Roast Media Shakes Head, Part 7

[FishingRick04]

That's very clever. Why didn't I think of that?

from Salisbury?

 

[longdonkey]

Yeah, there were some good games at Footy Park, but that's in spite of the venue, not because of it. A cold, soulless concrete bowl in the middle of nowhere, poorly serviced by public transport and shitty parking. A lack of places to grab a meal before or after the game and far enough away from everything else to basically take out 5 - 6 hours of the day for just the footy, making doing anything else entertainment wise that day / night laborious at best. That's before you get to the Crows turning it into a shrine to all things AFC. I don't care if it was easy for some to get to, any Port fan reminiscing about the Stadium and surrounds themselves has rocks in their head.

I remember going to one of the first games at Footy Park in 1974 I think. North v Centrals it rained and then it sleeted and then it poured with rain and then it was so cold I thought it would snow. There were no seats in the outer and we took shelter in the alcoves underneath the stairs and hardly saw any of the game
I've never had a worse day at the footy and put me off Footy Park. Hard to get to, hard to get out of. The white elephant of all white elephants from the moment they decided not to extend the train line to the ground.

 

[Jonts]

Unfortunately this game would have meant fu** all to us regarding draft picks as 2011 was the most compromised draft in history with GWS coming into the comp in 2012
They ended up with 11 of the top 14 picks including the Top 3. They ended up with Pick 4 as well (the pick we would have got had we lost that Melbourne game) through a trade with Gold Coast who took the wooden spoon due to our win.

We took Chad Wingard at pick 6. We would have taken him with Pick 4 as well if we had it

Thankfully we won the game and avoided the wooden spoon. That was our only gain from that game

Unfortunately for Port, we were at our shittest right when the 2 new franchises were given all the draft concessions, Even more staggering, we were a complete basket case yet our only other picks in that draft were Brendon Ah Chee at pick 45 then Nathan Blee at pick 51. We did get Brad Ebert for our priority pick 28 though, and wasted pick 33 on a trade for Brent Renouf

Yep I was convinced we missed Wingard with that win and was filthy

 

[Butters and Pepper]

On the subject of Footy Park, I'm too young to remember this but heard a few years ago that a bomb detonated in the car park at he shopping centre across the road during game-day. Mid 70s I think.

The other memorable even was the tragic end for the sky diver during a State Game, circa 1987.

 

[FishingRick04]

Footy Park has a lot of memories for me.
First of many GF’s. I’d play golf at Riverside in the morning as a junior and then walk to the Port game in the arvo, sit behind the North goals and watch the footy.
All the GF’s, controversy Anderson V Salisbury etc, our early domination in the AFL. Chicken hero’s

it was intriguing watching the decline from 05 onwards. Once the Crows presence ramped up, Choco really became on the nose it all started to fester.

then the awesome investment in the Northern stand lol

 

[longdonkey]

Footy Park has a lot of memories for me.
First of many GF’s. I’d play golf at Riverside in the morning as a junior and then walk to the Port game in the arvo, sit behind the North goals and watch the footy.
All the GF’s, controversy Anderson V Salisbury etc, our early domination in the AFL. Chicken hero’s

it was intriguing watching the decline from 05 onwards. Once the Crows presence ramped up, Choco really became on the nose it all started to fester.

then the awesome investment in the Northern stand lol

Yeah 1977 Grand Final with ringside seats to Tim Evans v Fred Phillis and Bucky snapping that goal right in front of where I was sitting erased the memories of the previous year. 1990 Grand Final was my other favorite Grand Final.

Great being a Port supporter and you can pick your favorite 5 premierships.

 

[FishingRick04]

Yeah 1977 Grand Final with ringside seats to Tim Evans v Fred Phillis and Bucky snapping that goal right in front of where I was sitting erased the memories of the previous year. 1990 Grand Final was my other favorite Grand Final.

Great being a Port supporter and you can pick your favorite 5 premierships.

1994 I had some very Salty friends

 

[longdonkey]

1994 I had some very Salty friends

Bahahahahahahahahhahahaha me too was the only Port supporter sitting with Eagles and Glenelg supporters.

 

[backtozero]

All the angst around them tacking their giant chicken head on the side of the building and trying to make us feel unwelcome as possible really washes away when you see them now training amongst the rubble.

 

[FishingRick04]

Bahahahahahahahahhahahaha me too was the only Port supporter sitting with Eagles and Glenelg supporters.

Yes and I copped it for 3, then it went quiet

 

[longdonkey]

Yes and I copped it for 3, then it went quiet

Yeah I thought that game from about halfway through the second quarter I was fairly convinced we were going to win and I think one of my mates knew it too.
I was copping more grief from them because of some of the frees Scotty got that day. Of course because Port always get the run of the green with the umpires.

 

[Eighteen Seventy]

Remember when our Friday night games at Football Park started at 8.10 pm so they could be broadcast live into Victoria? You'd get home well after midnight once you finally got out of the car park. * that shithole.

 

[Harlott]

On the subject of Footy Park, I'm too young to remember this but heard a few years ago that a bomb detonated in the car park at he shopping centre across the road during game-day. Mid 70s I think.

The other memorable even was the tragic end for the sky diver during a State Game, circa 1987.

Yeah a guy was bombed in his mini I think. I also vaguely recall his wife and her boyfriend were the perpetrators.

 

[philreich]

1994 I had some very Salty friends

1994 was glorious - the Eagles thought they were unbeatable, and the club had pre-empted the result by printing premiership T shirts, and they had a premiership party all ready to rumble. Unfortunately for them, Timmy and the boys didn't read the script.

 

[Garibaldi Red]

Yeah a guy was bombed in his mini I think. I also vaguely recall his wife and her boyfriend were the perpetrators.

Forsome reason the name Ken Shuttleworth rings a bell as the victim.

 

[Prison bar Pete]

I'll admit to being very impressed with the new perspective from that northern grandstand at Footy Park, but it was freezing even on a sunny day!

 

[Steve Dore]

That's very clever. Why didn't I think of that?

Maybe unlike me you didn't live within reasonable walking distance.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

Maybe unlike me you didn't live within reasonable walking distance.

wharfie west side

respect

 

[PAFC66]

I'll admit to being very impressed with the new perspective from that northern grandstand at Footy Park, but it was freezing even on a sunny day!

Reminded me of Waverly. Arctic park.

 

[Papa G]

1994 was glorious - the Eagles thought they were unbeatable, and the club had pre-empted the result by printing premiership T shirts, and they had a premiership party all ready to rumble. Unfortunately for them, Timmy and the boys didn't read the script.

Great game. Wakelin and Hodges bookending the ground, ffantastic comeback.

My lasting memory of that day was when we were about to win some Port supporter yells " Its a long way back to Woodville!" To which a Peckers supporter replied "Um, no it isnt".

 

[jac147]

Yeah a guy was bombed in his mini I think. I also vaguely recall his wife and her boyfriend were the perpetrators.

You are correct as it became a murder investigation. The bloke who was murdered was a worker at the then being constructed shopping centre.
Growing up in the Seaton area, my mates and I spent many an hour messing around in that swamp before West Lakes was even on the drawing board. The Port River was tidal and on high tide the water would rush in covering that area where footy park use to be, enough water, if you were game, for a swim.

 

[Steve Dore]

You are correct as it became a murder investigation. The bloke who was murdered was a worker at the then being constructed shopping centre.
Growing up in the Seaton area, my mates and I spent many an hour messing around in that swamp before West Lakes was on even on the drawing board. The Port River was tidal and on high tide the water would rush in covering that area where footy park use to be, enough water, if you were game, for a swim.

During the construction of West Lakes there was a huge mound of sandy loam at the northern end of the Grange Golf Club, west of the old State Supply Department warehouse, which I believe was brought in to form the subsurface for the playing area at Footy Park. All the local kids used to drag their bikes to the top and then go screaming down.

 

[Ant Bear]

I mean, I feel like some of you might have been my childhood friends!

After we were evacuated from Darwin after Cyclone Tracey, we settled in the Woodlake development of West Lakes, just off Frederick Rd. Footy Pk was brand new; Delfin Island was completely vacant - we used to swim across to it (it seems so far and such a dangerous thing to do now, lol!). A couple of friends from school and I used to wander across to Footy Pk on Saturday afternoons in winter, when the lake was too cold for swimming - that's where I fell in love with football. We went back to Darwin in 1980 or so, but I returned as a diehard Port supporter.

 

[Alberton Proud]

I remember going to one of the first games at Footy Park in 1974 I think. North v Centrals it rained and then it sleeted and then it poured with rain and then it was so cold I thought it would snow. There were no seats in the outer and we took shelter in the alcoves underneath the stairs and hardly saw any of the game
I've never had a worse day at the footy and put me off Footy Park. Hard to get to, hard to get out of. The white elephant of all white elephants from the moment they decided not to extend the train line to the ground.

Those alcoves were a good place to snog your girl

 

[malcheski]

One of my ever lasting memories was of Footy Park was during the 1996 GF, where Centrals thought they would finally have one over us after beating us reasonably comfortably in the semi final. Sitting in the outer and a Centrals fan comes out with the ever classic, 'We can eat Pies' (genius). Enter me, all of 7 years old, stand up on my seat in rebuttal 'Well we can eat Hot-Dogs'. High fives all 'round for me, I dont think that guy ever fully recovered from the utter devastation of being one upped by a dickhead kid.