The Crows ANZAC day discussion

[Cap]

I've been reading (and posting) on the ANZAC day game. Just thought I would see what people who supported the Crows think.

Personally I think its fairly disappointed that only two games get to play on the day. Whilst it is understandable that Collingwood and Essendon may feel aggrieved at losing the game the complete lack of understanding of why others should be able to play on that day I find astounding. They seem to miss the point of why other teams would want to play on that day (apart from the commercial benefits).

Personally I think any two teams would fill the the MCG, but I'm not particularly fussed if the Crows never do, I just think the opportunity should be there.

 

[Alex99]

i like what the SANFL do by having the previous year’s Grand Final teams play against each other but in the AFL the potential is there that you are going to disadvantaging yourself as that game will be hyped up anyway and already be a blockbuster by attracting a large crowd.

i would like it shared around but the afternoon game not moved away from the MCG. I don’t believe Collingwood and Essendon have a right to call that game their own because ANZAC day is about the entire country (well both countries), not 2 Victorian suburbs. i don’t how they could do it but if the game was moved away from the MCG – it would lose something. maybe they could have the 2 preliminary finals teams from the previous year match up again that day.

 

[spexau]

Yeah it annoys me as well that they just claim the entire day for "the biggest match, other than the grand final, of the year". It's always a facinating fixture, and I don't mind watching it, but saying it's the biggest home and away match of the year is silly. It would be good to share it around with perhaps a preliminary re-match but we all know that won't happen as long as we're basically playing in an expanded VFL.

 

[marvin]

Aren't there 4 games on Anzac Day this year?

 

[Vader]

Aren't there 4 games on Anzac Day this year?

That's what it looks like to me:
Essendon vs Collingwood
Hawthorn vs West Coast
Freo vs Sydney
North vs Richmond

 

[Riggy1]

That's what it looks like to me:
Essendon vs Collingwood
Hawthorn vs West Coast
Freo vs Sydney
North vs Richmond

I noticed that during the week.

What happened to the Traditional Melbourne vs Sydney in SYdney game in the round for ANZAC day. I think it was the only games in SYdney that I went to that didnt involve free/cheap tickets or the crows.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

It is typical Victorian arrogance on the one day all Australian's should be invovled in that they only want the one footy game for themselves

 

[spexau]

I don't mean they literally get the day to themselves, because of course they don't. I'm just talking about the attitude that goes with the match.

 

[jo172]

FWIW I believe a strong argument is to be made here:

Lest we exploit

Chris Fotinopoulos
24 April 2009, 15:30

Back in April 25, 2005, I wrote an opinion piece for The Sunday Age suggesting that the so-called traditional Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon is nothing more than a cynical marketing exercise.

I went on to argue that we must be wary of commercial organisations (including the AFL) seeking to reduce something as sacred as the Anzac story to a jingoistic token for the purpose of profit.

Surprisingly, my stance on corporate opportunism received considerable criticism. Some educators insisted that anything that inspires children to take a deeper interest in our cultural heritage is a good thing that must be encouraged. Others argued that staging an important football event on Anzac Day is a fitting tribute to the diggers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A few years ago I read Fallen: The Ultimate Heroes (Jim Main 2002). The book tells the stories of 115 VFL (now AFL) footballers who never returned from war service. I particularly remember reading the story of Melbourne champion, Joe Pearce, who was killed in the Gallipoli landings, and wondering what he would have made of the Anzac Day football match.

No doubt, many scenes at tomorrow's game would be far more pleasing to veterans and their families than the ones that they were presented with in the early 1980s when crowds at commemorative services were dwindling and the Anzac parade seemed to be losing its impact as the number of marchers declined.

I particularly remember the 1980s as a time when anti-war groups regularly disrupted the Anzac parade for the purpose of bringing all that was wrong with war to the public's attention. No matter how genuine their intentions, exploiting an important cultural event for political ends is deplorable. No more deplorable than big business exploiting Anzac day for commercial ends.

By the mid-1990s the Anzac story captured the hearts and minds of young Australians for the right reasons. Many school children began to take an interest in Australia's military past, and became especially interested in the personal stories of those who fought at Gallipoli. The Anzac Day service was once again recognised by schools as an important cultural and educational event, and ordinary Australians expressed their respect for the fallen by attending ceremonies at home and abroad.

Retired General Peter Cosgrove states in his forward to The Last Anzacs (Tony Stephens and Steven Stewert 2009) that the reasons for the 'soft miracle about the modern story of Anzac' are numerous. Difficult as it is to pinpoint specific reasons for this revival, a football game played between Collingwood and Essendon on Anzac Day is not one of them, despite what Andrew Demetriou, Kevin Sheedy and Eddie McGuire would like us to think.

Given that the words 'footy' and 'digger' are often uttered in the same sentence by sports journalists and media personalities in the lead up to Anzac Day, you would think that the so called traditional Anzac Day football clash was as an integral part of the official commemorative services.

This probably has a lot to do with the efforts of the AFL, footy coaches, club officials and certain sections of the media to conflate heroism on the battlefield with the heroics on the footy field.

When I attended the Anzac Day dawn service a couple of years ago, I was surprised to see many kids standing around in football scarves and jumpers in anticipation of something much bigger. For some kids, the dawn service seemed to be nothing more than a curtain raiser to a much more exciting event that was to take place at the MCG later that day.

No doubt, many diggers played and followed footy in their day. They also enjoyed a punt on the nags. After all, Australia does have a rich horse racing tradition in which many Australians were a part of before going to war.

Is it therefore appropriate to stage a horse race in commemoration of the heroic efforts of the Australian Light Horse Brigade?

Those who support the Anzac Day footy clash should have no objection to the running of The Beersheba Cup at Flemington on October 31 or The Nek Cup at Randwick on August 7 or even The Lone Pine Cup on Anzac Day as a tribute to the horsemen who lost their lives in WWI. If you don't have a problem with a football game being played in honour of the Anzacs then you should not be offended by this proposal.

In all seriousness, a footy game played on Anzac Day is just as acceptable as placing a bet on the Schweppes Sydney Cup, which, incidentally, is run on Anzac Day this year.

What is unacceptable is for the AFL to swathe a football game in sacred symbols and expect the public to buy it out of a patriotic duty. What is even more unacceptable is for the AFL to use the war dead to sell a product.

Does the AFL really want a footballer's jumper to be stained with the blood of a soldier?

The real meaning of Anzac Day has been grotesquely distorted by slick promotional campaigns designed to imbue a football code with the Anzac spirit.

I would like to know what others, especially veterans, think about such corporate opportunism.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2551592.htm