Carlton Supporters Club

Sweden up 3-2, 63mins

In the context of a global pandemic causing a lot of people a lot of angst, I think its a miracle that people are able to go on living life as normally as possible, and kudos to everyone who is able to continue playing life each and every day with a straight bat.

Life is pretty ordinary at the moment for a lot of people, and getting yourself in peak competitive condition is likely difficult given its very easy to lose focus in the scheme of things.  For us, life is not terrible, and it could be much worse, but most of the people we are talking about have very little in the way of these sorts of issues and uncertainty hanging over their head.  I have to say on a personal level, seeing the uncertain future is quite shocking but I am a bit more level headed than most, and can appreciate that it is what it is.  Being an Olympic athlete, having had the games canned once, having no certainty about them going ahead until the 11th hour, and then getting there and not necessarily having a very good time might be something that would cause enough problems for most competitors.

Add the "#me too" factor to someone like Simone Biles and its completely understandable.

I hope Biles isn't playing the mental health card because she she fluffed a few landings. Disgrace if she did.

Saw an interview and she indicated she knows she's near the end and that 24 is old aged for a gymnast.

She's a world champion and I made a comment to my wife the other night that she looked like she was going to burst into tears when competing. 

I'll stand corrected but there was an interview with her the night and it was after she pulled the pin. I find that very odd that a person suffering mental health issues would given an interview. Don't even start me on Cambage.

Fundamentally I agree with you.  Mental health gets used to explain away all manner of shocking behaviour, but I'd have to say that the last 18 months has probably tested more people more frequently, and some people who have previously had it all together are likely falling apart, and I've seen some other people I previously thought were a bit fragile actually coping better than expected and my assumption is that they probably feel a little bit more like they have a reason to not be at their best which relieves the pressure.

Mental health scenarios aren't that black and white.  Where you are good and you are bad.  Think more like a dam wall holding back a river.  For the most part, it holds and it does a decent job but you don't really see the leaks until its at breaking point.  The river is pretty much life.  The leaks where we see people starting to crack.  You'll see it on peoples faces and hear it in their voices where they just look defeated, and then one day the dam wall breaks and it takes a lot of help to put it back together again, but it is repairable provided there is no permanent damage done which prevents that from occurring.  The river symbolises life and its pressures.  The dam wall peoples ability to hold it all together.  The breaking is more the point where people tend to act in a manner that's out of character.

The modern issue is that its become a reason to explain what appears to be poor behaviour, but the hard part is determining whether or not the bad behaviour is the cause or the effect. 

Jess Fox, what a legend, The GOAT, what a story!

And her old man, how Richard Fox keeps it together while commentating his daughter's sport is a miracle, I'd be a basket case!

You can see the gene pool that delivers the results, and AFL want to kybosh F&S! I realise it isn't a guarantee, but when you get a goodun they are seriously good!

btw; I did not hear it, I'm not even sure you can hear it on repeat, but I heard SEN did a freakish live broadcast of the run that should be considered legendary in itself!