NINETY-NINE per cent of people involved in a practical joke find it hilarious. Could be a trick or a trap, they’re funniest when you witness them first-hand and watch the unlucky individual walking down a path into their own demise.
However, there is that 1% who don’t find them funny … that being the victim of the joke!
I love it when I’m part of the 99%, and it hurts me to admit this, but recently I was part of the 1%.
Not wanting to further embarrass myself (and not wanting to create a new nickname for myself either) I won’t go into specifics about what happened in the joke played on me.
All I’m willing to say is it resulted in all the boys laughing at me, and an instant heavy feeling of regret that I should have seen it coming!
To add further embarrassment, it was decided by vote (yes, we’re a democratic group at the Swans) that there would be a punishment for my previously mentioned mistake. We may be ademocratic lot at the Swans but we are by no means a soft and sensitive group as we love to punish victims whenever we can.
Nathan “Nipper” Gordon was also deemed to require a punishment for a mistake he made. It seems that day the boys were calling for blood!
First up, it was decided that Nathan would have to wear his club suit to and from training for a full week. Any mistake would incur a $200 fine.
And then came my punishment. It was decided that I would have to walk around the markets at the Entertainment Quarter next to the club in my Swans outfit and walk up to random people and offer them my signature!
What a punishment… How embarrassing! What arrogant person saunters around in their Swans clothes and approaches people going about their daily routine, asking them if they would like my signature? Apparently, I was going to be that guy.
So last Wednesday I set out to fulfill my sentence. To make matters worse, just by chance, John Longmire and the other coaches were at the same markets getting lunch. Initially they were confused about my behaviour, but this quickly changed to laughter when they found out the reason. All in all it was an absolute nightmare!
It seemed like it took me an eternity but I got through it and my face was redder than Gary Rohan’s hair. I’m now very wary of any further practical jokes, but also hoping to get back to how it used to be, me laughing at other people, and not the other way around.
Ted Richards
@Richards_Report
