The Butterfly Effect… Robbie Williams… and me…

August 26, 2007

The phrase “Butterfly Effect” is related to chaos theory, and in simple terms refers to the idea that something seemingly innocuous, such as the beating of a butterfly’s wings, might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately may be the catalyst for something larger, such as a tornado.

Butterfly Effect

So what does that have to do with Robbie Williams and yours truly?

Well Robbie Williams was touring my home city of Brisbane late last year. It’s no secret that Robbie is a mad keen soccer fanatic. So much so in fact that at every major stopover on his concert tour he likes to arrange a match between himself and his entourage and some local players. The extent of Robbie’s passion for soccer is astounding. He actually brings his own soccer goals, nets and kit with him when he tours. He’s even built a soccer pitch at his home in Los Angeles.

Now the IT guy at my work is originally from South Africa. As is turns out, one of his mates back home was approached by Robbie’s crew to set up a game while they were touring Johannesburg. His friend happened to hit it off with one of Robbie’s tour organisers and suggested that if they wanted a game in Brisbane to contact my IT friend - which they subsequently did.

Now apparently the last thing Robbie wants is hordes of autograph hunters, or worse still trigger happy paparazzo ruining his game. He just wants a good hit out with no fanfare. Therefore his preference is for a venue that can achieve a total lockout like a major sporting stadium. Now there are a handful of major venues in Brisbane, however it needed to be central and it couldn’t be the same venue as his concert.

As it turns out, my former flatmate, the “Geezer” is one of the trainers for the Brisbane Lions AFL team. So my IT friend and I got to talking, and I suggested he talk to Geezer to see if the Lions players were keen for a game, as long as they could provide access to the Lions’ home ground - the hallowed “Gabba”, a 40,000 seat stadium in inner Brisbane.

Well Geezer goes to training the next day, and gets to talking to a few of the players, who in turn become pretty excited about the opportunity. They proceed to talk to the powers that be at the Gabba to allow the game to happen. Lo and behold, the Gabba officials get right behind it and pretty soon the match is organised for the day before his opening concert. Half a dozen Lions players, including Lions spearhead Jonathon Brown turn up for the game.

Robbie, as it turns out, had an ingrown toenail, and didn’t play the second half of the match (which incidentally ended in a draw Maradonna “hand of God” style). Instead he spent most of his time chatting with the towering Jonathon Brown who was recovering from injury and spent most of the game watching from the sideline. The two really hit it off, with Robbie intrigued by AFL, a game he had little knowledge of. Brownie ended up presenting Robbie with a Lions jersey as a memento.

So what do you know, the next night, Robbie emerges on stage, proudly donning his new Lions jersey for the first half of the concert.

Robbie Lions

Now technically, if I hadn’t provided the link between my IT friend and Geezer, that moment would likely never have happened. Sure, I didn’t actually do very much, but that’s the Butterfly Effect for you.

I’m innocuousness personified…

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