Tim 'Greatness' Rogers.

Tim 'Greatness' Rogers. Photo: Paul Rovere

You are?

Tim Rogers. Musician, North Melbourne diehard, star of ''This is Greatness'' AFL finals advertising campaign.


Greatness. It's your new middle name, apparently

Well, I took that accusation to the match review panel and I officially got it changed from ''oblique ordinariness''.


How great was performing at the AFL grand final?

Terrifyingly great.


How did it compare to your greatest ever gig?

There were possibly four more people at this one. And I was sober.


Was it the greatest ever crowd?

They were smiling, happy, bewildered people. All the nasty, dog, punk rock thing was replaced with kids smiling. And when you see a kid smiling at you, you want to smile back. It was like super Christmas.


Where's that unbelievably great purple suit you donned for the AFL greatness ads?

Still in bed, where I left it this morning.


Could you talk us through the elements of today's positively great ensemble?

Seersucker greatly soaks up sweat. Black women's trousers greatly highlight my skinny ankles and my thin posterior.


Did you say thin posterior?

I don't have a posterior. But I was speaking to Brett Kirk before, my brother, and he said that he has been accused of being all front as well.


Can I quote that?

Of course you can.


How great was it that the AFL did not ask Meat Loaf back for an encore?

Everyone has a bad show. I've had 247 bad shows and 2000 almost great ones. I felt for him, but then again I had to clean up his dressing room, and also carry him back to his hotel room, which wasn't great.


Was it even greater that the AFL finally booked Paul Kelly (not to mention your self)?

For it to be done this way there's not a big showbiz element. I love grassroots footy, but I love big footy. I love grassroots rock'n'roll, I love big rock'n'roll. Let's talk less about it and just enjoy the great bits about it. And rubbish the bad bits. Even if that bad bit is me.


What was your greatest ever grand final day?

1975. I was in Kalgoorlie. Watching North Melbourne beat Hawthorn with my dad. It's my greatest memory of my dad.


What's your greatest grand final wish?

For my daughter's eternal happiness. She's really excited about the game. She's watching from Manhattan. She'll stay up late and watch it. And her best mate goes for the Hawks.


Is there something bigger in this greatness idea?

Greatness can be your Big Issue seller giving his poetry on the street. It can be Lance Franklin running 50 metres and booting one from 70 metres out. It can be in those kids smiling at me when I was playing guitar, because I was playing out of tune. You don't need to be great-lookin', super-talented, it's about what's good and potentially great about you. Someone like me is obliquely ordinary at best, but I strive for greatness when I open my eyes in the morning whether it's cookin' the toast or being romantic. I want to be the greatest, and I fail. And I'm not scared of failing. You'll never fail if you don't try. That's greatness.


Thank you, Tim, that was great.