AS THEN MCG BAKES in the summer sun, the silence of the arena broken only by occasional games of cricket, it is perhaps reminiscent of many years previously - pioneering times when the game was well and truly evolving.
These were the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s, when aspects of the new competition, such as memberships outside the player groups, paid entry, and boundary fences, were still being brought into being.
We accept them as standard today, but then they were still working their way into the collective structure of the game.
The surrounds of the Melbourne Cricket Ground were once a haven for stall holders of all sorts, from hot food carts to jugglers, and everything in between, motivated to ply their trade by the extra traffic generated through the new football games.
The Melbourne Football Club, therefore, had a struggle on its hands.
It had been granted permission to use a ground located outside the main MCG arena - known as the ‘gravel pit’, which may give some idea of its roughness.
But when they applied for further permission to enclose the ground with fencing, and to put down proper turf, were halted by trees which had been planted in the vicinity.
It was a challenge, and even when grounds were enclosed, and ticketing issued, many schemes were utilised by those unwilling to pay for the privilege.
Crowds littered the branches of trees outside boundary lines, clustering into the upper canopies for a better view.
Young children ducked in between the legs of paying patrons to gain free entry, and even the roofs of stands were regarded as optional seating for eager spectators who were not quite so keen to pay for the privilege of watching the game.
Gradually, of course, this all changed as the game gained in popularity.
These early decades are a world apart from the streamlined methods used in the competition today, complete with huge concrete stands, barcoded memberships, regulated seating and the like.
However, the passion for the game remains the same as it was from the earliest days, and the pioneering spirit of more than 150 years ago is an integral part of the club, and the competition as a whole.
