remarkable 14 of the shots but wept after the game. 'I'm disappointed, but Australia is a very good team.'
The Aussies have been excelling for years. Under Charlesworth, the team's reputation as intimidators has flourished. They are not dirty, but hard-nosed. If they are hurt, his players refuse to show it. If they are afraid, they learn to hide it. Tonight, the Aussies were anxious beneath their fagade but shook it off in the opening minutes.
Although they missed some early shots, some of which glanced off the goalposts, the Australians were on the attack. Nine minutes into the game, Alyson Annan slipped in front of the net and used her stick like a pool cue. Faced with a thicket of legs and sticks, she poked the ball past a diving Antoniska.
Just before the first half, the Aussies took a 2-0 lead after they converted a penalty corner opportunity into a goal. This time, a quick-thinking Juliet Haslam was in the right place to turn a deflection off the post into a goal.
Instead of allowing Argentina to get back into the game, Australia opened the second half by taking advantage of another penalty corner situation. Three minutes into play, Morris reached out and slashed the ball in between defenders and into the net from the top of the circle. Ahead 3-0, the Aussies were revealing just how dominating they have come to be, and why they are the pride of their country.
'I don't know if anything prepares you for the emotion of this,' said Morris, who had difficulty speaking without getting emotional. 'This is a bloody great night. To win a gold here is just amazing.'
In the process, the rest of the world came to discover the answer to, What's a Hockeyroo?
SYDNEY 2000: FIELD HOCKEY