PattyKwasagun
Norm Smith Medallist
I realise many have already done this through other threads, but I thought it would be good to get a thread going just for people to pay tribute to Vossy's incredible legacy at the club. When he retired, many thought he'd be back as coach, but now this sadly feels like the full stop to his involvement with the Lions. With that sense of finality, I've written the following.
Vossy, you're the man who made me fall in love with AFL. As a kid growing up in a rugby league state with both parents from rugby league families, it wasn't a sport I had much involvement with until a few circumstances ended with me playing Auskick many years ago now.
As I went through the junior grades of football, all I remember hearing was praise for this revered figure called Vossy. The first ever time I went to the Gabba, as a boy only ten years old, in 2002, I can strongly recall my admiration of seeing how the side battled in every contest on a particularly stormy night. It rained so much that evening that at one stage, everyone in the general admission seating in which we were located retreated to shelter just as my Dad had gone to get some food. When he came back, he noticed me sitting there in the pouring rain still - the only one left. He asked me why I was so stupid, and to this day he's reminded me that my reply was 'Vossy's still out in the rain, why shouldn't I be?'.
I've supported you with everything I have through your playing days and into your coaching days. While many doubted your appointment off no experience, I believed in the Voss magic and thought all would be well. Despite the well publicised drama that followed, you battled your way from a rabble of a club to the most promising list we've had since our premiership years. You instilled character in them that saw more unbelievable comebacks than many fans are lucky enough to witness throughout their entire lives. You gave absolutely everything to the cause and I could not have respected or admired you more for it.
As I see it, you are the Brisbane Lions Football Club. There is no individual who is the perfect embodiment of everything this club should hope to be other than you. The relentless courage you've shown in every contest on field and in every moment off it is unrivalled, as is the pride you've personally had in this club that has subsequently filled each of us.
This was a club created by the merger of two broken identities. From that, you've created a strong club with its own identity that I will support passionately until the day I die.
Your unrelenting drive to succeed is one I will always try to imitate. Your bravery, loyalty, and inspiring passion will be the subject of many stories I tell my children and my grandchildren.
You have achieved remarkable things at this football club and deserve to always be remembered as its favourite child. The club, its reputation, and its fans would simply be nowhere near where we are today if not for you.
Thank you for everything you've given to the Brisbane Lions. Not one single ounce of yourself that you've dedicated to the cause that is this club has ever gone unappreciated, and your legacy will be unmatchable as a result.
All the best with whatever comes next for you. You're a genuine, classy man with great integrity - any fan can see that - and you deserve nothing but the greatest success in your future.
It's hard to believe this is the end of your time at the club, but your contributions will be forever remembered. Thanks for making this club what it is today. The extent to which you've done that should never be understated.
Vossy, you're the man who made me fall in love with AFL. As a kid growing up in a rugby league state with both parents from rugby league families, it wasn't a sport I had much involvement with until a few circumstances ended with me playing Auskick many years ago now.
As I went through the junior grades of football, all I remember hearing was praise for this revered figure called Vossy. The first ever time I went to the Gabba, as a boy only ten years old, in 2002, I can strongly recall my admiration of seeing how the side battled in every contest on a particularly stormy night. It rained so much that evening that at one stage, everyone in the general admission seating in which we were located retreated to shelter just as my Dad had gone to get some food. When he came back, he noticed me sitting there in the pouring rain still - the only one left. He asked me why I was so stupid, and to this day he's reminded me that my reply was 'Vossy's still out in the rain, why shouldn't I be?'.
I've supported you with everything I have through your playing days and into your coaching days. While many doubted your appointment off no experience, I believed in the Voss magic and thought all would be well. Despite the well publicised drama that followed, you battled your way from a rabble of a club to the most promising list we've had since our premiership years. You instilled character in them that saw more unbelievable comebacks than many fans are lucky enough to witness throughout their entire lives. You gave absolutely everything to the cause and I could not have respected or admired you more for it.
As I see it, you are the Brisbane Lions Football Club. There is no individual who is the perfect embodiment of everything this club should hope to be other than you. The relentless courage you've shown in every contest on field and in every moment off it is unrivalled, as is the pride you've personally had in this club that has subsequently filled each of us.
This was a club created by the merger of two broken identities. From that, you've created a strong club with its own identity that I will support passionately until the day I die.
Your unrelenting drive to succeed is one I will always try to imitate. Your bravery, loyalty, and inspiring passion will be the subject of many stories I tell my children and my grandchildren.
You have achieved remarkable things at this football club and deserve to always be remembered as its favourite child. The club, its reputation, and its fans would simply be nowhere near where we are today if not for you.
Thank you for everything you've given to the Brisbane Lions. Not one single ounce of yourself that you've dedicated to the cause that is this club has ever gone unappreciated, and your legacy will be unmatchable as a result.
All the best with whatever comes next for you. You're a genuine, classy man with great integrity - any fan can see that - and you deserve nothing but the greatest success in your future.
It's hard to believe this is the end of your time at the club, but your contributions will be forever remembered. Thanks for making this club what it is today. The extent to which you've done that should never be understated.
#3
