“Who believes they can become a professional footballer”, my lifetime mentor and coach always asked. As a naïve, buoyant young boy stepping into his first pair of freshly polished cleats, it was easy for me to dream of my future as a footballer on the big screen. "Cross bars and posts, the echo of distant bells, The cool and friendly scent of whispering turf"; these words from John Alexander Ross McKellar's 1946 poem 'Football Field: Evening', evokes a memory encapsulated by a significant time period in my earlier days, a time when my passion for football was seemingly indestructible. McKellar clearly exemplifies the realisation of his idealistic dreams as he too was once a young sportsman, a value that I can now strongly come to terms with as I approach the conclusion of my schooling years. …show more content…
It was at Sydney Boys High School where McKellar developed a strong literary devotion through his studies of ancient classics, a significant practice that is said to be the foundation of his work. Although the Jacobean and Caroline dramatists and poets were his English favourites, and the Roman satirists and Greek anthology were a popular choice, his interest in French literature was deep and catholic. For McKellar, ‘Football Field: Evening’ sees him revisiting his prior sporting sanctuary as he reflects alone, realising how his career in sports was meaningless to