Aussie UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa just demonstrated to the world an iconic ‘Strayan pastime: the shoey. You absolute beaut and ledge.
After knocking out Brazilian fighter Augusto Sakai in the second round of their heavyweight match for the UFC 269 preliminaries at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, Tuivasa, who’s gunning to be the comp’s first First Nations Australian winner, made us all even prouder.
The 28-year-old Sydney-born king cracked open a cold one and poured it into a red and white sneaker his mate threw at him from outside the ring. Then, he sculled it as the leftover liquid waterfall drizzled down his chest like a beer ad itself – and the crowd fkn loved it mate.
You know the drill! 😂@bambamtuivasa hits the shoey! 👟 🍺#UFC269 pic.twitter.com/zbLUHGOgLW
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 12, 2021
Not only was the crowd absolutely roaring at this scene as if the match was still on but the commentators were eating – or should I say drinking – it up, too.
“There’s the shoe,” said one of them, who I will name Bob.
“I’ve never seen so many people cheer for a man to drink a beer out of a shoe.”
“The shoey,” said the other commentator who in my eyes is named Paul.
“They want the shoey. They love the shoey out here.”
The clip then cuts to a man in the crowd holding his own probably very sweaty shoe and a plastic cup of beer.
Ralph and the boys having a feast? Nah, mate, Ralph and the boys having a fkn shoey is more like it.
As if this news couldn’t be any better, Tai celebrated his victory by posing with the Indigenous Australian flag.
Back in 2016, Aussie F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo first kinda introduced the world to a shoey at the German Grand Prix (and has done it a fair few times after that). But I gotta say, there’s something about the way Tuivasa does it that makes it feel raw, historic, unapologetically Aussie and hot.
It’s been a pretty good few weeks for our Aussie sporting champs overseas. Last month, George Kambosos Jr became the new boxing world champion while his opponent Teófimó López embarrassingly spat the dummy and claimed he won despite the results.
Anyway, here’s to Tuivasa for he’s True Blue. I know the rest and so do you.
