Kids! The lucky *uckers!

[James1970]

Went to catch up with a mate last night, who has twin boys aged 10 - like us, both massive Cats fans. He started taking them to the footy in 2007. Like a ton of bricks, it hit me.

Seriously - how friggin' lucky and joyous is it to be a kid and Geelong obsessive in 2011? They've never known a season where we haven't made the Pre-lim! They've seen three Grannies, seen two Cups raised!! They have no idea what it feels like to lose more than a few games a year. Or the pain of getting beaten up and teased at school because they follow the 'handbaggers'. They don't know the hollow feeling in the guts at the start of September, when yet again, there's nothing really to do but dust of the cricket bat, and hope there's a few Saints mates that wnat to play.

I know it's not their fault, and they have chosen wisely. But something deep inside screams "It ain't fair!!!!!!!!!!!" Some of us have been in therapy for years because of the torment of barracking for the Cats during the 70s, 80s and 90s. Do the kids know how hard it was for us older troopers? I hope so.

But it begs the question. How are these kids going to cope when reality hits? True, it'll be a few years yet, but I worry. Will they still love the Cats as much? Will they still go to games? Will they be wanting the next generation to be Cats fans?

See - a worrying Cats fan. Even after 5 years of dominance. The kids today have no friggin' idea...

 

[Gladbaqs]

They'll just swap to Gold Coast....

 

[The Rusty Clam]

Well they have had to deal with the pain of '08 and Gary leaving, they'll get used to winning a handful less games each year.

 

[vinum coupe]

Yep my daughter is the same. She asked me 3 weeks ago how long it's going to be until the grand final

 

[goyoucatters]

Yep my daughter is the same. She asked me 3 weeks ago how long it's going to be until the grand final

Says it all really.

One day (all too soon, I expect) they'll understand.

I've got a lot of friends who don't 'get' why I continue to pursue the dream of being there at the 'G one day when the Cats win a flag.

They seem to think, "so you're just going to head down there every year?"

What they seem to totally misunderstand is how unlikely it is that I will get many more opportunities to see the boys make a GF, let alone win one.

Which of course brings me to the fact that we haven't even made this one yet...

 

[you pick one]

I wonder if it will even be the same for them in this ever changing world.
It was very tribal back when I first started following the Cats, 12 suburban teams.

When I was a kid,players played for the jumper,supporters followed their team through thick and thin.There was loyalty all round, sadly these days it's only a business and free agency although great for the players will not do anything for them to support ownership of their team.

My days as a kid in Geelong revolved around the Geelong football club,playing footy on a Saturday morning,and catching a feed of Redfin in the afternoons the weeks the Cats played away.The old man always gave the money to pick up the Sporting Globe on the way home.
Life was good life was simple.

 

[ATSAM]

Yes there is something generational about being a Geelong supporter, The young ones will never understand the fear of being 40 points up at 3/4 time and being terrified that we will lose.
Laughing with a non child the other day about how we felt at the 2007 GF not really comprehending until the final siren that we had won. (Must go and watch that game again)

 

[Silverado]

Met my missus in 07, she didn't follow a team but her grand parents have membership with port and had 3 tickets the the GF! so she took the dottery old bastards along and they went home at 3/4 time.
It still burns me that those 3 tickets were wasted on 1 person who didn't know what a sherrin was and 2 port supporters

Bright side is she is now a dyed in the wool cats fan

 

[cats2rise]

You have to experience the worst to be able to fully enjoy the best of times. Cant feel true love until you have experienced pain.

I dont think they are lucky kids at all.

Footy is all about the ride, lets be honest. We pick a team... sometimes they are picked for us, sometimes we have no choice and are born into it. Footy is about the rollercoaster, the emotion of it all. When I think of 2007, i dont just think of Tom Harley holding the cup aloft - I think of 25 weeks of football during that year, the whole season, and the pain before that.

 

[Tex_21]

Yes there is something generational about being a Geelong supporter, The young ones will never understand the fear of being 40 points up at 3/4 time and being terrified that we will lose.
Laughing with a non child the other day about how we felt at the 2007 GF not really comprehending until the final siren that we had won. (Must go and watch that game again)

Remember that very clearly lol. I'm 22, so hardly an 'old' supporter, but old enough to remember (vaguely) the hurt from the 90s, and it took until half way through the last quarter of the GF before I would celebrate.

 

[YOTC]

You have to experience the worst to be able to fully enjoy the best of times. Cant feel true love until you have experienced pain.

I dont think they are lucky kids at all.

Agreed. Luckily most Australian kids enjoy more than one sport and will support a losing team in another code.

 

[The rabbi]

Remember that very clearly lol. I'm 22, so hardly an 'old' supporter, but old enough to remember (vaguely) the hurt from the 90s, and it took until half way through the last quarter of the GF before I would celebrate.

Mate. I am still haunted by the 1969 1st semi final.

Wade kicked the first goal of the game and we kicked very few after that.

So I feel no sympathy at all for Richmond when Geelong has given them some of those 100 to 150 point wippings.

 

[Wish Wellingtons]

I remember crying as a four year old, as my Carlton supporting brother teased me mercilessly in wake of the 1995 grand final.

My earliest football memory was watching Gary Ablett play and being entirely convinced that he was better than every other player combined, so i think this compensates for the heartbreak to some degree.

Although I was so young, you could just tell there was something different about Ablett, so I am happy I got to see him play.

 

[year of the cat]

Yep my daughter is the same. She asked me 3 weeks ago how long it's going to be until the grand final

Sounds similar to my 6 year old daughter who has said on numerous occasions to me "Geelong always win don't they Daddy!"

Now I know what it must have felt like to be a Hawks fan growing up in the 80's.

 

[SamboGuy]

At 20 years old I'm probably stuck in between the generations, thankfully missed the torture of the early 90s (but been told all about it - hence in built hatred of West Coast). However I have been around long enough to experience some pretty terrible moments, eg Nick Davis kicking four goals to knock us out of the semi in 05 (worst moment of my life), and losing the GF in 08. Watched enough footy to realise we are having a good run so appreciating it while it lasts

 

[MiaCat]

Yeah, but I've felt like a bit of a kid over the last few years, watching this team, still can't believe this ride!

The kids maybe lucky, but we've travelled the long road, and the getting there is soooo much sweeter.

 

[Belisarius]

Mate. I am still haunted by the 1969 1st semi final.

Wade kicked the first goal of the game and we kicked very few after that.

So I feel no sympathy at all for Richmond when Geelong has given them some of those 100 to 150 point wippings.

It was my first final series - and we were favourites going in (if I remember correctly) - and were annihilated by the Tigers.

I remember the pain of '89, '92, '94 and '95. That is way too much pain to bear. So a win this year will start to even the ledger. But it is true you appreciate this era so much more because of the past failures.

 

[yummy6]

Don't worry guys some of us younger mob realise the weight of the last few years achievements. My Pop and old man frequently tell me how long they had to wait and to be grateful I get to witness their success. To quote my Pop "now that I've seen them win a flag again I don't mind if I don't see another one".

 

[Vdubs]

Mate. I am still haunted by the 1969 1st semi final.

Wade kicked the first goal of the game and we kicked very few after that.

So I feel no sympathy at all for Richmond when Geelong has given them some of those 100 to 150 point wippings.

And I still think we were robbed in 1967. Goggin's GOAL was clearly marked by Swift, behind the line. That loss started the chain reaction. Until 2007. But then 2008. So I am NEVER confident of our chances in a final. But beating Hawks 2 weeks ago was therapeutic. My kids just don't get it. They seriously think we're the real thing again this year, and they worry about stupid stuff. Hair. Their mirrors.What I'm going to wear.Embarrassment.

My bogun sister's family has Geelong stuff all over every wall of their house, and sure enough after the 08 loss, their 8yo spoiled son set about pulling it all down. Wasn't allowed to venture past his own bedroom, but he would have. Yep, these kids have it so different from us.

 

[ZosoCat]

i expect success after the last 5 years but never take this for granted as it won't last forever....

 

[Beth]

Back in my day I had to walk uphill both ways to school in the snow wearing a hessian sack whilst fighting off zombies. At the same time I idolized teams coached by Billy Goggin and John Devine whilst sharing my childhood with a Hawthorn supporting sibling. The 80s truly sucked.

I still don't trust Geelong at three quarter time when they are leading by 10 goals, the junior Beth in me simply won't allow it. She pulls up her leg warmers kicks off her jelly shoes re adjusts her CHOOSE LIFE fluro shirt and says "they could still lose from here"

There are Vietnam vets less scarred than me*



*apologies to any actual Vietnam vets, but you get my point.

 

[AM]

Back in my day I had to walk uphill both ways to school in the snow wearing a hessian sack whilst fighting off zombies. At the same time I idolized teams coached by Billy Goggin and John Devine whilst sharing my childhood with a Hawthorn supporting sibling. The 80s truly sucked.

I still don't trust Geelong at three quarter time when they are leading by 10 goals, the junior Beth in me simply won't allow it. She pulls up her leg warmers kicks off her jelly shoes re adjusts her CHOOSE LIFE fluro shirt and says "they could still lose from here"

There are Vietnam vets less scarred than me*



*apologies to any actual Vietnam vets, but you get my point.

Some posts just resonate. Still recall saying to my old man at half time in the 2007 Grand Final that I had a feeling we could still lose this. Think that sort of pessimism is in Cat supporters DNA. At least some of us.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Back in my day I had to walk uphill both ways to school in the snow wearing a hessian sack whilst fighting off zombies. At the same time I idolized teams coached by Billy Goggin and John Devine whilst sharing my childhood with a Hawthorn supporting sibling. The 80s truly sucked.

I still don't trust Geelong at three quarter time when they are leading by 10 goals, the junior Beth in me simply won't allow it. She pulls up her leg warmers kicks off her jelly shoes re adjusts her CHOOSE LIFE fluro shirt and says "they could still lose from here"

There are Vietnam vets less scarred than me*



*apologies to any actual Vietnam vets, but you get my point.

Brings back memories Beth. I too, never have us over the line in a big game after the emotional scarring of being there in 92 , 94 and 95. Even when in the stands in 2007 I refused to answer a text until half way thru the last 1/4.
I keep reminding my 14 year old how lucky he is to witness such an era and I actually think he gets it - we moved here 11 years ago and he stoutly remains a Cat despite incredible pressure from various Eagles and Dockers followers. Makes me proud to see him strut his stuff at training in the "hoops".

 

[vinum coupe]

CHOOSE LIFE fluro shirt

I had one of those. And a few pairs of bubble gum and acid wash jeans *I dont know which emoticon suits so I've gone with the lot*

 

[candiehappy]

Some posts just resonate. Still recall saying to my old man at half time in the 2007 Grand Final that I had a feeling we could still lose this. Think that sort of pessimism is in Cat supporters DNA. At least some of us.

some of us have been permanentlt scarred by the
'old' cats ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!