Brisbane Lord Mayor blasted for rambling speech at Matildas ceremony
Brisbane Lord Mayor is blasted for rambling speech at Matildas awards ceremony as he bores crowd with bizarre Bend It Like Beckham anecdote: ‘So cringe and embarrassing!’
- Adrian Schrinner addressed crowd on Sunday morning
- Matildas were awarded the key to the city of Brisbane
- WATCH: ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ – Episode 1 – Mail Sport’s brand new football show
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has been slammed by Matildas fans for delivering a rambling and at times bizarre speech as the team was honoured at an awards ceremony on Sunday.
Skipper Sam Kerr and her teammates were awarded the keys to the city in front of a screaming crowd at the City Botanic Gardens, with fans also hearing from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Football Australia CEO James Johnson.
But it was Schrinner’s almost 10-minute-long speech that stood out – for all the wrong reasons.
After beginning by congratulating fans on their handmade Matildas signs, the civic leader congratulated the team for inspiring Australia and breaking down barriers – while members of the audience interrupted him with loud interjections from the outset.
Schrinner began by congratulating Matildas fans on their handmade signs (pictured) – then things quickly went downhill
While the Matildas seated behind him looked puzzled and bored, Schrinner told the crowd, ‘My dad originally came from Germany so there’s only been one football in our household and that’s round ball.
‘But to hear Aussies calling soccer football, I never thought I’d see that day.’
He then said it is hard to measure the ‘unifying effect’ the team has had during the World Cup – only for a fan to yell over the top of him, ‘You can’t measure it, it’s too big’ not once, but twice, forcing him to pause mid-speech.
Schrinner praised the team for inspiring Aussie boys and girls to take up football before veering into a bizarre anecdote about one of the best-known movies about the sport.
‘There’s been a hunger in our household and [wife] Nina and our four kids are down here … just the other night I decided I’d look up a movie for us all to watch as a family,’ he said, before yet another interjection from the crowd.
The Lord Mayor presented the team with the key to the city after a long, rambling speech that was frequently interrupted by interjections from the crowd
‘I looked up Bend It Like Beckham. I went, let’s watch this movie.
‘And would you know, right now, Bend It Like Beckham – despite being 21 years old – is the second-most-watched sports movie in the world right now.
‘And the third-most-watched sports movie is She’s The Man.
‘It’s fascinating because if you think about what those movies are about, it’s about a young girl in England being inspired by Beckham, and then another movie is about a young girl who had to dress as a man to play football.
‘That’s all changed, and this team has changed it.’
Matildas fans slammed the mayor’s rambling performance online.
‘Oh man. This is awkward as hell. The Matildas don’t look like they want to be there. The mayor of Brisbane, wrap it up man,’ one tweeted.
The reaction from Matildas fans was summed up nicely in this social media post
Pop star Nikki Webster got a far better reception as she performed her 2001 hit Strawberry Kisses, which became the team’s unofficial song during the World Cup
‘Brisbane lord mayor’s speak to the @TheMatildas right now is so cringe and embarrassing!!!!!’ another wrote.
‘How about we stop talking about men and start talking about the tillies’ achievements wtf,’ added a third.
‘The Mayor of Brisbane is dragging out their speech a bit lol,’ wrote another.
Fans had a very different reaction when Nikki Webster joined the Matildas on stage to perform her 2001 hit Strawberry Kisses, which became the unofficial team song during the World Cup.
Several players including Alanna Kennedy, Sam Kerr and Steph Catley got right into the song, dancing and singing along with Webster.
Goalie Mackenzie Arnold previously said of the tune, ‘I don’t know where that’s come from. I think actually it was Steph Catley’s favourite song and now we’ve all jumped on the wagon.’
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