My guess would be as good as yoursWhen will it br announced.
Frustrating waiting.
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My guess would be as good as yoursWhen will it br announced.
Frustrating waiting.
Oh please let it be so....With the new EBA to be announced soon? Id think he will sign a 5 year deal with us.
And then, in the same breath, deny there could ever be a thing called the 'go home factor' ...I always find it interesting how the AFL media just assume that players are yearning to "come home" to Victoria as its the spiritual home of footy.
They live in this little bubble of self importance and arrogance.
Derm on League Teams started off talking about our game going "let's talk about the evil empire up against Hawthorn"
**** I hate him.
Running gag.
Does the same thing with Essendon. Running gag.
Oh really? Clearly I don't pay attention to what he says.
Was a great read and deserves more than a like.
Hope this is ok to post in here:
Too much red wine.... but it does explain why I don't go off the deep end when we lose.
Yes, seriously... it depends on what you call winning, really. I don't need to win the flag to consider us winners.
I started watching the AFL when channel 7 in Sydney started broadcasting the games on the weekend. It was in black and white, so I think it was about 1974 or 1975, cause we got our first colour TV in 1976. I fell in love with the game immediately... it was brilliant! But poor old Sth Melbourne weren't so crash hot... and gradually, I became a fan of theirs mainly because they were the underdog. When they came to Sydney, you could go to the games for free, every were you looked they were giving away tickets and I had very young children and little money. For the cost of the train we could go to the games, so we did. I was there on days when we were lucky if there were 2000 people there, days when we snatched the defeat from the jaws of victory, sat in the pooring rain and freezing cold and watched them lose by 60 points.
That first 20 years was tough. We weren't grinning winners, there was no press, I had no idea who was playing for our team and no idea how to go about finding out... (No internet in those day & I couldn't afford a home phone, I used the phone booth on the corner!) None of my friends had the faintest idea who we were or what the game was about, and no interest in finding out at all. I was a Swans supporter in isolation... I'd see these great young players and think out time was coming, and then they'd be gone... playing for a Melbourne club. And we'd be starting again... Then there was Edelsten, who while injecting much needed funds, was just plain embarrassing. And Capper, who was brilliant, but still pretty embarrassing. And still we didn't win all that often, and no-one in Sydney knew or cared. And then came 1996, and I really thought we were going to win... but we didn't. Funnily enough, I seem to remember there was quite a bit of press about the fact that we didn't! But that was a turning point, more people came to games, and there'd be a column in the papers sometimes, perhaps a quick mention on the news or a sports show.
For the last 20 years, even though we've only won 2 flags, the Sydney Swans have been a great team to follow. There have been very few down years where we hardly won any games; nearly every year we've played in September; the no dick head policy has meant that I can be proud of the team I support; I'm not going to walk into work one day and find 95% my team is on drugs, or that the they have been cheating the salary cap! I can be confident and proud of them. Players want to come to us, the crowds are bigger than for the NRL, the internet means that I can talk about them all day every day if I want to people who not only know them but love them too.
Every few years, they come up with something new to entice the Sydney crowds... grabbing Lockett, a prelim, a grand final, a flag, sparkling players like Micky O and Goodsey, stealing Buddy from Hawthorn, moving the games home to the SCG, bringing Roosy, Lockett and Kirk back, blooding Heeney, Papley, Aliir and co... And it's working! The atmosphere is great at the game! I go to every home game without fail, only births, deaths and marriages of my immediate family will make me miss a game. My friends all accept that if the game is on is Sydney, I will be there rain hail and shine, and they arrange parties etc around the season! The first grand final I ever attended was the 2012, and I will remember the elation for the rest of my life.
But do I need them to win a flag every year, no I don't. They are part of my life and I don't expect perfection, I would rather that they win a flag every 10 years and stay competitive in between, than have three flags and face 10 years of being on the bottom of the table every year again. I want them to win, I like them to win, and I always seem to expect them to win but not if it is at the expense of being competitive in the following years, and I can't see how that could be avoided. I'd rather win 12 - 15 games each year and play finals, which always leaves the door open enough to keep the season exciting!
Sorry for the saga, but you did ask...