Bruce McAvaney speech – Dennis Cometti AM State Memorial – McAvaney’s full speech from today’s Dennis Cometti AM State Memorial Service at Optus Stadium, Perth.
The full service will be available to watch on 7plus, following today’s proceedings.
Bruce McAvaney:
“How many times have I been asked about Dennis, or someone has grabbed me in the street in the last eight weeks and wanted to talk to me about him? The commentator, the bloke, what was he like? But they always wanted to tell me what he did for them. We’ve talked about that already today, haven’t we? About the joy. The fact that he made us laugh. He inspired us. Every time someone has spoken to me about Dennis they have had that reflective smile.
“It is the measure of what he’s given so many Australians, all of us in this room and everyone that might be watching right now, over the years. And that enduring gift, it does elevate him beyond the confines of a heaving football stadium or a television set. He has certainly entered our vernacular. How often we’ve laughed today at the Cometti-isms. How lucky was I standing alongside of him? They emerged without any hesitation at the most appropriate moment. And I’d think, how did he do it? I’d still be asking my question as he cemented yet another line into footy folklore.
“We’ve said it before; he made footballers famous. We pride ourselves here in Australia at the quality of our sports broadcasters, there are many of them in the room today sitting right over there and I’m sure there’s many of them watching around Australia. Dennis unquestionably one of our finest and without doubt, the benchmark when it comes to Australian Rules Football.
“He did have the perfect cocktail – and we’ve heard about that today. A player, a coach and that golden voice, that curiosity, a sense of fun, ego and generosity.
“A few years ago, in a conversation I had with another truly great commentator in Tim Lane, we shared our admiration for Dennis’ ability to rise in sync with the match as it reached that crucial point. I can visualise it now. A prolonged, pivotal contest for ascendency on the wing of the MCG and Dennis’ voice quickening. His body was in rhythm with the action, the tone, the accuracy, the cadence. Sorry Dennis, it was centimetre perfect. It really was. And here I was, standing alongside of him.
“His passing has had a profound effect on me. We shared a journey and for me, that was singularly the most extraordinary I’ve had in partnership with anybody else in my broadcasting career. Those Friday nights, we went about it very differently. Dennis would prepare by writing copious sentences as I was jotting down numbers. We never compared notes. We didn’t have a game plan. But I sort of knew, when he walked through the door of the studio with that carnival knee, that ungainly gait of his, that everything would be alright. That smile of this. That ability to say a lot without really saying too much. He had such a presence. In a funny way, he calmed us all. And yet as I got to know him, I realised he was going through exactly what I was.
“He would sit to my left and call mainly off the monitor. I’m too small to do that, so I had to stand and use my binoculars. And often, during a piece of commentary magic from Cometti, he would pivot slightly to the right and look me in the eye. Just to give me that look so that I knew, that he knew, how darn good that was.
“We were a similar age in our lives, similar stage. Both privately in the work that we did, we were so anxious both of us, in not delivering the right line at the right moment.
“Once or twice a season, usually a few weeks after the Finals, we would meet for breakfast at a little café adjacent to the hotel. It was our time to check up on one another. Share our doubts, our desires, our ambitions. It was an opportunity to take a breath. It was at one of those meetings that Dennis gently suggested that I never look at social media chat. I sorely had to say, I took him for his word. It was a message well received.
“In that final season that we worked together in 2016 at one of our summits, he lamented advising the Seven Network that this would be his last. He told me, don’t let them know. There’s only so many farewell laps you can do. It was a long, long season. In a funny way, he was a show-off, we all know that, but he wasn’t an attention seeker.
“That Grand Final, the Bulldogs and the Swans will always be my favourite game of football. We knew that was the final time. A couple of years later we caught up in Perth and we did that reasonably regularly. We discussed exit strategies. I was still pretty much full-time and Dennis was still working but based here in WA. He talked to me about the importance of a soft landing. After the intensity of national commentary, it was important that he didn’t just stop completely. And then he paused and he looked me in the eye and he said, I may have retired, but I haven’t retired my ego. None of us ever do. It’s the hard trick for all of us. How do we stay relevant after you’ve been so important?
“Right until the end, he had my back. I hope he knows I had his as well. We were colleagues, we became lifelong friends.
“And finally to you V, I can speak with experience with Annie by my side today, how your judgment, intuition, unwavering support and understanding of the industry allowed Dennis to fulfill his potential.
“We have been so lucky, all of us, to have heard the voice and to have met the man. His legacy is permanent; he will always be with us.”
Media Release – Seven
Link to 7plus HERE
TV Central Seven content HERE
Bruce McAvaney speech – Dennis Cometti AM State Memorial
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