In this past two weeks we have seen both the men's hockey team (The Kookaburras) and the women's hockey team (The Hockeyroos) win their way to compete in the Rio Olympics next year as automatic qualifiers.
The Hockeyroos beat New Zealand in the bronze medal play-off at the Hockey World League in Belgium.
The Kookaburras stunned hosts Belgium in the most dramatic of circumstances to win the World Hockey League Semi-Final tournament, with defender Chris Ciriello firing home the game's only goal with its final penalty corner play.
There you have it – two Champion Australian sporting sides – the men's and women's hockey teams, both having won Olympic Gold Medals, World Cups and Champions Trophies.
What is more this record of theirs goes back and back and back – the Australian hockey team's records have and continued to be phenomenal.
Hockey has consistently been a popular participant sport in Australia for well over a century. Many have claimed that it was post WWII when Australian hockey took to the world stage after Indian independence in 1947 followed by the separate nations of India and Pakistan.
These important world events led to a mass exodus of Anglo-Indians to Australia, many settling in Perth where they developed their hockey on the delightful flat sandy grass surfaces being established.
These bowling green type hockey fields allowed these Anglo-Indian exponents of the art of hockey to produce their magic and the rise of Western Australian hockey at all national titles – men's, women's, Youth, Children's, Schools, Universities.
But with all this – with international hockey accolades in both the men's and women's game - this is the realistic score line.
Australian international winning performances
Hockey 1000 - Soccer 0
Media accolades
Soccer 100,000,000 - Hockey 0
It is astonishing the more the soccer team lose the more the media praises their efforts.
This has so many hallmark similarities of the media with biblical truth.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
