Does a game of football really count that much more?
Yes, it does - in the eyes of the powers-that-be within the Victorian government.
Nothing can be taken away from the fact the annual AFL Anzac Day clash is a cherished event among so many hundreds of thousands of people. The Essendon-Collingwood game always has the stands packed-out, with those at the MCG also unerringly respectful of the day's great significance.
One-minute's silence, plus the sounding of the Last Post, when so many people are involved truly provides a remarkable spectacle.
But as grand an occasion the day is, it is not as important as the traditional remembrance services held throughout the nation. It certainly falls well below the importance of ceremonies and marches such as those held in our region.
And yet that is the message that comes through clearly, with a crowd of some 85,000 people allowed for the clash between the Bombers and 'Pies. Somehow, despite the large numbers going through the turnstiles, it has been deemed possible to maintain the type of sensible social distancing that has placed Australia in such an enviable, virtually COVID-19-free state.
Meanwhile, back in Wodonga the annual Anzac Day march has had to be abandoned because the amount of work required to meet those same COVID-19 requirements stretches resources too far.
As much as the Wodonga RSL knows of the enormous importance of the march to veterans, the logistics of it all for what is a volunteer organisation have brought it undone.
That makes the decision, club secretary Kate Chamberlain rightly says, "absolutely heartbreaking and heart-wrenching".
It's a great pity that the government cannot see the hypocrisy of it all when in the eyes of so many, including club president Jim Begley, it is so obvious.
"They seem to be able to do it pretty easily for 100,000 people at the footy," he says, "while we're going to only have 500 to 1000 people here."
Exactly. Nothing else needs to be said.
