Bomber Spirit
27 Feb 2004, 17:49
From news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8746618%255E13762,00.html)
Bomber fan back from the dead
By Edith Bevin
A MAN whose heart stopped beating six times in two hours had come back from the dead because his beloved Bombers were in town.
Charles Tipungwuti, 50, told doctors when he awoke from a coma that he needed to get better because he wanted to see Essendon play the Fremantle Dockers in Darwin last night.
But the AFL fanatic, who boasts he once kicked 15 goals in a footy game in Brisbane, was ordered to stay in bed by his doctors.
So Bombers' coaching legend Kevin Sheedy came to him.
The two are old mates - Mr Tipungwuti took part in a coaching clinic run by Sheedy on the Tiwi Islands in 1974. He helped the Essendon coach scout for talent.
"God doesn't want me yet," Mr Tipungwuti told Sheedy yesterday.
The two men then took bets on outliving each other.
"That might mean we get to 75," Sheedy, 56, said.
Mr Tipungwuti blamed the recent poor performance of his team for his heart attack.
And he had some coaching advice for Sheedy - get Territorian Dean Rioli to lose weight and to concentrate on his football, not his girlfriend.
Mr Tipungwuti also told Sheedy in no uncertain terms how the game would go.
"I'll be listening to the footy," he said.
"I've told him we'll win by five goals."
But it appeared Sheedy did not share the same faith in the Bombers.
"Is that a five-goal win or a five-goal loss?" he said.
"He's put the pressure on - he wants us to win by five goals, not five points, five goals.
"I'm under the pump.
"This guy has had six heart attacks and he's still giving orders.
"It might be 2.5 goals - you can't give him everything ... he's already won tattslotto six times now."
• The final score was Essendon 2.13.11 (107) Fremantle 1.13.12 (99)
Bomber fan back from the dead
By Edith Bevin
A MAN whose heart stopped beating six times in two hours had come back from the dead because his beloved Bombers were in town.
Charles Tipungwuti, 50, told doctors when he awoke from a coma that he needed to get better because he wanted to see Essendon play the Fremantle Dockers in Darwin last night.
But the AFL fanatic, who boasts he once kicked 15 goals in a footy game in Brisbane, was ordered to stay in bed by his doctors.
So Bombers' coaching legend Kevin Sheedy came to him.
The two are old mates - Mr Tipungwuti took part in a coaching clinic run by Sheedy on the Tiwi Islands in 1974. He helped the Essendon coach scout for talent.
"God doesn't want me yet," Mr Tipungwuti told Sheedy yesterday.
The two men then took bets on outliving each other.
"That might mean we get to 75," Sheedy, 56, said.
Mr Tipungwuti blamed the recent poor performance of his team for his heart attack.
And he had some coaching advice for Sheedy - get Territorian Dean Rioli to lose weight and to concentrate on his football, not his girlfriend.
Mr Tipungwuti also told Sheedy in no uncertain terms how the game would go.
"I'll be listening to the footy," he said.
"I've told him we'll win by five goals."
But it appeared Sheedy did not share the same faith in the Bombers.
"Is that a five-goal win or a five-goal loss?" he said.
"He's put the pressure on - he wants us to win by five goals, not five points, five goals.
"I'm under the pump.
"This guy has had six heart attacks and he's still giving orders.
"It might be 2.5 goals - you can't give him everything ... he's already won tattslotto six times now."
• The final score was Essendon 2.13.11 (107) Fremantle 1.13.12 (99)