Can you smell that? It’s September one, the first day of spring.

On this day, images of tulip fields, sun baking, float through many people’s minds. For beer-loving Yankee students, spring break ‘springs’ readily to mind.

Not this soul.

For me, the month ahead is all about the smell of pigskin and leather. The smell of a hot pie. The smell of anticipation as eight teams vie for glory in each of the NRL and AFL.

Ah, it smells terrific.

For a sports fanatic, footy finals time is just about the best time of the year.

Especially if your team is still in with a shot instead of giving bartenders an ulcer with their Mad Monday shenanigans.

My two sides, Collingwood and Canberra, are both set to play the finals. In the same season. That hasn’t happened that often in recent times.

The Raiders are still an outside chance of missing out, but they should be able to squeeze in.

As of this Sunday coming, I’m on two weeks' holiday (I know, a sports journo taking a break in September is a little strange. A bit like an accountant spending July in the Bahamas).

I plan to spend it watching the Magpies and the Green Machine in their quest for premiership glory, cheering them on from the grandstands.

Which means I’ll be watching next weekend’s footy fixtures with a little more interest. The results will determine whether I book plane tickets to Sydney or Melbourne.

Whether I rock up to a Raiders or Magpies match will depend on scheduling.

And results.

Two years ago I spent a couple of weeks in AFL-mad Melbourne to lap up the ‘finals fever’ that engulfs the Bleak City every September.

To say it was an eye-opener was an understatement.

Up here in Queensland, we may think we’re pretty fanatical about our league team, but Melbournians' passion for AFL is obsessive.

To give you an example, when I was down there, the local news bulletin would usually begin with the latest AFL finals news.

When they were done analysing Jimmy Bartel’s hamstring, they would move on to something (apparently) a little less important like the state of the national economy or the war in Iraq.

The Raiders played the Bulldogs in the first week of the NRL finals, which was replayed on Melbourne TV at at the convenient time of 3am.

I was forced to get my brother to text me score updates from his home in Rockhampton.

But, even though Collingwood was bundled out in the first week after getting smashed by the Western Bulldogs, it was still a great experience.

Starting next Wednesday, Super Sub will attempt to give you an ‘up close’ account of my two-week footy finals adventure.

Just where I will be is anyone’s guess.