I am writing
this article during the football World
Cup, which has captured me more completely
in 2006 than on any previous occasion.
The coverage in Australia has included
cameos of the host cities, with colourful
pieces on German life, culture, people,
history, and so on. I've enjoyed those,
but not quite as much as the world theatre
played out on a football field.
I've been captivated by the beautiful
game, the Brazilian joga bonista, the
silky skills of the Argentineans, the
brilliance of Ballack and the finesse
of Zidane. I love that the French coach
took his team to museums and art galleries,
and that the Dutch players spent their
off days enjoying sports other than football. But
more than any of that I adore the story
of an underdog, of a team achieving beyond
expectation, of surprising everyone except
themselves...which pretty much sums up
Australia's performance.
What has this to do with romance heroes?
While watching reports of our team's
games, I started to notice the descriptors
attributed to their play. Not words
like elegant or silky. Not beautiful
or brilliant. Try tough, rugged, physical,
big-hearted, tenacious, uncompromising.
Hmm, I thought. That sounds like my
idea of the quintessential Australian
romance hero.
I paid more attention, making a list
of the commentators' favourite adjectives,
and here they are, in no particular
order:
* Physical/Over-physical. In
football parlance this isn't a compliment,
but in a romance hero, I give it a
big two-thumbs-up. I like physicality.
I like a man whose muscles come from
hard work rather than from preening
in front of a mirror at the gym. And
I really like a man who's comfortable
with his body and who knows how to
use it.
* Rugged. This one goes hand
in hand (or arm in arm) with physical,
but with an edge that makes the man
a tad enigmatic, a little unpredictable,
a touch uncivilized. Often it comes
from the harshness of our outback lands
and I love that parallel, possibly
because the first romance heroes I
fell in love with, as a teenager, were
Lucy Walker's rugged and enigmatic
outback men.
* Strong. I'm talking of strength
beyond the physical, about mental toughness
and strength of character, which are
both essential ingredients in my favourite
romance heroes.
* Direct. These are men who
don't waste words or bother with subtleties
or idle flattery. They're not diplomats.
They're brutally honest, even with
themselves, and that's a trait I find
very attractive.
* Determined. Once they know
what they want, they go after it with
dedication and purpose. Which is all
well and good unless you're in their
way, in which case you may get steamrolled.
Heroines at odds with these determined
men have been known to call them bull-headed,
stubborn, obstinate, and worse!
* Competent/Resourceful. Don't
you love a man who can mend, make,
protect and provide, especially when
the chips are down? Personally, I find
there's nothing more sexy than a man
doing what he does best, whatever that
may be. I also love when the resourcefulness
extends to how he overcomes his woman's
objections and wins her over. He mightn't
always play fair, but he reckons all
is fair in love and war.
* Confident. The Australian
hero exudes a quiet confidence that
isn't arrogant or self-involved but
directed more at the task. If he knows
he can do something, he doesn't talk
about doing it, he does it...without
fuss or fanfare. If someone says he
can't do it, he sets about proving
them wrong. He isn’t over-awed
by the occasion or by reputation.
So, courtesy of the World Cup commentators,
there is my list of attributes of the
Australian romance (and football) hero.
It's a pretty decent list, I think,
to which I can only add a couple of
final ingredients. Firstly there is
the Aussie sense of humour, which is
a bit on the dry side, often self-deprecatory,
and always laconic.
Lastly, these are tough guys but they
are not Neanderthals. They're good
guys who will own up to their mistakes
and make amends. They're respected
by their mates and protective of their
family. They're the men I read about
and the men I love to write about in
my books. |
