My fears of making the Grand Final

[ColinMochrie]

You know what guys, I have had a complete change of heart in recent weeks.

This is why we watch footy. Being part of finals, being a chance at the flag. As much as last year hurt, I wouldn't take it back for anything.

After that Collingwood doco and a loss of a much loved pet, I am going to enjoy this journey and keep the mindset that we are lucky to be this far into the season, nothing is a given and I would rather be playing this time of year than not.

Enjoy the Prelim, if we win enjoy the build up to the big day. Don't think about losing, 17 other clubs have also lost at the end of the day.

Go Pies!

 

[ColinMochrie]

No other club has come close to the heartbreak we have endured. That's why they may not "carry on" like us.

I think you unwittingly revealed why you are so upbeat and excited rather than tense and apprehensive. You mocked the idea of a person feeling fear over losing a footy game. It's more than a game to many of us. Of course we all survive a loss-we are here discussing our chances in 2019 but the very fact you can be so dismissive of those who fear more heartbreak simply means we feel the pain far more deeply than you do. That's not a criticism. We feel what we feel.

You remind me of the bloke who tells his mate who is broken hearted over the break up of his marriage- "Oh come on! There are plenty more fish in the sea! This is an opportunity for a fresh start!..... The man who speaks like this has never felt the depth of love the broken hearted man felt for his wife and cannot comprehend his state of depression.

I think you'll find there are many supporters who simply endure finals and in particular, grand finals rather than enjoy them. The joy comes when the result is a favorable one. Then you can watch countless replays, read every newspaper article and listen to every segment on SEN for the next few months and live in a state of constant euphoria while you do!

Look at the saints. They have 1 flag, and with arguably the best team of the era ended of with no flags, including a very close defeat, draw and a thumping in grand finals.

They look back at that time with respect and happiness. I look back at 02-03 the same way. And if we get knocked out either this week or next I will look back at this current team the same way.

I love these guys, probably my favourite Collingwood team I have experienced. They will remain that way whether we win the flag or not. Pendles said as much in his podcast that this team will remain friends and catch up like a premiership team would.

Just enjoy the journey, accept that things don't work out and in the end and if we lose we still have a great team.

We have been in the wilderness for a while. This is why we watch footy. Just got live in the moment and not think of all the horrible outcomes that COULD happen and just focus on what IS happening.

 

[domus]

Look at the saints. They have 1 flag, and with arguably the best team of the era ended of with no flags, including a very close defeat, draw and a thumping in grand finals.

They look back at that time with respect and happiness. I look back at 02-03 the same way. And if we get knocked out either this week or next I will look back at this current team the same way.

I love these guys, probably my favourite Collingwood team I have experienced. They will remain that way whether we win the flag or not. Pendles said as much in his podcast that this team will remain friends and catch up like a premiership team would.

Just enjoy the journey, accept that things don't work out and in the end and if we lose we still have a great team.

We have been in the wilderness for a while. This is why we watch footy. Just got live in the moment and not think of all the horrible outcomes that COULD happen and just focus on what IS happening.

No question the Saints have had some heartbreak, but I repeat-not in the same ball park as us. Not contesting finals for long periods is a different kind of pain too. Having your hands on the Holy Grail on so many occasions only to have it cruelly ripped away is the ultimate agony in sport. Ask the Boomers how they are feeling this morning.

 

[ColinMochrie]

No question the Saints have had some heartbreak, but I repeat-not in the same ball park as us. Not contesting finals for long periods is a different kind of pain too. Having your hands on the Holy Grail on so many occasions only to have it cruelly ripped away is the ultimate agony in sport. Ask the Boomers how they are feeling this morning.

I understand where you are coming from trust me. But if you can't enjoy making and playing in finals then you need to question what you are actually following the sport for.

Winning the flag is great, but in the end it is a bonus for me. I try and just enjoy the wins, no matter when they happen.

 

[ThePhantom777]

We're better positioned than last year to win the flag. We won the first week and went straight to the prelim. We have Moore and Roughead. Pendles and Treloar aren't playing injured. Elliott is playing well. The only bad point is not having DeGoey and Langdon.

 

[Captivating]

We'll win through and lose another GF.

Sadly, it's the Collingwood way and has been so for the last 60 years.

 

[Robroy22]

Lol@"The Collingwood way"

 

[Pragmatic Shill]

I can't abide by another Richmond or Geelong premiership so if we're unlucky enough to get rolled I'm on the GWS bandwagon.

 

[domus]

I understand where you are coming from trust me. But if you can't enjoy making and playing in finals then you need to question what you are actually following the sport for.

Winning the flag is great, but in the end it is a bonus for me. I try and just enjoy the wins, no matter when they happen.

That's like asking an actor who suffers from terrible nerves and occasional panic attacks why they bother to act at all! The same could apply to rock and roll legends who routinely ply themselves with drugs and alcohol in an attempt to survive their rock and roll lifestyle. Billy Picken confessed that he used to vomit before every game just before running out onto the ground because of his nerves. Perhaps Billy should have turned to lawn bowls or checkers instead.

I have no choice. The game is embedded in my DNA. I live for the Pies after my wife, kids, grandkids and friends. Life is complex. I wish I could treat my passion as I do an outing to the zoo or a visit to the theatre. I can't. I care too much. It matters too much. My brother in law is the same. He is a passionate tigers fan and just told me he can't wait for the season to end because he can't stand the endless anxiety it induces in him. Like me, one week after the season ends we are counting the days until the first bounce of the next season. It's called being human.

 

[10571z]

We'll win through and lose another GF.

Sadly, it's the Collingwood way and has been so for the last 60 years.

We have won 2 grand finals in 30 years.. pretty good effort. We have been beaten by teams if who have insane dynasty's (besides west coast)

Not a terrible record.

 

[ColinMochrie]

We have won 2 grand finals in 30 years.. pretty good effort. We have been beaten by teams if who have insane dynasty's (besides west coast)

Not a terrible record.

I mean since becoming the AFL we are one of the more successful clubs.

 

[Mick F]

No question the Saints have had some heartbreak, but I repeat-not in the same ball park as us. Not contesting finals for long periods is a different kind of pain too. Having your hands on the Holy Grail on so many occasions only to have it cruelly ripped away is the ultimate agony in sport. Ask the Boomers how they are feeling this morning.

Last 35 years - Runners up
Geelong 5
Hawthorn 4
Sydney 4
Collingwood 4
Essendon 3
West coast 3
St Kilda 3
Carlton 3
Doesn’t suggest Collingwood has had more heartbreak than most teams. Much of a muchness.

 

[JB1975]

As the prelim draws near, my only fear at this point is not making the Grand Final.

Go Pies. Exclamation mark.

 

[docks]

Last 35 years - Runners up
Geelong 5
Hawthorn 4
Sydney 4
Collingwood 4
Essendon 3
West coast 3
St Kilda 3
Carlton 3
Doesn’t suggest Collingwood has had more heartbreak than most teams. Much of a muchness.

Well some of us are a bit older. I’m 55 and didn’t see my first one until I was 26, saw another At 46 but I have watched 9 losses, 2 draws and only 2 wins. At the MCG for all those and it’s not much of a muchness for me.

 

[TKiL]

I can't abide by another Richmond or Geelong premiership so if we're unlucky enough to get rolled I'm on the GWS bandwagon.

Sh*t choice but agree if it goes that way - Toby Greene on dais vs Selwood / Dangerfield or Richmond bogans celebrating

Pies - make it happen!!

 

[ColinMochrie]

Well some of us are a bit older. I’m 55 and didn’t see my first one until I was 26, saw another At 46 but I have watched 9 losses, 2 draws and only 2 wins. At the MCG for all those and it’s not much of a muchness for me.

In my life we have won 2, lost 4 and drawn 1. So we win 1/3rd of grand finals. In theory if we make it this year we are due for the win after losing the last 2!

 

[TKiL]

Last 35 years - Runners up
Geelong 5
Hawthorn 4
Sydney 4
Collingwood 4
Essendon 3
West coast 3
St Kilda 3
Carlton 3
Doesn’t suggest Collingwood has had more heartbreak than most teams. Much of a muchness.

and in that time how many flags for Hawthorn? - guessing their flags have pretty well erased their runner up experiences - not so us

 

[ColinMochrie]

and in that time how many flags for Hawthorn? - guessing their flags have pretty well erased their runner up experiences - not so us

Yes well we can't all have epic dynasties. They are a rare occurrence. The exception not the rule. Most teams get up top, maybe win 1 then drop back down over a 3-5 year period.

Would I love a Collingwood dynasty? Yes! Do I think I will see one? No.

 

[docks]

In my life we have won 2, lost 4 and drawn 1. So we win 1/3rd of grand finals. In theory if we make it this year we are due for the win after losing the last 2!

I hope you are right and your generation don’t have to go through what ours did.
Go Pies

 

[Apples]

I'm deeply, deeply scarred. Why do you think I love going to training these days?
I was born in a Premiership year; such a great omen.
1953 WIN by 12 points
1958 WIN by 18 points
Looks good heh? Chose the right team it seems.

1964 Loss by 4 points
1966 Loss by 1 point
1970 Loss by 10 points
1977 DRAW then LOSS by 27 points
1979 LOSS by 5 points
1980 LOSS by 79 points
1981 LOSS by 20 points
1990 WIN by 48 points......I thought this day would never happen
2002 LOSS by 9 points
2003 LOSS by 50 points
2010 DRAW then WIN by 56 points
2011 LOSS by 38 points
2018 LOSS by 5 points

We sure know how to make Premierships almost impossible.
In my lifetime: 4 Wins-2 Draws-11 losses
In the years I was actually conscious of Collingwood it looks even worse:
2 Wins - 2 Draws - 11 Losses

That my Collingwood friends, is why I am deeply scarred. 2 from 15 is very bad odds. That's why if we make it this year, I'll wish I could go to the cinema and wander around in a shopping centre wearing noise cancelling headphones. I won't of course (but people I know of my age, plan to do exactly that), I'll turn up full of hope and have my old heart broken again.

It has always been a comfort of sorts, that on those occasions when we lose the GF, there are a million or so others feeling just the same way.
Last year we decided to walk all the way up Hoddle Street; it was like a funeral march with a few drunks waiting to taunt us.
Then that awful train trip, with a carriage filled with Collingwood people and yet deathly silent. I'll never forget that. And yet, there I was just a few weeks later, back at training, excited about the year ahead. You can't lose at training.
We do Grand Finals very, very badly and I wish I could quit you Collingwood, but I'm stuck in love.

 

[Carringbush2010]

So when will the dam wall burst? We can't keep making it and not winning it, although probable it is nigh on impossible. 15-2-27

Should we make it that's 43 appearances out of 122 GF's. In two weeks time we all want it to look like 16-2-27.

As opposed to the op, domus, I'm now hardened and have much more steely resolve than that 7 yo that watched what should've been ripped away in the 1977 replay. The resilience was even much more in that 11 yo in 1981, no wonder 3 more - in a row, all losses and probably what should've definitely been in 1979. I swear we were robbed in that one, nothing clearer.

We are never done, we are the epitome of participation, weight of numbers - what ever term you want to use. Sure other club supporters laugh at our GF record in an attempt to hide their envy of the chances we've given ourselves. But I want flags not runner ups - the only way is to make them.

Make no mistake we'll keep contending, maybe some lean years in between, more contending years than not so far, far more than any other club.

The dam wall will burst, is it this year? If you were to ask the playing group they'd say yes, that wall just can't continue to hold against the weight. It will burst just a question of when.

 

[Jonno94]

Only just hit me if we make it and lose that will be 3 grand final loses in under 10 years, yikes that will be painful.

 

[manicpie]

My heartache started as a 9 year old sitting on the back porch in 1970 and listening to the wireless and remember thinking how good is this, then Carlton came back and beat us. Loosing almost 5 in row from 1977 was a killer but i stuck thick. 1990 was like the best year of my life but a lot more heartache was to come. I am now a bit afraid this year and would hate to lose to Richmond or Geelong but alas, I am prepared to suck it up if it means being part of the big dance

 

[TKiL]

......................................
That my Collingwood friends, is why I am deeply scarred. 2 from 15 is very bad odds. That's why if we make it this year, I'll wish I could go to the cinema and wander around in a shopping centre wearing noise cancelling headphones. I won't of course (but people I know of my age, plan to do exactly that), I'll turn up full of hope and have my old heart broken again. It has always been a comfort of sorts, that on those occasions when we lose the GF, there are a million or so others feeling just the same way. Last year we decided to walk all the way up Hoddle Street; it was like a funeral march with a few drunks waiting to taunt us. Then that awful train trip, with a carriage filled with Collingwood people and yet deathly silent. I'll never forget that. And yet, there I was just a few weeks later, back at training, excited about the year ahead. You can't lose at training.
We do Grand Finals very, very badly and I wish I could quit you Collingwood, but I'm stuck in love.

Wonderful - know the feeling exactly - we cover the same period
Few weeks ago I booked to go away for the GF weekend - minimise stress ? (efa: my son - Pie fan - called me "mentally weak")
- if we win I can still celebrate - steaks / red wine etc PLUS can drive back to Melb with Pies scarf out rear window for approx 100 kms - if lose creep home incognito to face another summer of ridicule

PIES PLEEZE DO IT - FOR ALL OF US ....

 

[Vicky Park]

PIES PLEEZE DO IT - FOR ALL OF US ....

We will.