School’s out for soccer, great Aussie football sickie spreads

Students got a lesson in patience watching the Socceroos grit out a nil-all draw with Paraguay in the World Cup, while the spirit of the great Australian sickie was in full force at pubs and live sites across Sydney.

At Rozelle Public School, students piled into the hall or gathered in classrooms to watch the game that kicked off at noon on Friday.

Principal Andrew Braiding said it’s worth skipping class for the students to experience it.

“These are core memories,” he said. “The stars have aligned this year, we don’t get many international tournaments on Friday afternoon at 12 o’clock with our national team.”

Deafening chants of “oi, oi, oi” filled the hall as students watched the game, out of uniform and in an eclectic mix of green and gold.

Girls wore their Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler Matildas jerseys. Boys turned up in a mix of various strips from Australian national teams across cricket, rugby, and yes, even the odd Socceroos jersey.

“Everyone’s wearing green and gold for the soccer,” Zephyr Samson, 11, said.

“I’m just happy we get to skip class and watch a game.”

Madison Plumbe, 12, backed the decision to swap schoolwork for soccer.

“It means that people can get together and share their passions, and they can cheer for the team together … a really fun time on a Friday.”

Elsewhere on Friday, fans – many skipping work – flocked to pubs and the Socceroos live site at Tumbalong Park.

The Sackville Hotel in Rozelle, temporarily renamed the Sacky-roos, had booked out within hours earlier in the week.

More than 1000 beers flowed out of the taps by 3pm.

Under the condition of anonymity, two men who skipped work to watch the game had told their boss they were busy elsewhere.

“I can’t really say much more. I just love Australia,” one said to justify his decision.

“You gotta do it for the nation,” his mate said.

Those attending Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour came prepared for the weather with umbrellas and ponchos as a persistent drizzle continued throughout the game.

Some others took shelter under the awning of the nearby International Convention Centre.

Roop Sandhu, 19, and Samreen Randhawa, 21, said they had seen footage of jubilant Socceroos fans at the live site during previous games.

“We’re both pretty big fans so we just wanted to come down and check it out for ourselves,” Sandhu said.

“Everyone is making so much noise and everyone comes together, we just wanted to be a part of that,” Randhawa said.

The pair agreed it was worth standing in the rain.

“Even if there’s no goals, just supporting our country is worth it,” Sandhu said.

She told her boss she “won’t be able to work”.

“I think they probably knew,” she said.

One man who didn’t want his name published said he couldn’t get the day off, so he quit instead.

A nervous final few minutes brought relief when a Paraguay shot was swallowed up by Patrick Beach, followed by excitement as the Socceroos attacked. The crowd deflated when Tete Yengi’s shot dribbled into the hands of the Paraguay’s goalkeeper.

When the final whistle blew, the crowd erupted and the celebrations began, without a single goal scored.

The national anthem was sung. The drizzling rain persisted as the crowd filed out. Some may have even gone back to work.

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