Opinion What does it mean to be a supporter?

[jmac70]

I just am a Collingwood supporter. Sometimes it is a curse, sometimes a blessing.

 

[sd26]

What's the point of winning Premierships?

To stick it to Carlton mates, to snog a stranger at Victoria Park, to smuggly accept a free beer from an Essendon mate ... There's gotta be something.

And what motivation do the players have? To be able to put "won Premiership" on the C.V .. They gotta have something.



I grab any pop culture reference I can and I run like I stole it!

If you don't know what the point of a premiership is go and barrack for the Western Bulldogs or Melbourne. Maybe you've never won one? It's an end in itself, everything else is journey to the next one. And there is no purpose to anything, a purpose is a construct used to make sense of our situation and inevitable journey to eternal nothingness .

 

[jmac70]

If you don't know what the point of a premiership is go and barrack for the Western Bulldogs or Melbourne. Maybe you've never won one? It's an end in itself, everything else is journey to the next one. And there is no purpose to anything, a purpose is a construct used to make sense of our situation and inevitable journey to eternal nothingness .

I am a fish.

 

[ppoiter]

I find it hard to explain.

For me I barrack for the club more than any player. I love to watch the players but if they decide to move on I don't care that much. If I thought they were a good bloke at Collingwood I'll think the same elsewhere and if they were a tosser the same applies. I still love Heater but don't care for Daisy but I have to remind myself that they're just young fella's finding their way in life.

I feel lucky to have seen 2 flags in my life. Sure I'd love more, but after seeing the ups and downs I realise that so so much has to go right to win one. I think what irritates me the most is that some think it's so simple. One that sh1ts me is the old 'if MM stayed we would have won more". It's such bollocks it's laughable. And I loved MM as our coach. (Even though I think he's an extremely flawed human being).
I sit beside a 55 year old Saints fanatic at work and that gives perspective. But for a fickle bounce he would have experienced one of he greatest days of his life. Now they're back down the bottom and he's almost resigned himself to never seeing a flag.

I'm looking forward to this season more than say 2011. It might sound strange but 2011 was pretty boring for me. Spent most of the season just waiting for the GF. Going thru tough times (77 79 80 81) makes the good times even better. For that reason the 1990 Second Semi & 2002 Prelim are still 2 of my favourite games. The great thing about this year is that I have no idea what our best 22 will look like by the end of the year. That excites me now, but may disappoint me by years end. Such is footy.

I laugh at myself that footy takes me on such an emotional rollercoaster in such a short space of time. My missus thinks I'm insane when watching the footy but 5 mins after a game (win or lose) I'm back on an even keel. I move on pretty quickly. I may move on but I've already decided what went right/wrong during the game and have firm views on the team, players, and coaches. (I've been wrong on players ).

It summary footy takes me on incredible highs, drags me down, and lifts me back up again.

I love the Pies and it's part of who I am.

I feel relieved that I didn't grow up supporting another team.

Great post! Just one thing though, I never quite understand how people talk about that being a freakish bounce yet never mention the one that took the ball towards the goalsquare. It was at least equally right-angled

 

[sd26]

I am a fish.

Good for you for identifying with a common ancestor group after 100s of millions years of evolution.

 

[jmac70]

Good for you for identifying with a common ancestor group after 100s of millions years of evolution.

Who said I have evolved?

 

[Knightmare]

I see being a supporter as being a concept completely individual to the person. You don't need to be a member, attend games or do anything specific. You can just follow a team and that's sufficient, even if you watch games irregularly which plenty I'm sure do. There are various levels of commitment, but in my mind no minimal level of commitment.

 

[sd26]

I see being a supporter as being a concept completely individual to the person. You don't need to be a member, attend games or do anything specific. You can just follow a team and that's sufficient, even if you watch games irregularly which plenty I'm sure do. There are various levels of commitment, but in my mind no minimal level of commitment.

I agree but I won't take any crap from other team supporters if they aren't members. This served me well in 2002 and 2003 living in South East Queensland with the Brisbane band wagon jumpers.

Who said I have evolved?

Flathead or flounder?

 

[Horaceg]

Sitting in the rain watching Collingwood get flogged by 60 points and not leaving early.

 

[Demonalke]

Sitting in the rain watching Collingwood get flogged by 60 points and not leaving early.

The Waverley Rule. (I call it that because all my memories of it are in heavy rain and getting beaten)

 

[Leviathan Pie]

I pay my membership, every year - I go to every game conceivably possible (13-15 a year).

I support my side every week, as always - doesn't mean I cant voice opinions of displeasure when things clearly aren't going the way they should be, whether that be the poor performance of players or off field stuff etc.

A supporter cant be defined by any one single notion, people will have all different ideas of what makes a true "supporter" and that's their right.

 

[Hardas]

The Waverley Rule. (I call it that because all my memories of it are in heavy rain and getting beaten)

Ah, jeez it was cold there some days.

 

[TradeDraft]

Sitting in the rain watching Collingwood get flogged by 60 points and not leaving early.

Why Not Leaving Early is so Important.

I leave IF we are getting Flogged. That makes me no less a Supporter then you

 

[76woodenspooners]

Why Not Leaving Early is so Important.

I leave IF we are getting Flogged. That makes me no less a Supporter then you

What do you think when we're 60 points up half way in the third and you see opposition supporters leave?

Do you think "ah bandwagoners, they don't support their team through thick and thin!"

Or do you think "ah, their entertainment has ended for the day, they're being very sensible by leaving early and beating the crowds to the train"?

 

[TradeDraft]

What do you think when we're 60 points up half way in the third and you see opposition supporters leave?

Do you think "ah bandwagoners, they don't support their team through thick and thin!"

Or do you think "ah, their entertainment has ended for the day, they're being very sensible by leaving early and beating the crowds to the train"?

Well - I think they had enough and want to go home and beat the Rush. So the Later.

I leave early and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that 76woodenspooners

 

[mike123]

It means not caring about the cat eating my food I leave on the bench when we win but cracking the shits at it when we lose.

 

[76woodenspooners]

If you don't know what the point of a premiership is go and barrack for the Western Bulldogs or Melbourne. Maybe you've never won one? It's an end in itself, everything else is journey to the next one. And there is no purpose to anything, a purpose is a construct used to make sense of our situation and inevitable journey to eternal nothingness .

Might explain why we don't win them too often these days.

An army fighting for a cause has an advantage over an army with no cause.

 

[TradeDraft]

Though Night Games I stay to the End of the Game

 

[76woodenspooners]

Well - I think they had enough and want to go home and beat the Rush. So the Later.

I leave early and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that 76woodenspooners

You're judging others by the same standards you apply to yourself ... That's totally cool!

 

[TradeDraft]

You're judging others by the same standards you apply to yourself ... That's totally cool!

I do seem to be Alone in my Thoughts about this Going or Staying before end of game

 

[ottoman]

I never left early. 2 reasons
Firstly I don't think it is a good look. Turning your back on the players.
Secondly, who knows, in those final couple of minutes someone could take mark of the year or kick the goal of the year and you would miss it.

 

[TradeDraft]

I never left early. 2 reasons
Firstly I don't think it is a good look. Turning your back on the players.
Secondly, who knows, in those final couple of minutes someone could take mark of the year or kick the goal of the year and you would miss it.

I doubt that many people leave would effect the Players as the Game is Over and IF you leave early means they are playing so bad to begin with.

Well you have the internet now IF you missed something huge like that

 

[Laurie Holden]

I hate leaving early, but each to their own. When you have to travel 3.5 - 4 hours to get to a game I guess you need to make the most of it.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Supporting the Collingwood Football Club is the greatest thing ever that can be bestowed upon anyone whether it was enforced on you through family or friends or whether you voluntarily decided to barrack for the club at some point in your life.

We've endured the Grand Final pain on numerous times, the taunts from opposition supporters and the struggles throughout the late 90s and mid 00s but I've never regretted barracking for the club and I will always back them in until the day I'm no longer on this Earth. There's something different about Collingwood than the rest of the competition that makes our club special. It's the passion from our supporters, the 'us against them' mentality that we thrive in, the 'side by side' motto that is welcoming of everyone from all walks of life and the fairness, hard work, guts and determination we've displayed throughout the years on the football field and never having to resort to underhanded tactics illegally to gain an advantage over other sides. Collingwood's trademark was always about being a champion team, not having a team of champions. We saw this in 2010 and we also saw it in 1990 and for those even further back I'm sure they'll say the same about 1953 and 1958 but especially 1958 where we came up against one of the greatest sides ever at the time in Melbourne and defeated them and in the process defended our record by being the only team to win four Premierships in a row in VFL/AFL history.

All these factors that I mention earlier is what made 2010 so much sweeter and enjoyable to watch on a personal level especially after the pain we'd endured for 20 years before that and I'm sure there were those who felt the same when they waited for our long-awaited 1990 Premiership after 32 years of devastation and being so close yet so far on many occasions. I remember the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals and the range of emotions I experienced on both days. In 2002 I was just so proud of the team and how far it had come after a few terrible years and I oddly didn't seem devastated but 2003 was different. I'm not ashamed to admit I literally cried in 2003 and it took me a while to get over that one game in September against Brisbane. I felt heartbroken and seeing the team decline in 2004 and 2005 made it even more devastating but then seeing our side improve and rise up again in 2006-2009 was something to enjoy despite the inconsistency that came with it and when we finally did it in 2010 it was massive for so many people and brought joy to so many passionate and dedicated supporters of the club.

We've had a lot of ups and downs in the past no doubt but I've always enjoyed every minute of being a Collingwood supporter and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this great club as we hopefully rise up for a new golden era under Bucks and this young playing list that he has at his disposal.

In conclusion what does it mean to be a supporter of Collingwood? For me it means supporting the club through thick and thin, never jumping off the bandwagon when things start becoming tough, experiencing a wide range of emotions from happiness of winning a flag, a big final or even defeating someone when you're on the bottom, especially a rival, also the sadness that comes with losing and of course the optimism and pessimism that comes with rating the chances of success or failure for the club. I consider myself somewhat pessimistic but always like to be constructive in criticising when I feel it's necessary and I have evidence to back up my thoughts and even though some other people may also hold such attitudes their loyalty and devotion to the club shouldn't be questioned whatsoever

Whether you attend every game like I do in Victoria or listen on the radio or even better watch it on TV most weeks you deserve to be a part of something special here!

 

[nahnah]

If you don't know what the point of a premiership is go and barrack for the Western Bulldogs or Melbourne. Maybe you've never won one? It's an end in itself, everything else is journey to the next one. And there is no purpose to anything, a purpose is a construct used to make sense of our situation and inevitable journey to eternal nothingness .

Don't know bout you but I'm getting the 27 virgins I've been promised