I've been reluctant to write in this thread because it's all a bit sad.
I first watched Chris Judd in that Brisbane game with the five first half goals and I couldn't believe what I was watching. Everything about the way he played was fast and fresh and freewheeling in a way that I hadn't really seen before. Most players with his speed and physical dexterity were "soft" but that kid had grunt.
In all the time he was at West Coast he was by a long shot my favourite non-Carlton player. And not only was he quickly becoming the best player in the league he was also intelligent and engaged. His columns for The Age on middle East politics, players' welfare and whatever else took his fancy during any particular week were a little oasis in the ever present bogan culture of our game. My memory of that column is that he only agreed to do it if he could write what he liked and not be censored. I don't think The Age had any idea what was coming...
One of the things I love most about football is how broad a culture it is. In my lifetime cricket has moved from being an elitist pastime to a bogan stronghold full of ignorant dicks. Neither is a great place to be. Football, in part because of its greater number of participants, but also I think because of its greater democracy (tall, small, broad, narrow) continues to throw up individuals from all walks of life and I think this is a key to its success as a sport and the place it holds in the lives of Melbournians. It's had a greater impact on this city than this city has had on it.
I'm now 45. Chris Judd is 31. He feels strangely like a contemporary of mine in a way that others of his age don't and yet he's fourteen years younger. I don't really have sporting "heroes" as such but I have huge admiration for a man who's rowed his own boat alongside the AFL's Titanic for his entire career.
From a footballing perspective I think Bob Murphy summed it up best when he said that Judd was the player the rest of them wanted to be. That said, a large part of my sadness around Chris Judd's retirement is that although I'll miss him bursting through packs on the run whilst shrugging off tacklers I think I'll most of all miss his contribution to the debate around the game. Obviously he can continue to write and speak but I fear it's not the same as it is when it comes from the mouth of a current great player. I think my love for cricket died the day Adam Gilchrist retired. I really hope this isn't the same.
Good luck Juddy.
May you enjoy life post football.
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