Prediction Will Geelong supporters reaction to Goodes define us as a club?

[BlightysCats]

I personally think booing players is fine if they've cowardly decked one of your players behind play, taken
performance enhancing drugs, or raped women etc. But when a guy is systematically being booed for
nothing other than the odd tame on field indiscretion and the fact that he speaks out against entrenched Australian racist attitudes toward our indigenous brothers and sisters then I'm pretty ashamed. This thread though rather than focusing on whether you boo Goodes or not is designed to ignite debate around whether people think our collective reaction to Goodes in two weeks time will define us as a club/supporter base? I think it will...

 

[Art Vandelay_]

No because it's not actually the club per say it's our fans and I for one will remain silent Saturday week.

 

[BlightysCats]

No because it's not actually the club per say it's our fans and I for one will remain silent Saturday week.

I think/hope most will remain silent and focus on the game...but either way I'm pretty sure it will reflect on the club even if it's obviously supporters driving the reaction.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

I think/hope most will remain silent and focus on the game...but either way I'm pretty sure it will reflect on the club even if it's obviously supporters driving the reaction.

See I can easily separate it. I don't think less of West Coast as a club but their fans (and not just from this incident either) aren't the greatest. Ditto Hawthorn, wonderfully run organisation, professional and what every club is striving towards but again their fans are ordinary in my experiences.

If Cook and Selwood etc implore fans to leave Goodes alone and that isn't heeded by some what more can the club do? Ban the fans in question? eject them? that opens a pandora's box IMO. This isn't a club specific issue this is an issue regarding society more broadly.

 

[BlightysCats]

See I can easily separate it. I don't think less of West Coast as a club but their fans (and not just from this incident either) aren't the greatest. Ditto Hawthorn, wonderfully run organisation, professional and what every club is striving towards but again their fans are ordinary in my experiences.

If Cook and Selwood etc implore fans to leave Goodes alone and that isn't heeded by some what more can the club do? Ban the fans in question? eject them? that opens a pandora's box IMO. This isn't a club specific issue this is an issue regarding society more broadly.

You're right the club can't do much about it's fans but the fact is in the media and footy public minds in general - a clubs fans reflect the club.

 

[speedybundy]

I was going to write a thread about this myself, and for one I do think it defines us as a club.

Supporters are seen as by products/associated with the football club. Whether they should/shouldn't be in a broad sense that's the reality. This is why I'd like to urge the few Geelong supporters who are on/read bigfooty to not boo Adam Goodes in a couple of weeks time. Despite the fact his done nothing that he deserves to be booed for whether it is intended to come across this way or not it's seen as racist. I'd like to think Geelong supporters can set ourselves up for a massive glowing endorsement in the AFL communities eyes by remaining respectful to a man who's done great things for the community and sport.

 

[BlightysCats]

I was going to write a thread about this myself, and for one I do think it defines us as a club.

Supporters are seen as by products/associated with the football club. Whether they should/shouldn't be in a broad sense that's the reality. This is why I'd like to urge the few Geelong supporters who are on/read bigfooty to not boo Adam Goodes in a couple of weeks time. Despite the fact his done nothing that he deserves to be booed for whether it is intended to come across this way or not it's seen as racist. I'd like to think Geelong supporters can set ourselves up for a massive glowing endorsement in the AFL communities eyes by remaining respectful to a man who's done great things for the community and sport.

Completely agree, great post.

 

[cats_09]

Considering how quiet our crowd is most of the time and that is tends to take something big to actually incite a crowd reaction of either mass cheering or mass booing, do we really think that the a vast majority of the crowd is going to find their voice next week should Goodes play?
In all likelihood there will be pockets in the crowd that will boo Goodes, but I don't think that it is/will be a reflection on the club - the reality is that for some people the more they are told a way to think, to behave or to act in a manner the more likely they are to revolt & rebel against said talk because they don't like being told what they can and can't do.

There is an article in today's Herald Sun which I believe sums things up pretty well, and something the AFL should probably look at and consider the message of because clearly what they have been trying to say for the last few months isn't working:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/op...bad-and-the-ugly/story-fni0fhh1-1227460762592

 

[catempire]

This is nothing against the OP but threads on this topic are proving to be too thorny for this board.

There is a large thread on this topic on the main board here:

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threa...mclachlan-the-adam-goodes-megathread.1105536/

You should be aware of the somewhat stricter moderation of that thread (and Goodes/racism discussion generally) which is set out here:

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/adam-goodes-and-racism-discussion-on-the-main-board.1101153/