Have you evee gotten over your team losing a Grand Final?

[Woody15]

Over them quickly - its just a game in the end. Win some, lose some. Its a great experience to have your club in them in the first place. Some fans have to wait a very long time to even get there..

Takes a while for me to watch the replays again. I find when I watch them, I end up saying 'he should have done this and it might have been different', or 'gee we would have been off if we kicked that'. Just frustrating to watch again sometimes.

Having said that, last years GF is particularly annoying considering the constant references to Sheed and his goal and the TV ads replaying them over and over again. And the fact I live in Perth as well. WC fans probably had a similar feeling over Leo Barry's mark.

But as I said, only a game.

 

[Fishbone]

2014 i was over it within an hour. We didn't deserve to be playing that day..even though we were the best team all yea..well most of it.

2016? Yeah i still haven't got over it and it was the catalyst for my decline in watching AFL. I now just watch the swans.

2016 will be forever haunting for swans fans because of the umpires and the way the AFL treated us during the week. I live in Melbourne and during that week it was all about the dogs. They, the AFL, didn't even bother with making one side of the cup just red and white streamers, nope they left it as blue white and red. Every article in the Herald Dumb was about the dogs. All over the AFL media they were writing about the fairytale.

And spare me this rubbish of the media pampering to dogs fans because it was Melbourne when the AFL is based in Melbourne and everything AFL related comes out of Melbourne.

 

[StillAtLarge]

2012 is the flattest I have ever been after a game of football. I still have no idea how the Hawks lost that - they were controlling the game until the last 10-15 minutes.

It would be a lot harder to take without the next three years.

One thing I definitely know is the first one is always the best. 2008 for Hawks fans, I assume 2007 for Cats fans. It is not as much fun with all the expectation that comes after your first for a while.

I thought our window had closed after 2012 (so I was pretty gutted) but I never felt as though we deserved to win. I think Sydney kicked 8 unanswered goals at one stage which is unforgivable in any game, let alone a grand final.
I did think we had it won when Gunston lined up for his set shot in the last but once the match was beyond our grasp I was relatively accepting of the outcome.
Agree that the unexpected flags are the best. 2008 was so bloody joyous!

 

[Roobs321]

2005: I was 16, and it was the closest GF I'd ever seen and my first genuine Eagles GF. So it sucked mightily at the time, especially in the weeks following. But my parents were Swans and after the 2006 result leaned our way it was all forgotten. It definitely was a year that got away, but for family sake I'm kinda glad we lost (I loved the Swans), and our named side on the day was laughable. It all worked out for everyone given my context, the rivalry itself became a bigger achievement than an individual flag.

2015: forgotten in a flash, just an embarrassing performance, and during the off-season I suffered a close family loss so it had lost all significance by the time 2016 R1 came around. An older head can handle such losses. I think I felt more frustrated in 2016 & 2017, as by then I was absolutely manic for a non-Vic to win and they kept failing time and again. Fair enough against the Hawks, but the plucky drought-breakers?

So no, I don't still sting over a GF loss. Eagles fans have been blessed by the "lose one to win one" truism across all 3 generations, so little to gripe about.

 

[PAFC_1870]

That's right. We've only ever played the one GF in the AFL era, and we won it. What's there to get over?

Sweep. Rug.

 

[caspian]

Think WC fans got lucky because our failures thus far have been quickly followed by flags. Was too young to remember '91. '05 was awful but the next year made it fine. 2015 was bad but I remember that time now moreso because of getting way too drunk and vomiting everywhere at a wedding then the game itself, which if anything was an unexpected surprise. Obviously '18 has made me completely forget it now.

You feel a bit (only a bit) of sympathy for Saints and, dare I say, dockers fans. Both clubs had some great teams, made the GF but never got to win a flag. Would haunt you for a while. Getting to the GF doesn't mean s**t I'd think. The feeling when you win one is far, far better; would rather my team dropped out in a prelim or earlier than to lose a GF.

 

[NSWCROW]

Not yet

Don't know if i ever will , still livid.

 

[caspian]

2005: I was 16, and it was the closest GF I'd ever seen and my first genuine Eagles GF. So it sucked mightily at the time, especially in the weeks following. But my parents were Swans and after the 2006 result leaned our way it was all forgotten. It definitely was a year that got away, but for family sake I'm kinda glad we lost (I loved the Swans), and our named side on the day was laughable. It all worked out for everyone given my context, the rivalry itself became a bigger achievement than an individual flag.

It's almost a cliché, the whole "I'm glad we both won one flag each". What a great moment in time that was.

 

[manureid]

I dont recall Port losing a GF.

No I dont.

Shutup.

 

[iameviljez]

Does it anger you that you let one slip or have you moved on?

Yes, life moves on and there are more important things to worry about. We absolutely choked something shocking in 2008 but that's life.

If you live for, say, 90 years, then you should see your team lose 5 Grand Finals in your lifetime. Happens to most footy supporters. Frankly, if that's the worst thing that happens to you in life, then I envy you.

 

[kranky al]

1991 still hurts
1995 was agony till 1996 made it better - 1-1 was about right for that rivalry imho
2015 - we were pretty lucky to be there hurt for a while but after 2018 not so bothered. Hawks a better all round team than us.

 

[iameviljez]

I can’t help but question how he & the saints reflect on 2009/2010.....He spoke of this era of success & having reunions etc....To me that’s a losers mentality.

He's retired, what good what it do to keep beating himself up now? It's not like it can drive him to go on and win a flag.

 

[Benno_900]

Grand Final? What's that?

 

[Loyal Lion]

I have gotten over 2004 but I still can't watch it on tv. Same for Fitzroy losing the 1981 Semi by 1 point to Collingwood or the 1983 Qualifying Final by 3 points to Hawthorn. Could never watch those games again.

Just wonder how St Kilda supporters cope with 2009 & 2010? 2009 was an amazing season for them. How they didn't win that year is amazing! They won their first 19 games, lost the next two by 2 & 5 points & lost the Grand Final by 12 points. 3 losses by less than 20 points for the whole year!

 

[gavaniacono]

1982 - no prob. Saw some beaver on the day as some recompense for the loss.
1972 - still have nightmares. They kicking goals from every conceivable angle and never missing. And Rex The Silly Hunt. Nightmare.

 

[Sentinel]

Ahh yes this is after the AFL had to run up and remove the blue streamer. I was there and me and 100s of swans supporters saw it. Check also the footy show and the GF breakfast.

But continue to think your club won the 2016 GF on merit alone. Glad 98% of fans dont respect your 2016 flag these days

On the flipside to the streamers issue (which is of course an extremely valid concern that deserves to be treated as such):

 

[situationz]

2016 still bothers me. Especially because the Swans had an amazing season and finished over 150%, whereas the Bulldogs finished 7th, had less than 120% and arguably had no business being in a grand final at all. And that's not mentioning the umpires... feels almost like they wanted us to lose. (But really, Sydney should have been too good for the Dogs anyway.)
2011 (I was a Collingwood fan back then) hurt a bit at the time, but not so much anymore. Cats definitely deserved to win, having had an incredible season in their own right just as the Pies did.

 

[Catsnlakers]

He's retired, what good what it do to keep beating himself up now? It's not like it can drive him to go on and win a flag.

I was talking about his reflection’s on that period.....I’m not sure Saints supporters want to hear about the pride of that group of players for ending up as loser’s.....I put it in the context of Billy Brownless always celebrating that final against the dogs, whenever I see it I think “in the end it didn’t count for much”....You’re entitled to your opinion, & if it differs from mine that’s fine. It’s a footy forum after all.

 

[Elroo]

Yes, in 99 we weren't the best team and the fact we'd broken all those Bomber fans hearts the game before meant there wasn't much expectation we'd actually win the GF anyway. All the laughs and good vibes one needs had already be had leaving a satisfied feeling regardless of the GF result.

Seeing Bomber fans lining up for GF tickets before the prelim against the Blues even started was only topped by those same Dons supporters breaking down in tears when the Blues beat them!

 

[Plugger35]

I have gotten over 2004 but I still can't watch it on tv. Same for Fitzroy losing the 1981 Semi by 1 point to Collingwood or the 1983 Qualifying Final by 3 points to Hawthorn. Could never watch those games again.

Just wonder how St Kilda supporters cope with 2009 & 2010? 2009 was an amazing season for them. How they didn't win that year is amazing! They won their first 19 games, lost the next two by 2 & 5 points & lost the Grand Final by 12 points. 3 losses by less than 20 points for the whole year!

Geelong actually went into the 2009 GF as favourites despite our great H&A season, they smashed Collingwood in the prelim while we scraped past the Dogs.

Collingwood were even stronger favourites going into the 2010 GF after being dominant all season and during the final series.

So it's not like we lost to rank underdogs and they were shock losses, we were up against 2 of the strongest teams of the modern era.

It was still shattering to have chances to win both GFs and not win either of them though, if we had only lost one of them it would've been easier to take.

 

[simba_]

i got over 2007 by reminding myself that Geelong were on Dank's s**t

 

[Forward Press]

i got over 2007 by reminding myself that Geelong were on Dank's s**t

They still won by 20 goals, though, so presumably the Port side were also simultaneously roofied.

 

[Roddy]

Hawks lost a GF in 75, came back and won the next one. We lost two in a row in 84 and 85, came back and won the next one. We lost another in 87, came back and won 3 of the next 4. Lost another in 12, came back and won the next three in a row. That makes it pretty easy to forget the losses...

 

[Ari]

Nope. Still not over 1990 or 2001.

 

[Goomba1973]

It depends on the manner of losing for me. In 05 WC lost to Sydney in such a close game, that was hard to get over but that was made easier by winning it in 06, but losing to Hawthorn in 15 was relatively easy to get over, we were just outplayed from the get go and was never in the game. It was disappointing to lose but by the next day it was "got flogged by a much better team".
I imagine Pies supporters having trouble coming to terms with last year as it was such a close game decided by a kick.

Saints supporters would be the hardest hit, to come so close to winning the drawn GF only to lose it in the replay. I would really struggle with that one.