INTERVIEW - Buddy Love (aka Mark Middleton)

Buddy Love played by Jerry Lewis

This week The Vicarian (TV)  has tracked down one of the most popular and elusive Old Iggies players ever.  Kentwell Cup Premiership winger Buddy Love (BL) aka Mark Middleton.

TV - Buddy Love it is great to track you down.
BL - Great to be tracked down.  I have been so busy with my Green With Envy Landscaping business, Sorry am I allowed to plug my own business or is like those light weights at the ABC?

TV - Plug Away, no one ever reads these interviews so you can do and say what you like.

TV - The big question is how did you get the nickname Mark Middleton?
BL - It all started back in about 2003 when I was playing 4th & 5th grade for Old Iggies with a few mates.  The coaches wanted to shield (hide) me from the pressures of the higher grades. They gave me a fictitious name of Mark Middleton so the 1st grade coach would not recognise me.

TV - Did it work?
BL - Well my alter ego "Mark Middleton" scored twenty zillion tries in a couple of games and before you knew it the real Buddy Love was in first grade (& I loved every minute of it)

TV - Fair enough.  Whilst your "on field" antics are well know you are probably best known for coining the phase "Ten Before Ten". Can you explain to the uneducated readers out there what you meant by "Ten Before Ten".
BL - It was pretty simple.  It was the end of the season and it was time to get serious about finals footy.  I thought it would be a good idea if a few of us settled down and lay off the twenty zillion beers they were having on Friday nights.  So the idea was to "only drink 10 Schooners before 10 pm" . . . .   "Ten Before Ten."

TV - What a good idea - did it work?
BL - Unfortunately we had Crazy Dave playing No.8 for us?
As he usually does . . . he misunderstood the "Ten Before Ten" message.  
For the finals that year Crazy though it was "Ten Rums after Ten"

TV - Crazy
BL - I know . . . . Crazy

Buddy Love played by Eddie Murray

TV - Do you know that Dave Bryant has bought back the "Ten Before Ten" message.
BL - No  . . . .  how cool is that.

TV - However I think the message has
once again been lost?
BL - Hows that?

TV - Dave, and I am pretty sure Boggy is with him, believe that the "Ten Before Ten" message means that On Friday night they should be in bed my 9.50pm
BL - Fair dink'um - what a bunch of Light weighs.