What I See with Peter Fiorenza: The traditions that help us navigate through life and make us who we are

Tradition is something I hold dear. Be it how I spend Christmas Day, staying up and watching the Wimbledon tennis finals every year without fail, or always cooking my meatballs in the sauce, traditions are very much about who I am, who we are. As human beings, I reckon we need to have anchors in our lives, something that helps us navigate with relative success through the challenges of every day. It can even include the fact your family only plays for a particular basketball, netball or football club, or that you only drive Toyotas. Simply, tradition is part of the familiar — a connection that is indeed part of our general wellbeing. I reckon it’s a big part of what grounds many of us, by creating a series of events to look forward to — makes us content and our lives happy. So, if you do something as a tradition for 37 years, in my book, you are pretty sold on it. Good mate Glenn Barndon has been going to country week football for a long time. He tells me his consecutive annual run was only interrupted by COVID-19, when the championships were cancelled for two years. Glenn has never pulled on the boots for the Great Northern Football League, but through commentating the matches, he has become a regular at every carnival since 1985. To say Glenn is passionate about football is a gross underestimation. The fella, although lacking the desired talent, would have more love for the game in his little finger than many that have played at the highest level. And he is passionate even more so for country football. Born to a farming family in the Chapman Valley, Glenn has followed the Chapman Valley team all his life. Despite a few lean years from the Royals, it doesn’t take much for him to remind you of the Valley’s glory days when players such as Bernie Knight, Peter Kupsch and Kevin Mazzuchelli dominated in the local competition. And as for country week, Glenn fondly recalls sitting under the desk with mates at Chapman Valley Primary School with a transistor radio listening to the fortunes of the Great Northern team broadcast back home. So, it’s not a surprise Glenn has been part of the steering committee in getting the GNFL back on to the country week track. And I can’t wait to be sitting alongside Mr Football again this year, calling all the action. What a fantastic tradition. Peter Fiorenza hosts Fiorenza on Sunday between 10am and noon on Radio MAMA