Discussion Coping with “Sainthood”

mightymalaka

What we have here is a failure to communicate!
May 7, 2018
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Wonderful story mate.

Not about win/loss records at St.Kilda. If it was we'd have no supporters. It's about the fantastic players we've had, the characters we've had, and the loyal commitment of the fans. Trevor Barker is a perfect example of what being a St.Kilda person is all about. If people want premiership after premiership they should go and support one of the more successful clubs instead.

Sad to hear about your father. Much like your old man my dad copped plenty of racism in the 70's too, being a part of the large contingent of Greeks and Italians that migrated to Australia in the sixties. People like Winmar thankfully started to change that, especially in football where it was seemingly much more common. Aside from being indoctrinated to the Saints from birth, it was Winmar who made me nag my dad to go and watch games at Waverley.

My late father shaking cans outside Linton St to help the club financially in its darkest years. Standing on beer cans to get a better view in the pouring mud soaked Moorabbin just to see Plugger kick a bag. Supporting this club is heartfelt to a lot of people and some take supporting this football club for granted. It hurts to see them cop unjust criticism from both media and so called supporters, and if it wasn't for supporters like yourself or players like Trevor Barker we wouldn't even have the privilege of still being able to discuss the Saints.
George i agree with most of this and is an experience i can def relate to. But just a little suggestion on the so called supporters quip, when you get to my age
At some point you would naturally assume the love affair with the club would take on some form of give and take! Some people can only get burnt so many times
When you have already been divorced and you have been loving and giving to this club for near on 50 years, you will forgive some for starting to feel the
Strain of an unhappy relationship!
 
George i agree with most of this and is an experience i can def relate to. But just a little suggestion on the so called supporters quip, when you get to my age
At some point you would naturally assume the love affair with the club would take on some form of give and take! Some people can only get burnt so many times
When you have already been divorced and you have been loving and giving to this club for near on 50 years, you will forgive some for starting to feel the
Strain of an unhappy relationship!
Nah I get you - I think everyone here is bolted on Saints fans. There's just a lot of fairweather out there who I guess don't appreciate the struggles the club has had.
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
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that's a pretty awesome way to end up a saint!

do you think in this modern era you would still get the chance meeting that grew into something larger. whom ever the saints staff member was that let you help out loading the truck was awesome!
it was a differant era for sure ... it certainly helped that our club being very much cash strapped at that time having a bloke who was eagerly offering free labour to help out was a big bonus also i loved doing it i got to see things fans never do i got to be around things that were pretty special and i met some truely fantastic people its funny really how the tide turned for it we went from just mentioning a name at the gate to get in the rooms on game day to help out to then having to have a coloured wrist band to then having to have your phone locked in a special box as soon as you entered the rooms to finally having to sit through an AFL accreditation to be a volunteer.. then one day i was told that yep we are not allowed to help anymore as its only official employees allowed... it was great while it lasted though .. a huge part of it was in my opinion the betting around footy as the info i was able to see certainly could be used in a way to cheat the betting agencies (not that im ever a betting man with cash) so i do understand why its not the same anymore but each year when the team come to town i do just quietly hope the phone rings to come back and help :)
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
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Wonderful story mate.

Not about win/loss records at St.Kilda. If it was we'd have no supporters. It's about the fantastic players we've had, the characters we've had, and the loyal commitment of the fans. Trevor Barker is a perfect example of what being a St.Kilda person is all about. If people want premiership after premiership they should go and support one of the more successful clubs instead.

Sad to hear about your father. Much like your old man my dad copped plenty of racism in the 70's too, being a part of the large contingent of Greeks and Italians that migrated to Australia in the sixties. People like Winmar thankfully started to change that, especially in football where it was seemingly much more common. Aside from being indoctrinated to the Saints from birth, it was Winmar who made me nag my dad to go and watch games at Waverley.

My late father shaking cans outside Linton St to help the club financially in its darkest years. Standing on beer cans to get a better view in the pouring mud soaked Moorabbin just to see Plugger kick a bag. Supporting this club is heartfelt to a lot of people and some take supporting this football club for granted. It hurts to see them cop unjust criticism from both media and so called supporters, and if it wasn't for supporters like yourself or players like Trevor Barker we wouldn't even have the privilege of still being able to discuss the Saints.
thanks mate .. yeah Trevor Barker was a tad before my time but you just need to hear guys like Phil Cronan who only played a short time with him talk about him to get an idea of how much the man meant to the club ...
its funny i have done a tally of all the saints games ive ever attended in my life and it adds up to less than most people on here have gone to in the last two seasons yet this club is such a big part on me..
thinking back to those dark days of the SOS , tin rattleing that the fans did to save our club from non existance i do wonder if the modern day fans would band together in such a way as they did back then to save our club i guess footy and club culture among fans is much differant as it was in those days
 
thanks mate .. yeah Trevor Barker was a tad before my time but you just need to hear guys like Phil Cronan who only played a short time with him talk about him to get an idea of how much the man meant to the club ...
its funny i have done a tally of all the saints games ive ever attended in my life and it adds up to less than most people on here have gone to in the last two seasons yet this club is such a big part on me..
thinking back to those dark days of the SOS , tin rattleing that the fans did to save our club from non existance i do wonder if the modern day fans would band together in such a way as they did back then to save our club i guess footy and club culture among fans is much differant as it was in those days
Maybe I'm biased but I think they would. I forked out $3000 for the Moorabbin Redevelopment and just this board alone forked out $10,000 of their own money. But we're all die hards here so it's tough to say.

We've always had a very large Saints base in WA...and some of my greatest memories were against the Eagles in the mid 90's. Round 6, 1998 rings a bell! And the 9 goals we kicked in the second quarter of Round 22, 1999. Not to mention Bangers 350th in 2007!

Nice hearing these stories...I don't know why but footy was so much more enjoyable back then...
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
5,810
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George i agree with most of this and is an experience i can def relate to. But just a little suggestion on the so called supporters quip, when you get to my age
At some point you would naturally assume the love affair with the club would take on some form of give and take! Some people can only get burnt so many times
When you have already been divorced and you have been loving and giving to this club for near on 50 years, you will forgive some for starting to feel the
Strain of an unhappy relationship!
i get what you are saying mate but its not through lack of effort ... trust me the club would love nothing more than to finnally give the fans that much wanted flag.. in part i think thats why 09 and 10 really hit the club hard because we were so damn close but couldnt get it ... i would lose heart in the club the day they stopped trying to get us what we want , the fact is its bloody hard to get it , even when things go 99% right a bounce of the ball can derail it , an ill timed injury can derail it, a clash of personallitys can derail it .. there are no certaintys all we can ask is the team try to the best of their ability
 
it was a differant era for sure ... it certainly helped that our club being very much cash strapped at that time having a bloke who was eagerly offering free labour to help out was a big bonus also i loved doing it i got to see things fans never do i got to be around things that were pretty special and i met some truely fantastic people its funny really how the tide turned for it we went from just mentioning a name at the gate to get in the rooms on game day to help out to then having to have a coloured wrist band to then having to have your phone locked in a special box as soon as you entered the rooms to finally having to sit through an AFL accreditation to be a volunteer.. then one day i was told that yep we are not allowed to help anymore as its only official employees allowed... it was great while it lasted though .. a huge part of it was in my opinion the betting around footy as the info i was able to see certainly could be used in a way to cheat the betting agencies (not that im ever a betting man with cash) so i do understand why its not the same anymore but each year when the team come to town i do just quietly hope the phone rings to come back and help :)

hang on. wait.

you don't do it anymore?
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
5,810
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Maybe I'm biased but I think they would. I forked out $3000 for the Moorabbin Redevelopment and just this board alone forked out $10,000 of their own money. But we're all die hards here so it's tough to say.

We've always had a very large Saints base in WA...and some of my greatest memories were against the Eagles in the mid 90's. Round 6, 1998 rings a bell! And the 9 goals we kicked in the second quarter of Round 22, 1999. Not to mention Bangers 350th in 2007!

Nice hearing these stories...I don't know why but footy was so much more enjoyable back then...
oh yeah in WA we have so many fans its crazy almost every person i talk to when they find out im a saints supporter they mention "oh yeah my brother in law is a big saints fan " or "yeah the guy on the roller is a saints fan" or "jim from accounts is a saints supporter" ....

those games you mentioned were all favorites on mine as well.. the harvey 350th i was right in the action for... i remember the vibe in the rooms before that game you could tell the boys were going to turn up that day .. another favorite was Milneys milestone (i think it was 250th maybe) match down in the rooms befor the game young Tyson was being a little pest (the apple didnt fall far from that tree) anyway he decides he want to play on the exercise bike only for his fot to slip and the pedal to crack him square on the shin causing him to give out a god awful scream at this stage the players are in a silent reflection mode before firing up well that broke the silent reflection periodearly :)..
the other favourite was the last game at subi oval when Bruce kicked the sealer we went crazy!!
 

st_trav_ofWA

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 17, 2015
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hang on. wait.

you don't do it anymore?
nah mate ... they shut it down in 2016 thats how im now able to be at the WS function now days the move to optus has made it even tighter so now days i get to watch the game from the stands instead of from the players race
 
nah mate ... they shut it down in 2016 thats how im now able to be at the WS function now days the move to optus has made it even tighter so now days i get to watch the game from the stands instead of from the players race

that's incredibly sad

i'm not suggesting the club is at fault here, it seems to be an ongoing theme amongst all the clubs. the AFL is removing its self further and further from the fan. optus doesn't help it.

when my mate gets more access than our players to the ground because he needs to service equipment and can even take photos of himself on the ground, there's something wrong.
 
oh yeah in WA we have so many fans its crazy almost every person i talk to when they find out im a saints supporter they mention "oh yeah my brother in law is a big saints fan " or "yeah the guy on the roller is a saints fan" or "jim from accounts is a saints supporter" ....

those games you mentioned were all favorites on mine as well.. the harvey 350th i was right in the action for... i remember the vibe in the rooms before that game you could tell the boys were going to turn up that day .. another favorite was Milneys milestone (i think it was 250th maybe) match down in the rooms befor the game young Tyson was being a little pest (the apple didnt fall far from that tree) anyway he decides he want to play on the exercise bike only for his fot to slip and the pedal to crack him square on the shin causing him to give out a god awful scream at this stage the players are in a silent reflection mode before firing up well that broke the silent reflection periodearly :)..
the other favourite was the last game at subi oval when Bruce kicked the sealer we went crazy!!
I forgot to mention in my other post - I went to WA in January for two weeks and saw a few people walking through the city with AFL gear on. Half of them were Saints supporters...I was pleasantly surprised!
 
I forgot to mention in my other post - I went to WA in January for two weeks and saw a few people walking through the city with AFL gear on. Half of them were Saints supporters...I was pleasantly surprised!

they're everywhere. it's insane how many we have here.

for example moved out to southern suburbs. an hour from the city. regularly saw people in saints gear or with number plates around areas like rockingham and mandurah.

moved house again to the eastern suburbs, first trip, go to the local pub. i'm walking out with my polo on. a family is eating lunch with a small child in a high chair. he yells out to me go saints and points to his child bib which is st kilda.

i've driven through a suburb where fremantles HQ is and bang, house painted in saints colours.

go down south to Margaret river. 4 hours from perth. guy stops me. he mate your shirt is the same as my key ring!

hell i've been to coachella, 3 hours out of ******* los angeles and had some one yell out to me, go saints!

which is why i always believed your statement that we are as big as richmond, we just for what ever reason haven't converted them.
 
one thing i have noticed, is the amount of people who have slowly started to adopt st kilda as their 2nd team here. i know heaps of WCE supporters who have done it. the freo ferals hate us, due to the history between us, which may explain it somewhat.

this may sound weird but i personally hope we might build somewhat of a partnership with WCE to help each other out. similar to the dogs with the pies.
 
they're everywhere. it's insane how many we have here.

for example moved out to southern suburbs. an hour from the city. regularly saw people in saints gear or with number plates around areas like rockingham and mandurah.

moved house again to the eastern suburbs, first trip, go to the local pub. i'm walking out with my polo on. a family is eating lunch with a small child in a high chair. he yells out to me go saints and points to his child bib which is st kilda.

i've driven through a suburb where fremantles HQ is and bang, house painted in saints colours.

go down south to Margaret river. 4 hours from perth. guy stops me. he mate your shirt is the same as my key ring!

hell i've been to coachella, 3 hours out of ******* los angeles and had some one yell out to me, go saints!

which is why i always believed your statement that we are as big as richmond, we just for what ever reason haven't converted them.
Yep in Perth I saw half Saints half Eagles, in Fremantle it was a bit skewed as they were playing Collingwood in the AFLW. But yeah they are everywhere. Went to QLD in 2017 and saw a fair few as well.
 

busso_mick

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I saw the perfect season last year. Didn't lose a game. Also won all three grades. Seniors, reserves and Colts.

I've seen probably 11 grand finals since 1995. For I think 6 flags. I've had it amazingly good. Got to see the magic of liam ryan taking 3 hangers a game for two years.

Subi are pound for pound the best club you could ever hope for. They have a very high standard and great culture. The supporters are wonderful. The club even better.
It was a tough gig supporting the Saints and Subiaco in the 1970's and early 1980's. I seem to recall a period of about 3 or 4 years in the early 1980's when both Subiaco and St Kilda won on the same weekend only once!

I remember Subi winning the 1973 Grand Final against West Perth, my sister went to the game and I placed a clove of garlic on a plate for her when she came home (West Perth was a haven for Italians back then). I was overseas for the 1986 win against East Fremantle but saw the 1988 win against Claremont. We used to play our Grand Finals on Subi oval in under age football, it was a massive ground and plenty of space to run around in. We have been very lucky to have sustained success with Subiaco, something I would love to experience as a Saints fan.
 
It was a tough gig supporting the Saints and Subiaco in the 1970's and early 1980's. I seem to recall a period of about 3 or 4 years in the early 1980's when both Subiaco and St Kilda won on the same weekend only once!

I remember Subi winning the 1973 Grand Final against West Perth, my sister went to the game and I placed a clove of garlic on a plate for her when she came home (West Perth was a haven for Italians back then). I was overseas for the 1986 win against East Fremantle but saw the 1988 win against Claremont. We used to play our Grand Finals on Subi oval in under age football, it was a massive ground and plenty of space to run around in. We have been very lucky to have sustained success with Subiaco, something I would love to experience as a Saints fan.

oh man! the old garlic munchers. 73 would have been amazing! who was your favourite player?

i have horrible nightmares of the west perth chant after them belting us in the finals in the 90s. including kepler ******* bradley ripping us a new one in 2003.

i miss the old subi ground! had so much character. the new perth stadium is great but it feels plastic.
 

LiterallyNobody

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Interesting hearing all this about Perth. I’ve always wanted to go to Perth yet never been. One day. But yeah didn’t realise so many sainters there. I thought Carlton had the best non WA team support over there. I’m in northern Melbourne (north west actually) so everyone is Essendon or Collingwood here. Booooooooring. Meeting a sainter is actually a big deal.
 

busso_mick

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oh man! the old garlic munchers. 73 would have been amazing! who was your favourite player?

i have horrible nightmares of the west perth chant after them belting us in the finals in the 90s. including kepler ******* bradley ripping us a new one in 2003.

i miss the old subi ground! had so much character. the new perth stadium is great but it feels plastic.
Keith Watt, the forward pocket goal sneek with a giant Affro hair do! He was mercurial and played like Milney.
 
Jan 10, 2011
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Interesting hearing all this about Perth. I’ve always wanted to go to Perth yet never been. One day. But yeah didn’t realise so many sainters there. I thought Carlton had the best non WA team support over there. I’m in northern Melbourne (north west actually) so everyone is Essendon or Collingwood here. Booooooooring. Meeting a sainter is actually a big deal.
Move to east Bentleigh. Half them are sainters.
 

LiterallyNobody

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Move to east Bentleigh. Half them are sainters.
I couldn’t live in the eastern suburbs. I used to work on St Kilda rd. Literally half the office were st kilda supporters. Was the best environment to work in 2009/10 grand final week. Although the week after was tough. Lol
 
Jan 10, 2011
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I couldn’t live in the eastern suburbs. I used to work on St Kilda rd. Literally half the office were st kilda supporters. Was the best environment to work in 2009/10 grand final week. Although the week after was tough. Lol
South east. Never tell us we live eastern. That’s Ringwood and co
 

LiterallyNobody

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Eastern, south east, bayside, call it what you will. I’m a northerner. Actually I’m more like Dothraki - too afraid of the narrow sea (Yarra) to cross to the other side. I only cross the Yarra to cross it again to get to the G.
 
Interesting hearing all this about Perth. I’ve always wanted to go to Perth yet never been. One day. But yeah didn’t realise so many sainters there. I thought Carlton had the best non WA team support over there. I’m in northern Melbourne (north west actually) so everyone is Essendon or Collingwood here. Booooooooring. Meeting a sainter is actually a big deal.

its funny you say that, apparently a lot of the WCE supporters were Carlton supporters. not sure why. i've met a lot of them.
 

MUFKilda

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GOLD! Nice one mate. The blunt truth however is that I’m not going to see the Saints win a premiership. Simple as that. For all the factors in such a win to align : Squad: Coach: Well run Club, it will take (in my humble opinion) at least five - eight years judging from our “progress” since 2011 ( our last finals appearance)
Luckily (for me) I’m not driven by results.

Jiggster, you just never know what can happen. As Plugger66 said, it can change very quickly, and not just in Aussie Rules. Here in my home town, for example, older Man City fans used to say they would never see City as champions and perhaps wouldn't see them win any trophy again. Well, look at that now.

Whatever our backgrounds in following St Kilda, whether you are born into it, or, like me, a newcomer, we all know it's hard yakka, as I was advised when I first joined Big Footy. In fact I would change the club motto to 'hard yakka' :D. However, it's a great old club, not an artificially created franchise, and those who support it are not glory hunters but true fans. You can't buy that kind of loyalty.

One year of making finals and you just never know. I really hope you are at the MCG on the day Saints finally lift the big prize!:thumbsu:
 
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