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- Sep 13, 2000
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Hi Swannies - sorry for invading your board like this. I just thought I'd pen some of the stuff that was sent to me in 2001 and 2002. Looking back it was a god send in some ways and a good tour guide in others - so please take it as offered - just some info you might not have thought about that can make the week and weekend better!
This is in no particular order, so please bare with me!
1) Accommodation: Where not to try and book a room:
- Holiday Inn Melbourne - The AFL hotel - Swans will be staying there more than likely - along with AFL officials, reps from other clubs etc
- Parkview St Kilda Road - like the Lions, it is the non-AFL hotel that West Coast use
2) Grand Final Parade - don't miss it if you can help it! Young and Jackons pub at 1 Swanston St. They play all the club songs one after the other in the lead up to the parade, decked out in team colours and is on the first major intersection of streets on the parade route. Some great viewing areas outside and opposite the pub.
3) Post Grand Final Dinner/Function/Ball. Win or lose each competing team has one of these. The venue is set today or tomorrow by the AFL. It's expensive, something like $250 a head. BUT if you can't affod that, and you are known to the club - give them a ring. They might be able to help you out. If you are a cheersquad member or volunteer at the club offer your services for the night in return for a ticket. You've nothing to lose by offering. And win or lose it's a great night to be part of. Looking back it's almost as important to me now as being at the game itself.
4) for game day - CHARGE YOUR MOBILE PHONE AND BRING A SPARE BATTERY IF YOU HAVE ONE!!!! I had something like 27 missed calls in the first 15 minutes after the siren went in 2001. To this day I still don't know who they all were - my phone went dead!
5) Enjoy everyday this week for what it is. Trust in your club to know they are doing the best they can to get everything right for the GF. Worrying yourself sick about what you can't control can leave you listless and drained and unable to soak up every second of the atmosphere on Saturday. You need to take care of yourself as much as those players and the club need to take care of each other. Don't risk missing out on a second of it if you can help it.
Anyways those are my thoughts for now. I'll probalby have some more later.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching so please don't take it that way. I just remember how new it all was, each year for us was different, but somethings just never changed and made the experience all the more enjoyable.
Good luck next week.
Tap.
This is in no particular order, so please bare with me!
1) Accommodation: Where not to try and book a room:
- Holiday Inn Melbourne - The AFL hotel - Swans will be staying there more than likely - along with AFL officials, reps from other clubs etc
- Parkview St Kilda Road - like the Lions, it is the non-AFL hotel that West Coast use
2) Grand Final Parade - don't miss it if you can help it! Young and Jackons pub at 1 Swanston St. They play all the club songs one after the other in the lead up to the parade, decked out in team colours and is on the first major intersection of streets on the parade route. Some great viewing areas outside and opposite the pub.
3) Post Grand Final Dinner/Function/Ball. Win or lose each competing team has one of these. The venue is set today or tomorrow by the AFL. It's expensive, something like $250 a head. BUT if you can't affod that, and you are known to the club - give them a ring. They might be able to help you out. If you are a cheersquad member or volunteer at the club offer your services for the night in return for a ticket. You've nothing to lose by offering. And win or lose it's a great night to be part of. Looking back it's almost as important to me now as being at the game itself.
4) for game day - CHARGE YOUR MOBILE PHONE AND BRING A SPARE BATTERY IF YOU HAVE ONE!!!! I had something like 27 missed calls in the first 15 minutes after the siren went in 2001. To this day I still don't know who they all were - my phone went dead!
5) Enjoy everyday this week for what it is. Trust in your club to know they are doing the best they can to get everything right for the GF. Worrying yourself sick about what you can't control can leave you listless and drained and unable to soak up every second of the atmosphere on Saturday. You need to take care of yourself as much as those players and the club need to take care of each other. Don't risk missing out on a second of it if you can help it.
Anyways those are my thoughts for now. I'll probalby have some more later.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching so please don't take it that way. I just remember how new it all was, each year for us was different, but somethings just never changed and made the experience all the more enjoyable.
Good luck next week.
Tap.
