A week ago, the worst-kept secret in Australian sport confirmed that Tasmania's new AFL franchise would follow the naming rights convention for the "little island" state's teams in national competitions.
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It would bear the name of an endemic species renowned for its ferocious bite.
Anyone who has been bitten by a Tasmanian tiger, devil or jackjumper is probably either dead, armless or in anaphylactic shock.
However, fortunately for Melbourne United, they are not usually fatal.
The month was already looming as one of the biggest in Tasmanian sporting history even before Jack McVeigh decided to chance his lengthy, tattooed, beautiful arm from so far downtown that he needed several stops on the subway to reach the basket.
More of that later, but the momentous period began at UTAS Stadium with an announcement made under a Hawthorn FC banner proclaiming "Hawks Always", which may no longer be strictly accurate.
In a major shock to absolutely nobody, the new Tasmanian AFL team is to be called the Tassie Devils, play in a strangely familiar myrtle green, primrose yellow and rose red colour scheme and feature a map of the state's coastline on their guernsey.
The revelations simultaneously sparked a wave of island pride in the use of such historic and iconic themes sufficient to generate chants of "Devils, Devils" at assorted launch sites, plus a social media backlash at the decision-makers for falling back on such tired and predictable stereotypes.
Like the opera house outline on the Sydney Swans' guernsey, the map is almost certainly destined to become synonymous with the club's roots. However, it is notably devoid of the state's many off-islands leaving the legal door open for Flinders, King, Bruny, Maria, Tamar and co to join forces and kick up the same fuss as their mainland did when left off the Australian map at the 1982 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
With so many of the so-called "announcements" having already been so widely leaked or rumoured, perhaps the biggest discovery of the night was that Warner Brothers had been unaware the subject of their famous Tasmanian devil cartoon was an actual animal. And we had to negotiate with these people.
But while everyone present was talking up the devils in the room, few seemed inclined to mention the elephant. This was the rather sensitive subject of what would become of the venture should Tasmanians either vote out the party which signed up for an obligatory but superfluous third elite stadium or vote in sufficient dissenters to cast serious doubt over the eventuality - which duly happened five days later.
By then, the on-field aspects of Tasmania's significant sporting spell were well underway with the Tigers and JackJumpers contesting national finals in cricket and basketball respectively.
Fair to say the contests took contrasting directions.
The combined total of Tasmania's two innings in the Sheffield Shield final at the WACA was one run short of the first dig contribution from Western Australia - who then added 376 more runs just for good measure.
Perhaps the most telling subplot of Tassie's attempts to claim a fourth Shield title was that of Matthew Wade.
While everyone present was talking up the devils in the room, few seemed inclined to mention the elephant
Having won four Sheffield Shield titles during his decade with Victoria but none with the state of his birth, the 36-year-old opted to prioritise the domestic showpiece over his lucrative Indian Premier League contract.
Sadly, Wade's contribution amounted to facing 20 deliveries and scoring four runs without taking a catch, bowling or keeping wicket before jetting off to the consolation of a $446,000 contract with the Gujarat Titans.
The four-day duration of Tasmania's misery in the national cricket final coincided with the state's joyous turnaround in the basketball equivalent on the opposite side of the country.
Trailing 1-0 after the series opener, the NBL's newest franchise recorded their first ever grand final victory on Friday before doubling up two days later with their first away triumph.
The 10-point win in front of a packed house in Hobart was a mere appetiser to Sunday's thriller in Melbourne which witnessed seven changes of lead in the final three-and-a-half minutes before McVeigh decided it was time to put an end to such shenanigans.
While Fox Sports described the last-second Hail Mary three-pointer from near the mid-court logo as the "all-time NBL moment", McVeigh's coach Scott Roth attempted to quell the hysteria by saying it was "just another shot".
Either way, it provided the chance for McVeigh to call his male interviewer "Baby" countless times in a post-match reaction for the ages, Roth to kiss last-quarter impact hero Majok Deng on live TV and Hobart to ratchet up the atmosphere even further this Thursday night.
A JackJumpers' victory in game four of the five-match series and maiden title in just their third season would surely settle any debate over exactly where March 2024 sits in the history of Tasmania sport.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Tassie sporting teams determined to keep biting back on national stage
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25.03.2024
A week ago, the worst-kept secret in Australian sport confirmed that Tasmania's new AFL franchise would follow the naming rights convention for the "little island" state's teams in national competitions.
$0/
(min cost $0)
Login or signup to continue reading
It would bear the name of an endemic species renowned for its ferocious bite.
Anyone who has been bitten by a Tasmanian tiger, devil or jackjumper is probably either dead, armless or in anaphylactic shock.
However, fortunately for Melbourne United, they are not usually fatal.
The month was already looming as one of the biggest in Tasmanian sporting history even before Jack McVeigh decided to chance his lengthy, tattooed, beautiful arm from so far downtown that he needed several stops on the subway to reach the basket.
More of that later, but the momentous period began at UTAS Stadium with an announcement made under a Hawthorn FC banner proclaiming "Hawks Always", which may no longer be strictly accurate.
In a major shock to absolutely nobody, the new Tasmanian AFL team is to be called the Tassie Devils, play in a strangely familiar myrtle green, primrose yellow and rose red colour scheme and feature a map of the state's coastline on their guernsey.
The revelations simultaneously sparked a wave of island pride in the use of such........
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