Roast Heritage Watch

[Prison bar Pete]

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We stood for culture aggression arrogance fearless ruthlessness driven and above all we never ever accepted mediocrity!

Our strong tradition and history is what kept us strong and united during the dark times. Now Port Adelaide has aligned itself with everything we professed we would never be


Sad day when supporters accept spin and how easily we forget the fundamentals that got us to be feared

When we lose one bit of our identity like 1 captain we are then open to accepting the rest.


I remember as a 7 year old dad taking me to Alberton and I asked him will we win today mind you this was before the game had started. His reply “YES” I kept on dad how do you know and in typical Port fashion “because we are Port Adelaide”

It was that non negotiable belief that we would beat anyone.

Even when we did lose going back home all the talk was they got us today wait till finals come.

To get back to the essence of what Port Adelaide is we need more people to call out mediocrity because only then will we stay hungry and succeed

that's a trademark aggressive, arrogant, fearless, ruthless & driven Port Adelaide umbrella there

 

[malcheski]

‘The Magpies Expect to Win’

It was firstly a song then made into a range of merch in the late 80’s which a young me proudly wore day in, day out, with a s**t eating grin because I knew my team was the best.

This is what Port Adelaide is to me.

We have given up a hell of a lot to earn the right to play at the highest level. We are the only traditional club to be admitted to the AFL outside of the original VFL teams. It’s because we, as a club, achieved unrivalled success. We were ruthless in the pursuit of the ultimate glory and when people said we had no chance, we told them to suck eggs and we won anyway.

All the traditions in the world are fantastic to have, however the only one I want (or rekindle) is the complete unabashed (sometimes unearned) arrogance of expecting to win.

Get this back and things like co-captains and mottos won’t mean 3/5ths of stuff all because winning is why we are here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chiwigi]

So I’m necroing this thread.

There should be certain items that HAVE to be voted on by the members before the club can change them.

1: Colours
2: Motto
3: Creed
4: Home
5: Number 1

This means all CAN be changed, but only if we, the actual long term custodians, accept it.

 

[GremioPower]

Is this the one you mean? I just came across it

"we exist to win premierships" is now "we exist to win premierships and make our community proud" a needless addition to what was a great motto

 

[GremioPower]

You're only tellng half the story. We lost our sanfl zones but now recruit players from all over the country.



Come on man. This thread only exists because of the co-captaincy. The idea that we could change this one thing and all of a sudden our identity is being pulled into question is ludicrous.

I think that if we don't have someone fitting to wear the #1 guernsey, it is actually better leaving it aside until the true captain pulls Excalibur out of the rock. But that's me.

By the way, I loved the "grandfather's axe" analogy. Everything that has been mentioned here are characters and stories, parts of PAFC; but none is the club in itself. PAFC is its HISTORY.

Let's keep reading it. Let's keep telling it. Let's keep writing it. That's what means being Port Adelaide.

 

[GremioPower]

All the traditions in the world are fantastic to have, however the only one I want (or rekindle) is the complete unabashed (sometimes unearned) arrogance of expecting to win.

It is a balance between arrogance and humility. It is called "magnanimity."

It respects the opposition and recognizes our own shortcomings, but doesn't let our defects and their qualities stop us from achieving what is RIGHTFULLY ours — the premiership. If not this year, than the next. If this year, also the next.

We will work our asses off because no one can be better than us. We DESERVE to WIN. "We are Port Adelaide!" That's how I understand the meaning of the motto, at least.

 

[PA88]

My question is this in regards to the SANFL, do people actually want to stay in that comp? Just for the sake of wearing the prison bars, while that competition serves no purpose what so ever when the AFL reserves starts up, other then being a continual noose around our neck, like it has been for the last 10 plus years at least, and the rest.

They are the reason we lost our contracted SANFL players to other clubs, we couldn't pay them as much as the other clubs as we weren't allowed to as far as I have been aware (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that, I may well be). Our zones got stripped away, as REH said it coincided with the merger of the two clubs back to one club, another SANFL idea that got implemented on us. Same as their original moronic idea of splitting the Power and the Magpies up in the first place in 1997 when we entered the AFL, which caused so much damage to our brand to begin with.

If giving up the prison bars is a cost to get our club away from that rotton corporation (who have handicapped us from the start) and dying league, to which our AFL side is better served long term, and likely our club, would fans, supporters and members be prepared to accept it?

As for today, we have co-captains for 2019. It isn't in our heritage, or history, but neither was playing in the AFL for 126/127 years. But the number 1 is still there for when we go back to one captain, which will happen eventually.

All good things like number 1 come to a end, maybe only for a season. It's sad, and can be emotional, I understand that. But also the Fos Williams and Motley era ended once upon a time, The golden premiership laden era of the late 70's, 80's & 90's came to a end eventually. Choco's great sides of 2001-2004 all ended, Choco who is still our greatest AFL coach fell by the wayside, and had to leave. I don't see this as any different. Our club is bigger then any of that, and not having a captain wearing number 1 for a year or so. Everything there listed and 10000 other traditional and historical moments make us who were as a club, and hopefully from here this playing group, administrators, and coaching group make their own history and legacy and add to our great tradition.

I don't want the PB to be reliant on whether we have a presence in any sanfl form and future. I want the PB as our number one jumper because that is where it belongs, not in some dying competition or some glass cabinet. The men that spilled blood and broke bones for the good of this club, for the past people of this club, and for the future people of this club don't want the PB as the 'special occasion' jumper only.

If we waste one more year, day, hour, minute, second, without wearing the PB and having it recognised by our own Port population as our number one jumper, then the next generation of Port Adelaide will not even identify with it at all, they won't want it. In my eyes the clock is ticking on this situation.

I'm sick of the compromise excuses we've endured since joining the afl. The 'would you give up this if it meant that?' and 'would you accept the cost if?' are questions always circling this supporter base solely because of what we've had to cop from the afl on such matters. It is just acceptance of a compromise of which we gain little and lose big every time on these matters, including this matter with the PB, and it is bloody tiring, and bloody time to stop being the 'compromise' club.

Do all things come to an end for Essendon, Richmond, Carlton, Collingwood, Adelaide, etc with their jumper? I had this mature Port person say to me that he doesn't want the PB anymore because it is too old of a jumper. Really? How many 'too old' jumpers are running around the afl every week? Would he be saying it if we never wore another jumper ever and entered the afl with the PB not having to have other colours? He and all of us would not have had any concept of Port Adelaide not wearing the PB and we would have been proud and passionate about our jumper mixing it up in the national league.

We've been conditioned to accept compromise on many fronts that makes us Port Adelaide and in the end it is Port Adelaide, its past and present, that come out the losers.

I'm supportive of the intention of this thread. I'm supportive of the PB and all our other wonderful traditions and habits we have that make us … us … that makes Port … Port.

So how can I help?

 

[PA88]

People losing their s**t left right and centre. I want to address many of these gripes and put them in the context of where our club now sits and the competition it now plays in. Specifically I want to compare our situation with the big traditional Victorian clubs (The VFL Big 4)who I think we share many traits with. I will do it with the context of what Sleezy has written above:

What have we lost

• Our expectation to win. Yep no doubt. But this is not a concept specific to Port. Carlton have been a joke for 2 decades. The last time Essendon won a final kids now getting their drivers licences were being born. Richmond hadn't made a GF in 36 years
• The fear and respect of our opponents. As Above.
• Our traditional SANFL rivalries. We've moved on to bigger and better things. But in saying that we now have the biggest rivalry in the League.

What has been taken away

• Our development zones. No other AFL clubs have these out side the northern academies. We are an AFL club. All (V)AFL clubs lost these years ago.
• Our junior squads. As above.
• To a large extent, our voice on the board of our club. This is a problem I agree. Compared to the Victorian clubs the members don't have much of a say. This is one area which should attract constant agitation. Whilst we are heavily indebted to the AFL it is hard to change, so lets concentrate on getting that debt level down.

What have we given away

• Our guernsey, The Prison Bars. Outside special occassions this is a lost cause. We all love the guernsey and would love it to be our AFL guernsey, but it just ain't going to happen. It just doesn't have the support at a broader AFL level and never will. It was a compromise we had to give to get into the AFL. I suspect most of the agnst from the supporter base is wrapped around the fondness and yearning for what the club was when wearing that guernsey to what it is now.
• Our song and our symbol. See above
• Our captain, wearing number 1 (retired, for now). See Above.

What do we still have

• Our football club, We Are Port Adelaide. Correct. We moved into the AFL to survive. No other SA club has this and never will. Imagine the alternative.
• Proud and passionate supporters that hold the club to account and demand success. Indeed we do. But are they any more passionate than Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond or Essendon? We don't hold a mortgage on passion.
• 149 years of history, 36 SANFL Premierships, 1 AFL premiership. Yes. It is club history and it always should be remembered and bettered.
• Our home base at Alberton Oval. Yep. But look at Collingwood. They no longer are based at their famous Victoria Park Headquarters. Ditto Essendon at Windy Hill. Place is important, but not if it becomes constraining.
• The yoke of the SANFL (SMA) around our necks. This is something that other clubs do not have to contend with. This will be a continual struggle, but one that can and will be won. Look at how far we've come on this. We have moved away from that concrete shithole at West Lakes, we have got our licenses back from the SANFL, they no longer appoint our board.... all in the space of 15 years. It is heartening to see our biggest foe and former SANFL Sycophants finally starting to come to the party, this will be the one thing that hastens the the loosening of the SANFL noose. It will come.

When the AFL reserves come, we will be out of the SANFL. No more Magpies. It will be sad for many, there will be a lot of belly aching, making even this co-captain over reaction seem like a Sunday School Picnic. But it has to happen. It's time we grew up. Those campaigners don't want us any rate and we'd be spreading our club way too thin. We are first and Foremost an AFL Club now.

We need to concentrate on being a big club and powerful club on and off the field. The only way you get respect in this competition is if you earn it. Strong financially is the key. This is a key component in being strong on the field. Everything should be about these 2 factors. Diminishing the SANFL's grip on us plays a big part in this. When you are strong, it buys you influence at AFL house. We need to look forward. So much of the bullshit being spouted at the moment is about looking back. Lets get on with it. If we continue to fail over the next couple of seasons, the whole board (and specifically coach) needs a clean out and we need to reset. Having 2 Captains is such a tiny issue. The world has changed. Football has changed. What hasn't changed is the goal is to win the Premiership. Lets get on with trying to achieve that.

Many very good points and well put too Papa but I will never accept that we cannot wear our famous jumper as the primary jumper and it is not because of nostalgic reasons but because we deserve to wear it and all other clubs wear their choice of jumper in the afl and around the blood world. Of course there are other big fights to take up such as our debt, our revenue stream, and our fight with the SMA but this fight is winnable, there is a way to win it but I don't believe we've identified how to get it done in the past. If the club is awake to a brilliant idea I think the 150th is it. We need to dilute the fears that Collingwood and the afl have on it.

Is the showdown the biggest rivalry in the league? No. It is big though but what our club really deserves is to have its bigger rivalries with other long standing big clubs.

Something that should precede our expectation to win is the expectation to not allow people that are not producing desired results to shack-up at the club longer than what they should be.

 

[PA88]

Ruthlessness, Tenacity, Toughness, Single mindedness, Arrogance, Winning, Pride.

We're trying to be this but we're trying to be this with people in the club that are not able to live this or enhance this and I worry that there isn't wisdom in the club to recognise who cannot deliver this or how to deliver this, beginning with our mindset and our language.

We believed that these characteristics were part and parcel of our traditions. We made these our traditions. We made a winning mindset our tradition.

 

[chiwigi]

A few people in other threads have talked about supporter control and board elections etc.
Please look at this idea again. It will give us SOME control over the key aspects of heritage, and leaves the day to day running of the club to those whose job it is.