‘Loving this sport’: Snoop Dogg promises to deliver the goods at the AFL grand final

2 hours ago 1

Having displayed his ability to cut it on the MCG turf on Tuesday by slotting a couple of goals from the boundary line, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr – indisputably better known as Snoop Dogg – turned it on upstairs on Thursday morning for the benefit of a room full of hacks.

“This sport, man, I’m just kind of loving this sport,” he said of the game that had drawn him here (well, that and the massive pay cheque – almost certainly around the $2 million mark that was reportedly shelled out for Robbie Williams and Katy Perry in recent years).

“I always would watch it and never really understood – it reminded me of American football, rugby and a couple other things – but now I understand it I really want to know more about it, to see the grand finale.”

Despite his laid back demeanour, West Coast drawl and infamous fondness for a joint, Snoop is no slouch when it comes to sports. He was a commentator at the Paris Olympics last year (even winning an Emmy for his efforts), follows NFL, NBL and ice hockey, is a certified American football coach, and in July became a part-owner of Welsh soccer team Swansea City. Announcing that deal he claimed the opportunity appealed to him because “this is a proud, working-class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me.”

The room at the MCG on Thursday was full of journalists, and they had plenty of questions – did Snoop’s rider stipulate no green gummies, for instance; were there 420 people in his entourage? – but they were afforded no chance to ask them.

“There will be no questions today,” MC Hamish McLachlan stipulated before proceedings commenced. “If we allow one, then they’ll all just tumble out.”

Snoop Dogg with the AFL premiership cup at the MCG.

Well, yes. That tends to be what happens in a media conference.

To warm up, McLachlan introduced the local acts who will also figure in the pre-game show one by one. Vera Blue will perform the national anthem, a cappella. Mike Brady will sing Up There Cazaly, in what he said was his “26th or 27th” grand final appearance in 46 years. He had already performed it, he claimed, “about 50 times this week” in rehearsal, but was taking it easy on the high notes to save his voice for the big day.

Baker Boy, who will be playing his second grand final (the first was in Perth in the COVID-affected 2021 season), was still trying to work out what to wear. “I’m probably not going to wear the full Gucci tracksuit,” he said, referring to his attire four years ago, “but I’m definitely thinking about trying to top it”.

Tash Sultana, who has been drafted by Mr Dogg to play some guitar licks during his set, almost stole the show.

Vera Blue, Baker Boy, Snoop Dogg, Tash Sultana, Mike Brady.

“Look, it’s not hard work, but it’s honest work,” they said of the invitation to perform with one of the biggest hip-hop artists in the world. “You get Snoop Dogg give you a call up and say, ‘Hey, I love your stuff. Can I have some options for guitar’. Well, that’s what I do. So I said, ‘Sure thing, mate’.”

They had got to know each other a little. “We’ve been hanging out,” Sultana she said, before offering a tantalising glimpse through the smoky haze of the MCG dressing room in which Snoop and co have been holed up between rehearsals.

“I got invited into the lair to acclimatise to the Grand Final,” they said. “He extended me a very, very special invitation that I’m sure many people would love to have the invitation for. I’ll leave that out. You can speculate all you want.

Though he’s ostensibly here for this gig only, Snoop isn’t keeping his powder entirely dry. He’s doing a couple of DJ sets, at St Kilda’s Espy and at the city venue Ms Collins, on Thursday and Friday nights, under his DJ Snoopadelic alias.

But for the artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Lion (during his brief flirtation with reggae), Snoopzilla and more, the main game is, well, the main game.

And what can we expect?

“I mean, classic Snoop Dogg,” he said. No song titles, but you’d guess that means Gin and Juice, Young, Wild & Free, and Drop It Like It’s Hot are likely to feature.

“At the same time, I love this culture, and I appreciate y’all for allowing me to perform,” he added. “So I have some special guests that will be performing with me, to make it feel like it’s supposed to feel.”

He’s played the Super Bowl, he’s performed at the Olympics, and now he’s adding Australia’s biggest annual sporting event to the list. How, McLachlan asked, does that make him feel?

Snoop kicks a goal from the boundary at the MCG on Tuesday as Nick and Josh Daicos, who coached him, look on.

“These are dreams come true for me,” said Snoop. “I was a kid that dreamed of getting to meet athletes, and now I’m actually able to perform for the biggest sporting events in the world.”

The fact he gets to do shows like this, he added, should serve as “inspiration and motivation for the next [generation] that comes behind me … because it’s happening for me so why couldn’t it happen for you.”

And as for the likely winner of the game?

“I don’t know,” said Dogg when asked to pick between Cats and Lions. “You know what I’m not going to do? I’m not going to split half the people that love me.”