LISTEN | James Hird Opens Up On What It's Like Playing On Anzac Day

"It's incredible."


Article heading image for LISTEN | James Hird Opens Up On What It's Like Playing On Anzac Day

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Triple M's James Hird has opened up on the experience of playing on Anzac Day, revealing how important it is to him and calling it "the best experience in football".

Hird has a close connection with Anzac Day, both in football and life, with his grandfather and uncle both fighting in the second World War.

The three-time Anzac Day medallist said the experience of being out on the ground is indescribable.

"It's incredible. It is the best experience in football," he said on The Rub.

"That half an hour out on the ground, the silence into the roar - from the Last Post, the minute's silence into the roar - is absolutely incredible.

"It's very hard for other people to understand who haven't run through the banner. The banner is one thing, but the sound that hits you is something like I've never experienced before."

Hird opened up on how important Anzac Day was to him - his daughter was even born on the date - and how former coach Kevin Sheedy always told him to respect the day.

"I'd always listen to the stories about the second World War from my relatives, which was very important to me, and Anzac Day was important," he said.

"It was the one day (Sheedy) didn't talk about football...the one thing that he would always say is that you cannot compare war to football, but what you can do is play with a respect for what's happened before you."

JAMES HIRD ON ANZAC DAY:

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Ethan Meldrum

23 April 2019

Article by:

Ethan Meldrum




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