Oi! Aussie! It’s time for a new chant

“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi.”

Seriously, is that the best we’ve got?

This proud nation of talented people has produced a solitary war cry.

We’ve managed to stretch one word and a grunt into a nine syllable chant that’s supposed to magically inspire our sporting idols.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. It’s embarrassing.

Our schoolyard chants are more imaginative.

I’ve heard the Barmy Army and the Welsh fans go toe to vocal toe during an entire 80 minutes of rugby. It was more entertaining than the match. The sweet sound of patriotism.

Are we in Australia patriotic?

There’s no doubt we love our country. We celebrate success. We worship our sporting idols.

But we seem shy about it.

We know the words to our national anthem, but mutter them under our breath rather than bellow them from deep within our soul.

Perhaps it’s because we don’t share a land border. We don’t need to set ourselves apart as a nation because of our geographical isolation.

Perhaps that’s why State of Origin brings out such passion among rugby league fans.

There’s a line in the dirt. If you’re on one side, you’re a cockroach. On the other, you’re a cane toad. Fence sitting isn’t tolerated by either side.

You can see it in the fans. The colours come out. The atmosphere for Wednesday’s game was far more powerful than you’d see for an international test.

Even the players seem to value wearing maroon or blue more than they do the green and gold.

As a nation we seem reticent to celebrate ourselves.

How often do you see the Australian flag waving proudly from the top of a front yard pole.

Even our city skylines – aside from a few landmark buildings – are of generic nationality.

Take a look at this. A cluster of skyscrapers in San Diego leaves you under no illusion what country you’re in.

USA flags line skyscrapers in San Diego.

And before you say ‘well that’s the US, it’s over the top,’ you may be surprised to hear it’s the same in Canada. A Commonwealth country, just like Australia.

You can’t turn around without seeing a maple leaf.

Here’s where I confess, I’m no flag waver myself. My wife pointed out I don’t even like to hang it from the front deck on Australia Day.

It’s true. I own a shirt with the Union Jack on it and another which says “New York City”. But I would never wear one displaying the Australian flag.

I don’t want to be confused with the worst of Australians. The bigots who wear our flag like a cape and believe it gives them the right to denigrate other Australians, who just happen to be a bit different.

Still, I’m hoping to see plenty more of the Australian flag soon. We all are.

The countdown to the Olympics is well and truly on.

Australians will no doubt feel pride at every Gold medal. I hope our champion athletes sing our anthem with gusto when it’s played as recognition that we’re the best in the world.

But when the Games are over for another four years, will the pride in our nation’s achievements remain?

Patriotism should be a part of life. A daily reminder that for all our grumbles, this country does a hell of a lot right.

The more I travel, the more I see Australia is truly the lucky country. But we’ve made our own luck. And we should be proud of it.

“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi.”

We just need somebody to get it started.

Anyone?