Do you have the passion?

From: thehockmaester@hotmail.com
To: fremantlefc@fremantlefc.com.au
Subject: Do you have the passion


Dear Fremantle Football Club

In light of the recent match I thought I might take some time out to send you all this email. I'm an 18 year Queensland university student on the Sunshine Coast and have lived here for most of my life apart from a short time in Melbourne. I've followed this club passionately and loved it like a father. As such I have only been able to see a select handful of games over the years, 10 to be exact and at each one I've followed this club with ruthless passion and endeavour. Most of the time I've made more noise in my army of one then the entire row I've been seated in, usually filled with Maroon or some other colour foreign to the Purple, Green, Red and white. Infact in 2004, when I was 15, I won the Woodford Junior Citizen of the year award. The title of the speech I gave that night: Purple, green, red and white oh what a lovely sight! All of which in spite the fact that the only people in the crowd who had even heard of the town of Fremantle were my family in the audience.

Over the years as supporters on a whole we have put up with quite a lot but shrugged it off and kept that passion alive. The dark years leading up to 2003 it was all about that light at the end of the tunnel and the thought that 'one day this club is going to have a premiership and on that day I can die a happy person'. I remember on two such occasions we were playing up here at the Gabba in 1999 and 2000, both times we lost by over 100 points. On one of those occasions we were down by 100 points at halftime. But still I personally sat there and thought about what lies ahead. That some day this club will make a proud history for itself and that I can walk into a crowded and passionate AFL bar and say I support the mighty Fremantle Dockers without someone scoughing or saying 'you poor bastard'. That one day I could say it and get the respect of other passionate and proud clubs.

When the time came in 2003 for our first finals match the hype was intense, even up here in a footy isolated area. I remember putting on my jersey and scarf when I was 14, taking the radio in to my room (as we didn't get that game live) and cheering loudly when we kicked those first two goals. But then of course it turned sour. Broken but determined I looked forward again under the thinking 'every club has to go through it's share of heartache before a flag, that's what makes it so special'. 2004 and 2005 came and, well, I can only imagine the feeling of despair amongst the other Freo faithful. But still there was that glimmer of hope and that nagging passionate thought "some day".

Then we made the preliminary final after being in a terrible position after the split round. Quite possibly the happiest moment of my life was when Des Headland kicked that goal that sealed the Semi-Final against Melbourne. But after we lost to the Swans that belief was stronger than ever "every side must lose it's share of preliminary finals and other finals before a flag, that's what makes it so special'. We all thought that that year was fast approaching, that a proud history and a proud name and culture was about to be made for the 'mighty' Freo Dockers. We were wrong. Instead we were treated to one cocky and soulless performance after another. But that belief was still there that we had to lose to gain that passion, to gain that wisdom and to make sure it doesn't happen again. Sadly that just hasn't seemed to be the case this year and last week's match just showed me how typical it was of the players to go out and give us with the passion and blistering performance to get our hopes up and then a limp and gutless effort to dash the hopes yet again.

But more to a personal note I mentioned earlier that I have been to see 10 Fremantle games in my life time. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007 games against Brisbane at the Gabba, 2003 against Sydney in Sydney, 2001 against Collingwood at the Telstra Dome, 2005 against Richmond at the MCG and, to cap it all off, last weekend against Melbourne. The grand total of all those matches has been 0 wins and 10 losses. 2 100 point thrashings, 3 games where we were favourites but were flogged by 10 goals, 3 games where we've surrendered last quarter leads and of course, 2 of them where we had relatively big leads and surrendered. Every single one of those games I failed to see any sort of desperation or urgency. No hunger, no soul, no...passion.

It's pretty hard to maintain a passion with that sort of record prior to the weekend but alas I did. I was thrilled beyond my wildest dreams that we were up by 50 points at Half time. I thought I was about to see us win for the first time. Instead I see a gutless, weak and above all else, passionless performance and we lose. Myself and a small band of other Freo supporters made more noise than the Melbourne Cheersquad for 3 quarters. Even when we were down in the last quarter I still believed, I still believed we would wake up and that inner passion I thought was in all things Fremantle would finally kick in and we would be treated. Instead I learned it's just the supporters that seem to have the passion.

So I ask each and every one of you: Do you have the passion? I do. We all do. But do you? The players? The staff? That guy up in accounting who sits on his computer playing solitaire and drinking coffee all day? How should we have the passion when our players and club don't seem to? I don't know. It's a superhuman love for Fremantle that makes me, like the 40,000 other members, want to come back and support ruthlessly even after the weekend. But please, PLEASE reciprocate. A fan should not have to beg their club for passion and pride in their jumper and all that they stand for but I write today doing just that. That belief that 'our time will come' is now on life support if not dead for a lot of the supporters including myself. The light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off and there's nothing we can do about it except keep supporting blindly in the dark. The club may have the press pressure and media scrutiny to deal with but we, including myself who lives in a non AFL state and a very non AFL town, we're on the front line. We're fighting tooth and nail against the passion and pride of all the other clubs just so we aren't humiliated to even say we support Freo. Every day we're being slaughtered by the other fans and we're giving our all just to keep others from scoughing at the mere mentioned of 'Freo'. The only ones who can help us is you: the club and the players.

I will be at the Round 11 game at the GABBA as it is the only other game I can get to this year. I will be cheering proudly and passionately. I will be the one in a jesters hat 4 sizes too small for my head, a Freo jersey, scarf and purple undershirt. I will be the one making more noise than all of the Brisbane supporters in the General Admission put together. I will be there fired up and ready with the purple passion oozing through my skin and replacing the blood in my arteries and veins. I will be there with all my heart - will you?


Yours depressingly

<not divulging my full name on BigFooty>
 

Homer Jnr

Premiership Player
Nov 10, 2004
4,320
4
Sam's Town
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Shot!

I was there with Kapow on the weekend, and although I am not a Freo supporter, I was close to tears. It was a soulless performance in the second half, and I could see the colour drain from the face of the few hardy souls in our area. I could see the desperation grow within the supporters, but while the supporters grew restless and yelled and screamed their desperation, the only people who could change the outcome of the match, the players, didn't show a similar desperation.

This is simply from a neutral observer's point of view, but I could feel the heartbreak.
 

Cameron_K

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 23, 2004
6,069
2,856
Fremantle
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I think we have figured out the problem here, Kapow is never allowed to attend another match again.

I kid I kid......


Nah great email there, everything you said was perfect. Keep your head up, things can't get any worse.
 

shibz_1989

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 5, 2005
6,193
276
Subiaco Oval
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Post of the year Kapow :thumbsu:

Post of the millenium.

Everything you said was spot on, especially the part about how the club may (emphasised so that no one can accuse me of saying that I blame the media for our suckiness) be pressured by the media, but we not only have that, but opposition fans as well. You even get people who don't follow AFL who pay you out!!

Great post though. Good on ya :thumbsu::thumbsu:
 

kidstyler

Club Legend
Dec 20, 2004
1,998
270
perth
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I think we have figured out the problem here, Kapow is never allowed to attend another match again.

I kid I kid......


Nah great email there, everything you said was perfect. Keep your head up, things can't get any worse.

:eek: wow i remember saying that after the 1 point lose to the pussies ...
 
Jan 27, 2007
17,426
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Well done young man....
Brutally Honest...:thumbsu:
It just reafirms my personal resolve when I see people support the club with the same intensity like I do...
 

hoogs

Club Legend
Suspended
Sep 28, 2005
1,992
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South Freo,
You pretty much summed up everyone's feelings to the tee.

Although most of those games that we lost were interstate, we need to start winning away. The MCG is where they play the only match that matters. Thank God we haven't played in a GF, because if we showed up and played like that I would shoot myself.

I really do hope they get your email and read it to every single player.
 

bOmBeR_BoY1

Premiership Player
Suspended
Jul 12, 2003
3,762
21
Essendon
AFL Club
Essendon
Kapow, that was the best post/letter (whatever you want to call it) I have ever read on this website. Full of passion, if only your players had the sort of passion you have and you would not lose a game.

Good stuff.
 

Jetau

Club Legend
Apr 19, 2004
1,304
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York
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Mate, that's exceptional.

There's no reason why you should love the club so much when they've given you so little, but we can see that you do. It must have been heartbreaking for you on the weekend. I can only hope that they can one day repay all the love you've poured into this footy club.

Geez, and I felt hard done by. My first Freo match was Round 22 2001, our one and only home win for that season. The feeling was indescribable, but I got something even better the next season when Jeff Farmer kicked the winning goal after the siren against Melbourne. Every Freo supporter should get that kind of feeling occasionally, to make up for the horrible 14 years we've had.

I sincerely hope they're listening to you. My faith in this footy club is being sorely tested at the moment, but if you can persevere, then surely I can too. Chin up mate. I hereby dub you Fremantle Football Club Supporter #1. :cool:
 

dugrene

It'll be cagey
Oct 7, 2003
4,261
128
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Now you've gone and made me all misty eyed kapow!! :eek:


Our Club better make sure all the players and admin get to read it.
 
May 17, 2005
2,267
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Young fella you have written an inspirational letter that will get to the FFC.

I have forwarded it on to David Garic one of the two elected board members of the FFC and asked him to personally to give it to the footy dept and to table it at a board meeting,.

Ripper this was so good I have posted it on WHTP's home page

Once again young fella well done.
 
Jun 11, 2007
21,095
20,214
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Kapow, your passion for your club is admirable. I hope this letter gets read out to the players before your next match - it's something they need to hear.

For what it's worth, the way you played against us is the way to go. You may not be able to sustain it for 4 quarters yet, but as your team fitness improves it's gonna be 'brown undies' time for opposition clubs. It just about was for us!

Well done, Kapow!:thumbsu:
 
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