- Dec 21, 2005
- 23,638
- 14,964
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
Posted this in the media thread as well. Bonts first article...
Marcus Bontempelli reveals the songs he listens to for inspiration
MARCUS BONTEMPELLI, Herald Sun
35 minutes ago
Subscriber only
THE act of surprising people or doing something that would seem unworldly in the game — if you take out the cliches, that would be the answer to any question about motivation.
Of course we all want premiership success and team success, but delve deeper into what makes us tick and it’s that element of surprise that excites.
It’s something that has been a part of me since I was a kid, chasing my beaten up Sherrin around our backyard in Eltham.
As the only boy in my family, I had no say in what after-school TV show we’d watch and hardly any buy-in from my three sisters, who did have a monopoly on the TV remote.
So I spent hours by myself playing and commentating, building the game to a point where a goal had to be kicked after the final siren.
I had to imagine teammates (I was a wild Richmond supporter) and opponents (often Collingwood). I pretended to be hit in marking contests and imagined the sound of an 80,000-strong crowd.
My runners scuffed and knees bloodied, I was all alone. But, boy, did it feel real.
Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli likes to visualise and listen to music before each game. Picture: Getty Images
That visualising is still something I do today, even to the point where I get goosebumps.
It’s somewhat of an uncontrolled habit that seems to inspire my love for the game. It isn’t tied to a superstition or pre-game ritual and it’s not something I’ve had to practise or train to be good at it.
It just happens.
Music is always the vehicle for it, although it’s an element I really have no say in and I’m sure you’d be surprised by the variety of songs.
I often find I get caught up in visualisation in my car, where I guess my thoughts are running free and music is a constant.
Sometimes it will take me some place new, something I haven’t done before; other times it’s a reminder, of ground once covered.
For example I often see myself celebrating with my Western Bulldogs teammates — celebrating a goal, although the details of where, when and against whom aren’t always clear.
There are some moments in my career that still give me goosebumps.
If I think back to my first season and the goal I kicked from the boundary line at Etihad Stadium to beat Melbourne, I can still sense the feeling from that moment.
Marcus Bontempelli is mobbed by teammates after kicking the winning goal against Melbourne in his first AFL season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey
While it’s not as glamorous, a smother I did against Port Adelaide in my second year also engineers the same response.
The crowd reacted wildly and as the smother took me over the boundary line I could feel the reverberations bouncing through my body. I remember having goosebumps as I was jogging back to my position.
We were a long way in front, it was midway through the final quarter, and certainly didn’t alter the course of the game, but it was something our team prided itself on.
There is a process I go through on match day to try to draw out the sensation.
The name of the song that has spiked my emotions during the week gets written down at the end of the drive home and then put in my playlist for my pre-game walk on match day.
Just the other day I heard a new track from a band named Kaleo called Way Down We Go and it’s now at the top of my mix.
There is no pattern or order to the music selections; it could be anything from anywhere.
Hip hop artist Rag’n’Bone Man is in there right next to 1970s English rock band The Faces and an Australian indie electronic outfit called Panama.
I know visualisation is a common psychological tool many athletes use to help them perform at the elite level.
Michael Jordan visualises himself hitting a game-winning jump shot, Tiger Woods dropping a 20ft putt or Muhammad Ali landing a knockout punch, however I think this is different, there’s no precursor.
I don’t rely on visualisation to help me play well, nor do I force myself to experience it, and I have to be content with the fact it may not happen, but I think this is why it’s particularly powerful.
There wasn’t a particular moment leading up to the Grand Final and that still turned out pretty well.
It’s more emotional than it is mental. It’s a feeling as opposed to a process and the intermittent nature and style by which it presents itself is addictive.
And it always comes back to inspiring my love for the game, that same love I felt in my backyard in Eltham.
BONT’S SONGS OF INSPIRATION
Way Down We Go by Kaleo
River by Leon Bridges
Human by Rag’n’Bone Man
Ooh La La by The Faces
Latch by Disclosure
Always by Panama
Marcus Bontempelli reveals the songs he listens to for inspiration
MARCUS BONTEMPELLI, Herald Sun
35 minutes ago
Subscriber only
THE act of surprising people or doing something that would seem unworldly in the game — if you take out the cliches, that would be the answer to any question about motivation.
Of course we all want premiership success and team success, but delve deeper into what makes us tick and it’s that element of surprise that excites.
It’s something that has been a part of me since I was a kid, chasing my beaten up Sherrin around our backyard in Eltham.
As the only boy in my family, I had no say in what after-school TV show we’d watch and hardly any buy-in from my three sisters, who did have a monopoly on the TV remote.
So I spent hours by myself playing and commentating, building the game to a point where a goal had to be kicked after the final siren.
I had to imagine teammates (I was a wild Richmond supporter) and opponents (often Collingwood). I pretended to be hit in marking contests and imagined the sound of an 80,000-strong crowd.
My runners scuffed and knees bloodied, I was all alone. But, boy, did it feel real.
Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli likes to visualise and listen to music before each game. Picture: Getty Images
That visualising is still something I do today, even to the point where I get goosebumps.
It’s somewhat of an uncontrolled habit that seems to inspire my love for the game. It isn’t tied to a superstition or pre-game ritual and it’s not something I’ve had to practise or train to be good at it.
It just happens.
Music is always the vehicle for it, although it’s an element I really have no say in and I’m sure you’d be surprised by the variety of songs.
I often find I get caught up in visualisation in my car, where I guess my thoughts are running free and music is a constant.
Sometimes it will take me some place new, something I haven’t done before; other times it’s a reminder, of ground once covered.
For example I often see myself celebrating with my Western Bulldogs teammates — celebrating a goal, although the details of where, when and against whom aren’t always clear.
There are some moments in my career that still give me goosebumps.
If I think back to my first season and the goal I kicked from the boundary line at Etihad Stadium to beat Melbourne, I can still sense the feeling from that moment.
Marcus Bontempelli is mobbed by teammates after kicking the winning goal against Melbourne in his first AFL season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey
While it’s not as glamorous, a smother I did against Port Adelaide in my second year also engineers the same response.
The crowd reacted wildly and as the smother took me over the boundary line I could feel the reverberations bouncing through my body. I remember having goosebumps as I was jogging back to my position.
We were a long way in front, it was midway through the final quarter, and certainly didn’t alter the course of the game, but it was something our team prided itself on.
There is a process I go through on match day to try to draw out the sensation.
The name of the song that has spiked my emotions during the week gets written down at the end of the drive home and then put in my playlist for my pre-game walk on match day.
Just the other day I heard a new track from a band named Kaleo called Way Down We Go and it’s now at the top of my mix.
There is no pattern or order to the music selections; it could be anything from anywhere.
Hip hop artist Rag’n’Bone Man is in there right next to 1970s English rock band The Faces and an Australian indie electronic outfit called Panama.
I know visualisation is a common psychological tool many athletes use to help them perform at the elite level.
Michael Jordan visualises himself hitting a game-winning jump shot, Tiger Woods dropping a 20ft putt or Muhammad Ali landing a knockout punch, however I think this is different, there’s no precursor.
I don’t rely on visualisation to help me play well, nor do I force myself to experience it, and I have to be content with the fact it may not happen, but I think this is why it’s particularly powerful.
There wasn’t a particular moment leading up to the Grand Final and that still turned out pretty well.
It’s more emotional than it is mental. It’s a feeling as opposed to a process and the intermittent nature and style by which it presents itself is addictive.
And it always comes back to inspiring my love for the game, that same love I felt in my backyard in Eltham.
BONT’S SONGS OF INSPIRATION
Way Down We Go by Kaleo
River by Leon Bridges
Human by Rag’n’Bone Man
Ooh La La by The Faces
Latch by Disclosure
Always by Panama
