It may seem a rather silly thread title but I was struggling to express the feeling that came over me this evening when I was watching ( for the tenth time) our final quarter against the Blues in round 23. We are in another final series and we are not making up the numbers. We finished the year on top!
For a variety of reasons I have been flat and rather subdued these past 6 or 7 weeks. We've all been trapped in this eternal state of inertia since the Port game. Top two finish secured and nothing to do but endure and survive the last 6 or so games. Then because out intensity and form dipped so did the passion in the crowd. The media jumped in and fed into this malaise narrative by telling us we had fallen apart defensively and without Nick our chances of going all the way were very low.
But the week off brought some clarity. We saw how the red-hot Carton performed in just one game that didn't mean anything to their chances and they were putrid in the second half of the Giant's game. The media was very forgiving and almost called it entirely to be expected. Imagine having to deal with that mental hurdle for nigh on two months after being so intense and brilliant in the preceding 17 rounds.
I also had a look at the qualifying final and the first term of the Freo final (almost the forgotten final) and our intensity was electric. Suddenly I felt certain we would see the same manic, in your face approach this year. The shackles are off. It's all on the line.
My tummy suddenly had that deliciously knotted, tense yet desirable sensation of anticipation and terror which is such a part of being involved in a finals campaign. It's on again and we are in it up to our eyeballs!
Then the emotion kicked in and I thought of the possibility of winning and what that would mean for Fly and Pendles and so many others. The first hurdle is now only a few sleeps away and it's getting real. The dream is still a chance of becoming a reality. The army deserves this too. I think a win this year will overshadow both of our last two flags if our crowds and membership are anything to go by.
I will go to bed and dream up a number of different scenarios as to how we go about defeating Melbourne. They all bring out the goosebumps-that's how good my imagination is!
Please Pies. Make our dreams come true.
For a variety of reasons I have been flat and rather subdued these past 6 or 7 weeks. We've all been trapped in this eternal state of inertia since the Port game. Top two finish secured and nothing to do but endure and survive the last 6 or so games. Then because out intensity and form dipped so did the passion in the crowd. The media jumped in and fed into this malaise narrative by telling us we had fallen apart defensively and without Nick our chances of going all the way were very low.
But the week off brought some clarity. We saw how the red-hot Carton performed in just one game that didn't mean anything to their chances and they were putrid in the second half of the Giant's game. The media was very forgiving and almost called it entirely to be expected. Imagine having to deal with that mental hurdle for nigh on two months after being so intense and brilliant in the preceding 17 rounds.
I also had a look at the qualifying final and the first term of the Freo final (almost the forgotten final) and our intensity was electric. Suddenly I felt certain we would see the same manic, in your face approach this year. The shackles are off. It's all on the line.
My tummy suddenly had that deliciously knotted, tense yet desirable sensation of anticipation and terror which is such a part of being involved in a finals campaign. It's on again and we are in it up to our eyeballs!
Then the emotion kicked in and I thought of the possibility of winning and what that would mean for Fly and Pendles and so many others. The first hurdle is now only a few sleeps away and it's getting real. The dream is still a chance of becoming a reality. The army deserves this too. I think a win this year will overshadow both of our last two flags if our crowds and membership are anything to go by.
I will go to bed and dream up a number of different scenarios as to how we go about defeating Melbourne. They all bring out the goosebumps-that's how good my imagination is!
Please Pies. Make our dreams come true.
