Let's talk Ports! Part 3

[JimmyBC]

Hope so, but we could also all be in our cold cold graves before that happens.

I'll take the chance. We lost our last GF in the SBS abomination by a world record margin.

 

[Scodges]

You asked, I delivered...

View attachment 2495710

The Robinson family wore those in the show Lost in space.

 

[Willsy10]

It sort of has. At least they both come from the same root cause, and it's this club's who-gives-a-shit attitude towards excellence.

The guernsey is fine. The nickname is fine. Making finals is fine. Ollie Wines going waterskiing a few weeks before the start of the season is fine. Losing a home PF by a record margin is fine. Ken Hinkley's record is fine. David Koch thinks everything is going fine.

Is the guernsey the best possible guernsey that Port Adelaide could wear (even acknowledging the issues surrounding the PBs at AFL level)? Do we have the best possible nickname, do we brand ourselves in the best possible way given our enormous storied history?

If we aren't waking up in the morning and pissing excellence in every facet of the club, we're not doing enough. It absolutely is that deep.

I like our home guernsey and nickname.

But we could change both and it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever to results.

We don’t suddenly become good at footy when we wear the bars, in fact we are 4 wins and 4 losses wearing bars in the AFL. It makes no difference.

 

[backtozero]

Nearly every club has won flags and spoons in the same kit.

 

[Schulzenfest]

I like our home guernsey and nickname.

But we could change both and it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever to results.

We don’t suddenly become good at footy when we wear the bars, in fact we are 4 wins and 4 losses wearing bars in the AFL. It makes no difference.

The guernsey itself isn't the point. The settling for decent rather than striving for excellence is the point. The guernsey isn't a cause of that but it is a symptom.

 

[El_Scorcho]

I like our home guernsey and nickname.

But we could change both and it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever to results.

We don’t suddenly become good at footy when we wear the bars, in fact we are 4 wins and 4 losses wearing bars in the AFL. It makes no difference.

Again, it's not just about the guernsey or the identity, it's the close-enough-is-good-enough attitude of the club.

We basically abandoned Port Adelaide in our early AFL branding and it hurt us from an identity perspective. We then stumbled upon a nice footy guernsey design in our colours and that's where we've landed. And that lack of direction has permeated throughout the club over the AFL era, with not enough accountability and too much rope given to Choco, and then the complete abandonment of our culture under Koch.

Our current guernsey is just one of many symbols of lazy, directionless outcomes at the club. It's time to start taking some control of our destiny and that means being the best we can possibly be in every facet.

 

[DSL64]

Those port magpie jackets in the 90's were shiny silver were they not?

The club were selling them a while ago (about this time last year)

Didn't want to soil it at a game coached by daddy, but it will see a game this year...

 

[bomberclifford]

Controversial opinion: we shouldn't have been so dogmatic about "Port Power" in the beginning. Our staunch resistance to it ironically gave it more power than it deserved.

It's a natural alliteration that people gravitated to and reinforces "Port" as a valid shortening of the club's name.

We'd be in the process of fading out the Power nickname by now and Port would be the standalone shortening of the brand nickname.

My very strong opinion on this is we should be aiming long term for Port to be the brand.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Controversial opinion: we shouldn't have been so dogmatic about "Port Power" in the beginning. Our staunch resistance to it ironically gave it more power than it deserved.

It's a natural alliteration that people gravitated to and reinforces "Port" as a valid shortening of the club's name.

We'd be in the process of fading out the Power nickname by now and Port would be the standalone shortening of the brand nickname.

My very strong opinion on this is we should be aiming long term for Port to be the brand.

Agree completely.

It's like we acknowledged that we'd moved too far away from Port Adelaide and that the reaction from supporters had been negative, but our solution was to focus on this weird singular issue while not really shoring up any of the rest of our branding towards Port Adelaide, in fact often going in the opposite direction.

I know I go on about Pirates but the answer to our branding is to put Port Adelaide and the 155 years of history and heritage at the forefront of everything we do. I know it seems like a pretty massive course correction when I'm talking about guernsey changes, song changes, removing Power etc, but it needs to happen IMO

 

[bomberclifford]

Agree completely.

It's like we acknowledged that we'd moved too far away from Port Adelaide and that the reaction from supporters had been negative, but our solution was to focus on this weird singular issue while not really shoring up any of the rest of our branding towards Port Adelaide, in fact often going in the opposite direction.

I know I go on about Pirates but the answer to our branding is to put Port Adelaide and the 155 years of history and heritage at the forefront of everything we do. I know it seems like a pretty massive course correction when I'm talking about guernsey changes, song changes, removing Power etc, but it needs to happen IMO

From what I can see, it is happening in a soft way. Less Power references, more Port Adelaide. It won't (and shouldn't) be Pirates. We are Port.

That's it.

 

[El_Scorcho]

From what I can see, it is happening in a soft way. Less Power references, more Port Adelaide. It won't (and shouldn't) be Pirates. We are Port.

That's it.

It's happening slowly because the overwhelmingly positive response the supporter base gives to anything that honours our heritage can't be ignored. There's a 0% chance we're wearing the bars in Showdowns now if the excellent BBTB campaign doesn't force the issue.

What i'd like is it to happen through a deliberate action as part of an overarching strategy instead of a meandering natural selection. It feels like we are just adrift in the ocean from a branding perspective and maybe we'll wash up on some lucky beaches along the way. I mean our guernsey was designed by a 7 year old competition winner. Surely we can do better than what we're doing?

 

[Enviable Tradition]

It's happening slowly because the overwhelmingly positive response the supporter base gives to anything that honours our heritage can't be ignored. There's a 0% chance we're wearing the bars in Showdowns now if the excellent BBTB campaign doesn't force the issue.

What i'd like is it to happen through a deliberate action as part of an overarching strategy instead of a meandering natural selection. It feels like we are just adrift in the ocean from a branding perspective and maybe we'll wash up on some lucky beaches along the way. I mean our guernsey was designed by a 7 year old competition winner. Surely we can do better than what we're doing?

The only way to see that members wishes get consistently listened to over successive regimes is to give the members a bigger say in the make up of the board.

Sure we might get some changes we are happy with every now and then without it but it will be more by good luck than good management.

2028 is our big chance which is why this member election (for a 3 year term) is very important.

 

[chiwigi]

Controversial opinion: we shouldn't have been so dogmatic about "Port Power" in the beginning. Our staunch resistance to it ironically gave it more power than it deserved.

It's a natural alliteration that people gravitated to and reinforces "Port" as a valid shortening of the club's name.

We'd be in the process of fading out the Power nickname by now and Port would be the standalone shortening of the brand nickname.

My very strong opinion on this is we should be aiming long term for Port to be the brand.

Agree, I only ever say Port or Ports or Port Adelaide, never use Power.