Hawkk
30 Aug 2006, 08:41
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/08/29/1156816900584.html
Langford's shirty protest delivered the message
August 30, 2006
Chris Langford struck a blow for the Hawthorn fans.
Talk of a merger ignited the passion of Hawthorn fans. Chris Langford knew exactly how they felt, Renee Switzer writes.
SATURDAY night football and Hawthorn has beaten Melbourne by a point, in the final round at the MCG, taking the club to its 14th finals series in 15 seasons. Hawk defender Chris Langford pulls off his guernsey in front of the crowd and points proudly to the gold and brown as supporters call out: "No merger!"
It was 1996, and those fans looked down on Langford fearing they may have witnessed their team's last game as the Hawthorn Football Club in Melbourne.
Langford, now an AFL commissioner, remembers that day clearly. He thought it was going to be his last game, after deciding to retire.
Living in Sydney at the time, he flew down on the Saturday morning and trained at Glenferrie Oval. Afterwards, he filled in the day shopping.
"I went to various places and all the places I went to, it just seemed there were Hawthorn people in the shops, and that wasn't just around Hawthorn, all saying they were going to the game that night," Langford recalled. "Generally, they were younger kids — schoolgirls, checkout chicks or parents with children who … couldn't get to the football on a Saturday afternoon so they were all excited that there was a night game."
Langford arrived at the ground early and spoke to supporters who had been at an anti-merger rally earlier that day.
"They were just so pumped up about it. I was obviously pretty passionate about my love for the club and I had had a few things said to me … I was very upset with the board of directors trying to tell the players to shut up and toe the line.
"I knew I had to say or do something and I didn't want to distract the guys from playing football because we had to win the game to stay in the finals.
"After the game, I felt there was a very strong vibe, these people who couldn't always go to a Saturday afternoon match who Hawthorn said they didn't count, they didn't have the supporter base, they didn't have the members, all that stuff — they disproved it and to me, that reaffirmed the club hadn't been run by the most competent group of people.
"I made that statement by taking off the jumper and holding it up. Obviously, it relayed the message to the crowd … as a gesture of gratitude, I suppose, and that was the desired outcome. I was hoping to achieve communication to those people at the ground, not to try and stick it up anyone's nose or anything."
The threat of a merger awoke the sleeping Hawks fans.
"I guess in a way it was a bit of people power — all of a sudden, these fairly laid-back and fortunate football club supporters who had become used to success … were going down to rallies at Glenferrie Oval, they were going to vote at the town hall and all of a sudden, they were finding they had real brown and gold blood running through their veins. They found this passion … that none of us were that aware of."
Langford believes the merger was put up as a solution to a club that had failed to actively market itself and at the time, he thought things could have been done better.
"I didn't just say no (to the merger) because I had this immediate emotional reaction, I listened to all the logic and I just failed to find that it was convincing. I didn't believe the club had been run to the best of its ability.
"It showed the first couple of years after or even after the emotion settled down that when the club was run by good professional management and had a board which had a better strategic plan and better understanding of who its customer base was and where its identity lay, it got money in the bank and a very successful model. If it was run a lot better, it didn't need to merge.
"At Hawthorn for years, I kept looking at (the board) saying, 'You just keep doing what you did last year, and you just do it the way it was done by those who came before us'. That's not just an off-the-cuff remark, it was seriously bad and they were serial offenders. There was no innovation, there was no pioneering new membership campaigns, there was no merchandising catalogues or development of new products or corporate entertainment.
"As soon as the change of the board and management occurred, the club employed a couple of guys who have now moved on but were terrific membership and marketing managers who set the club up in a new direction and much higher standard."
So does Langford think the club would consider merging again? "I would certainly hope not. I can't foresee it … who knows what might happen in 20 or 30 years' time but I doubt it. I think the club's moved on, it was a bit of a black mark over the club and some of the people involved. I think the club would now say they're glad it didn't happen."
Langford's shirty protest delivered the message
August 30, 2006
Chris Langford struck a blow for the Hawthorn fans.
Talk of a merger ignited the passion of Hawthorn fans. Chris Langford knew exactly how they felt, Renee Switzer writes.
SATURDAY night football and Hawthorn has beaten Melbourne by a point, in the final round at the MCG, taking the club to its 14th finals series in 15 seasons. Hawk defender Chris Langford pulls off his guernsey in front of the crowd and points proudly to the gold and brown as supporters call out: "No merger!"
It was 1996, and those fans looked down on Langford fearing they may have witnessed their team's last game as the Hawthorn Football Club in Melbourne.
Langford, now an AFL commissioner, remembers that day clearly. He thought it was going to be his last game, after deciding to retire.
Living in Sydney at the time, he flew down on the Saturday morning and trained at Glenferrie Oval. Afterwards, he filled in the day shopping.
"I went to various places and all the places I went to, it just seemed there were Hawthorn people in the shops, and that wasn't just around Hawthorn, all saying they were going to the game that night," Langford recalled. "Generally, they were younger kids — schoolgirls, checkout chicks or parents with children who … couldn't get to the football on a Saturday afternoon so they were all excited that there was a night game."
Langford arrived at the ground early and spoke to supporters who had been at an anti-merger rally earlier that day.
"They were just so pumped up about it. I was obviously pretty passionate about my love for the club and I had had a few things said to me … I was very upset with the board of directors trying to tell the players to shut up and toe the line.
"I knew I had to say or do something and I didn't want to distract the guys from playing football because we had to win the game to stay in the finals.
"After the game, I felt there was a very strong vibe, these people who couldn't always go to a Saturday afternoon match who Hawthorn said they didn't count, they didn't have the supporter base, they didn't have the members, all that stuff — they disproved it and to me, that reaffirmed the club hadn't been run by the most competent group of people.
"I made that statement by taking off the jumper and holding it up. Obviously, it relayed the message to the crowd … as a gesture of gratitude, I suppose, and that was the desired outcome. I was hoping to achieve communication to those people at the ground, not to try and stick it up anyone's nose or anything."
The threat of a merger awoke the sleeping Hawks fans.
"I guess in a way it was a bit of people power — all of a sudden, these fairly laid-back and fortunate football club supporters who had become used to success … were going down to rallies at Glenferrie Oval, they were going to vote at the town hall and all of a sudden, they were finding they had real brown and gold blood running through their veins. They found this passion … that none of us were that aware of."
Langford believes the merger was put up as a solution to a club that had failed to actively market itself and at the time, he thought things could have been done better.
"I didn't just say no (to the merger) because I had this immediate emotional reaction, I listened to all the logic and I just failed to find that it was convincing. I didn't believe the club had been run to the best of its ability.
"It showed the first couple of years after or even after the emotion settled down that when the club was run by good professional management and had a board which had a better strategic plan and better understanding of who its customer base was and where its identity lay, it got money in the bank and a very successful model. If it was run a lot better, it didn't need to merge.
"At Hawthorn for years, I kept looking at (the board) saying, 'You just keep doing what you did last year, and you just do it the way it was done by those who came before us'. That's not just an off-the-cuff remark, it was seriously bad and they were serial offenders. There was no innovation, there was no pioneering new membership campaigns, there was no merchandising catalogues or development of new products or corporate entertainment.
"As soon as the change of the board and management occurred, the club employed a couple of guys who have now moved on but were terrific membership and marketing managers who set the club up in a new direction and much higher standard."
So does Langford think the club would consider merging again? "I would certainly hope not. I can't foresee it … who knows what might happen in 20 or 30 years' time but I doubt it. I think the club's moved on, it was a bit of a black mark over the club and some of the people involved. I think the club would now say they're glad it didn't happen."