And so, after months of impatient waiting, the new 2012 AFL season arrives. It is so exciting that the goosebumps on my back have formed two teams and are playing each other. At least, that's what it feels like.

I dust off the boots, forcibly evicting whole families of nesting insects who had come to call the boots home over the off-season.

The shirts and shorts, which last year seemed to show off whatever muscles or not that I had, now seem content to only show the lines of weight put on since last August. At least they are showing off something.

The two smells that cheered me as a kid were the smell of linement as it was smeared all over the body, and the smell of leather (footballs, not lingerie). And, whilst linement now seems like a relic of the past (you can probably plug yourself into some sort of appliance now and get the same effect), the smell of footballs cannot be replaced. Especially the one that is bounced to kick off the new season.

On Sunday, the younger teams begin. Under 8's to Under 14's will run out with a blank slate. Last year was last year. This year anything is still possible. Dare to dream. Next Friday the Under 16's start and soon after, the Under 18's also.

This year promises so much. Already, there is a smell of success in the air. Either that or I've got another flower stuck up my nose. Next Friday I would be hoping to write another of these blogs detailing how well the U16's played.

Good luck to all teams, coaches, volunteers, spectators and everyone who is part of the Pyramid Power family. Let's leave last year behind and move into 2012 believing that anything is possible.

Martin Luther King once said, "I had a dream."

I think he had the smell of leather....