[Vnbiz] Australia's First ever Aboriginal Championship Captain

[Shane Wall]

Hi CACC,
   It will not mean very much to most people around the world, but 
history was made in Australia today, Sunday 24 February 2008.

   The Newcastle Jets won their first ever Australian Soccer League 
Championship today, beating the Central Coast Mariners 1-0. A jubilant 
result for the working-class mining community of the regional NSW city 
of Newcastle, but an even greater triumph for Aboriginal Australians.

   Aboriginal Australians have displayed exceptional sporting talent and 
prowess for eons. All along, we white Australians have "ridden on their 
backs" to share their glory. World famous names like boxer Tony Mundine 
or Cathy Freeman the runner, to strictly Australian heroes like Sidney 
Jackson and Graham Pollack - both Australian Football legends, to names 
that straddle many areas, like Anthony Mundine (son of Tony) who made a 
name for himself in the game of Rugby League, has since gone on to 
become a World Champion boxer like his dad - and who many white 
Australians "love to hate" because of his perceived public personality.

   Ladies and Gentleman, add one more name to the great pantheon of 
Aboriginal sporting glory - Jade North.

   Who? Just the FIRST EVER Aboriginal Australian to be Captain of a 
Championship winning team. In any sport. Ever! That's who!

   I humbly suggest that Aboriginal Australia should be proud of this 
young man. I watched the game on TV here in Vietnam. It was a sometimes 
'fiesty' affair. This young Aboriginal man led his fellow 
Greek-Australian, Italian-Australian, Anglo-Australian, etc. teammates 
to the ultimate glory in his sport. He may not have the 
headline-grabbing prodigious talent of others in his game, but he has 
something that most of us do not: born leadership qualities. It was 
totally obvious that he had the unquestioning loyalty and respect from 
his teammates.

   During the game this young man sometimes appeared authoritarian and 
sometimes was obviously conciliatory to his teammates. However, 
throughout the 90 minutes, there was never any doubt about who was the 
leader of Newcastle Jets on the pitch - Jade North!

   Although I am an Adelaide supporter, I congratulate Newcastle on 
their triumph and I applaud and acknowledge Jade North as another 
Aboriginal Sporting Icon. Congratulations Jade! Congratulations 
Aboriginal Australia!

   For my Vietnamese brothers and sisters, this is equivalent to an E'de 
person (or any other ethnic minority) being the captain of the Champion 
team in the Vietnam Football League. It is a BIG achievement that will 
largely be unrecognized by the majority population.

Shane
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Mr. Shane Wall
Managing Director

Trans Lingual Express
188/16 Nguyen Thuong Hien St,
P.1, Q. Go Vap, HCMC,
Vietnam

Mail: shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
Web: www.translingualexpress.com

Ph: +84 (8) 588 1701

Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (English)
Mbl: +84 (090) 7885 375 (Vietnamese)

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