What if......

[conVINCEd]

Collingwood.

I know... I know.

You poor, poor, messed-up guy, DT.

I'm pretty much the perfect age in terms of the AFC's introduction to the AFL. I don't remember life before the Crows existed, and my first football memories were of loving Tony Modra.

Beautiful.

 

[tribey]

Its no secret that dyertribe was as strong a Port Adelaide Magpies supporter as there was. He started following the crows since day one and when Port came into the picture, he stuck with the crows. Unlike majority of Port supporters who switched over in a second. That my friends is a definition of bandwagoner.

This has been well-covered already, but it was my love for Port and its players which forged my love of the Crows.

Hodges, Smith, Abba, Browny and Trigger in the initial squad, followed by Chalmers (cough), McLeod, Ando and Troy Bond, and so on.

By the time Port came in I was a proud member of the AFC - and although I felt a bit odd during the first quarter of Showdown 1, there was no question where my loyalties lay and would continue to lie. But that isn't to say I don't want the Power to do well - and I was as proud as punch when they won the flag in 2004.

 

[- PC -]

Collingwood.

I know... I know.

Not surprising at all. Port and Collingwood are the black and whites. As already mentioned most SA football fans chose the clubs whose colours matched in the VFL and WAFL... apart from me.

Hawthorn Subi and Sturt

 

[tribey]

You poor, poor, messed-up guy, DT.

Heh, blame my family. All mad Collingwood when we moved here in the mid-80's - so I was brainwashed at a tender age.

I'm pretty much the perfect age in terms of the AFC's introduction to the AFL. I don't remember life before the Crows existed, and my first football memories were of loving Tony Modra.

Beautiful.

I'm sort of the same. Was old enough to have a grounding and decide to follow the Crows, but young enough not to have the almost pre-requisite Port hatred of the Crows.

Just on Mods, pound for pound he is arguably the most important figure in our club's history. Without his 129 goals and rockstar status that cemented the club as a flagship of this state in just our third year, we may have a history akin to Fremantle's right now - especially given the drought immediately proceeding 1993.

 

[Allefgib]

Just on Mods, pound for pound he is arguably the most important figure in our club's history. Without his 129 goals and rockstar status that cemented the club as a flagship of this state in just our third year, we may have a history akin to Fremantle's right now - especially given the drought immediately proceeding 1993.

Nice one DT. He got the bums on seats for sure 93 onwards. I was thinking of Mod's the other day when someone made a comment about 75 goals a season being only a top class forwards realistic target. That puts Mod's way up there as one of the very high quality forwards ever to play the game. i still can't believe he got so maligned so much by non Crows fans. The guy was a great forward who started very late in his career. Amazing effort and it still kinda bewilders me he ended up leaving the club (or being pushed?).

 

[Stiffy_18]

Just on Mods, pound for pound he is arguably the most important figure in our club's history. Without his 129 goals and rockstar status that cemented the club as a flagship of this state in just our third year, we may have a history akin to Fremantle's right now - especially given the drought immediately proceeding 1993.

And to think that AFC are yet to give the great man a life membership. I find that to be disgraceful

 

[Macca19]

Unlike majority of Port supporters who switched over in a second. That my friends is a definition of bandwagoner.

What a load of utter utter toss.

 

[Stiffy_18]

What a load of utter utter toss.

So are you telling me that majority of your mob were not Crows supporters prior to 1997??????

There are quite a few of you that admitted it.

 

[Macca19]

Sure, I admit it. Im sure there were hundreds, if not thousands of Port supporters that followed the Crows when they first came in. I obviously cant talk for every single person taht did that, but the Crows were never my number 1 side. Port Adelaide have always been my number 1 football club. Always. The SANFL Port Adelaide was always my number 1 club. Adelaide simply became my AFL side for a few years. Yes I went to many Adelaide games, cheered along, cried tears when they lost the Prelim in 93 and all that...but it was never ever the same as watching Port Adelaide play in the SANFL. I had fallen off the Crows long before Port Adelaide entered the AFL. If Port had not entered the AFL and say Norwood/Sturt did, Port Adelaide would still be my number 1 club. I would probably go and watch both the Crows and the DoubleLegs play matches but wouldnt 'support them'.

If that makes me a bandwagoner then so be it.

 

[Total Power]

Sure, I admit it. Im sure there were hundreds, if not thousands of Port supporters that followed the Crows when they first came in. I obviously cant talk for every single person taht did that, but the Crows were never my number 1 side. Port Adelaide have always been my number 1 football club. Always. The SANFL Port Adelaide was always my number 1 club. Adelaide simply became my AFL side for a few years. Yes I went to many Adelaide games, cheered along, cried tears when they lost the Prelim in 93 and all that...but it was never ever the same as watching Port Adelaide play in the SANFL. I had fallen off the Crows long before Port Adelaide entered the AFL. If Port had not entered the AFL and say Norwood/Sturt did, Port Adelaide would still be my number 1 club. I would probably go and watch both the Crows and the DoubleLegs play matches but wouldnt 'support them'.

If that makes me a bandwagoner then so be it.

Thats not exactly a bandwagoner.What about the Norwood or sturt fans who has been following their local side longer than the crows??? what happens if norwood enters AFL tomorrow? There are thousands of crows members who qualifiy for this.What happens when norwood play against the crows??If they support the crows,that my friend is a typical bandwagoner

 

[ExpectToWin]

I've been an Adelaide Crows supporter since '91, but I've barracked for Norwood for a lot longer than that.

Who would I support if Norwood (or a composite including Norwood) were elevated to the big league? Tough question. I'd probably support both Adelaide & Norwood - no idea who I'd barrack for when they played each other.

You are fooling yourself by believing that. Still following Port in the SANFL I was a Crows season ticket holder and supporter for the 6 years before Port joined the AFL. I thought I could follow both clubs and I did until after the first Showdown. After that game I lost complete interest in the Crows and only attended Port games. I have since developed a deep dislike to everything that is the Adelaide Crows.

 

[Alex99]

You are fooling yourself by believing that. Still following Port in the SANFL I was a Crows season ticket holder and supporter for the 6 years before Port joined the AFL. I thought I could follow both clubs and I did until after the first Showdown. After that game I lost complete interest in the Crows and only attended Port games. I have since developed a deep dislike to everything that is the Adelaide Crows.

Don’t worry; we have a deep dislike for everything Port Adelaide as well.

If the Glenelg football club were to be put into that situation it would be very easy to be a supporter of both the AFC and the GFC (AFL), the Adelaide Crows would be my first side and side I support on every single occasion but I would have a full membership and go to every home game for the new entity as well. The only time it would be a hassle is when they played each other in a grand final, but I guess I will never have to cross that bridge, as this is purely a hypothetical question.

 

[JohnK]

A third AFL club based in Adelaide?

I wrote about this in the Adelaide Review last year, coming at this question from a different angle.

Sorry about its length. And please ignore its lofty tone. That's what my editor wants:

[START]

As each season rolls by, more and more 1997 becomes an important point in the evolution of the national game. In that year, Port Adelaide entered the competition, the Fitzroy Lions, merged with the Brisbane Bears and Adelaide won its first grand final.

Victorian football culture has never really recovered from that triple-barrel assault on the ownership of football. In the last nine years, the grand final has seen an equal number of Victorian and non-Victorian teams arrive at the MCG on the last Saturday in September and, on seven occasions, non-Victorian teams have taken the cup away from headquarters – Brisbane three times, Adelaide twice and Port and Sydney once.

This year, for the second year in a row, the grand final was contested by non-Victorian teams. This year, the ten Victorian clubs only managed to earn the right to stage two of the nine finals in Melbourne, given that the grand final must be played at the best stadium in the world.

Throw in the West Coast Eagles victories in 1992 and 1994 and you wouldn’t want to be a Victorian footballer follower for quids. Or, rather, if you live in Melbourne, football must only be a philosophical experience by now in the sense that misery and loss can only be accommodated by deep thinking.

I’ve been accused by some members of the local commentariat of being a state traitor for continuing to stress the point that the uneven travel requirements within the national structure have enabled the non-Victorian teams to develop a complete stranglehold over the competition.

It’s true that having to play away every second week takes an extraordinary toll on non-Victorian players and especially teams from Queensland and Western Australia, given their truly shocking flight schedules.

But it is also true that tougher conditions generate tougher players. At the Hayes Lindsay Park training facility, the final straight in that establishment’s race track is uphill. No racetrack in the country has a final straight uphill. Lindsay Park horses constantly perform above their weight.

And so do the non-Victorian based teams. In 2005, the six non-Victorian teams won an average of 14.75 games each compared to the 9.6 games won, on average, by the ten Victorian teams. This continues a long-term trend that has been evident since 1997. The 2005 results confirm without a shadow of a doubt that the travelling teams have learnt how to win the majority of their games at home, win sufficient away games to get into the major rounds and, by and large, use their home ground advantage to progress through to the grand final.

The AFL’s salary cap and priority pick draft system is designed to enable every team in the competition to get into a grand final every eight years. West Coast, Brisbane, Adelaide, Port and Sydney are currently punching above their weight. There is not one Victorian team on the horizon which could possibly think a cup was a foregone conclusion under current conditions for season 2006. And that includes St Kilda, this year’s benefit of the draft system, this year’s Collingwood.

If Fremantle injected some genuine football savvy into its board and its coaching structure and worked out how to win most games at home and prevent some losses away, the Victorian misery would be complete.
How far can this destruction go? Some Victorian commentators have called for all finals to be held in Melbourne – either at the MCG or the Dome. But, in spite of being the football capital of the nation, Melbourne simply lacks the market to fill their stadia for anything other than a home blockbuster or a grand final. The miserable attendance at the Port vs Kangaroos elimination final at Telstra Dome, for example, a pathetic 22,000 (with 10,000 of those being SA-based supporters) shows that the Melbourne football community now prefers to watch most of its football on TV. The Gabba, Subiaco, SCG and AAMI stadia are the real deal for final sellouts these days. How many people would attend a Brisbane vs Fremantle elimination final at the Dome? Six plus a couple of thirsty sheep dogs.

Victorian football marketing is at a crisis point. The outer states are booming as they throw their success around. After two or three years more denial of final appearances, the Victorian penny may finally drop. Two terminal clubs will have to relocate.

Here’s my ten-year crystal ball prediction.

SA will be forced to have a third club but this club will be outside of the SANFL’s control. It will play from Adelaide Oval under an AFL license and it will be a relocated Victorian side in competition with the SANFL for sponsorship, season ticket revenue and market grab. This third SA side will be put into the Adelaide market as a hostile entity, in much the same way as South Melbourne was injected into the hostile Sydney rugby marketplace.

If Fremantle gets their act together, the same thing may happen in Perth. Or, if Brisbane is a grand final contender again in the next five years, Queensland may find itself with a second hostile team.

If neither of these outcomes come to pass, Hobart may get an AFL team whether it is ready for it or not.

Rather than being a 6-10 travelling competition, the AFL must have an 8-8 Victorian/non-Victorian split. The draw must be constructed with the primary aim of having each team playing away every other week. Given sixteen teams and a 22 week season structure, this will still be hard to achieve.

However, the travelling bias must be equalised as far as it can be so that all teams face the same hard elevated slog to get to the MCG for the one game that matters.

And then we will know how good we truly are. Or truly not.

[END]

 

[Allefgib]

Here's a question for both crows and power people to ponder.

How many of us Crows supporters are not totally loyal to the AFC irrespective if their SANFL team got an AFL license tomorrow because of the 97 and 98 cups the boys brought home? I reckon that has to play a HUGE part in binding us to the club.

How many Power supporters who followed the crows prior to the power's entrance to the AFL would possibly NOT have switched to Port Adelaide had the showdown result gone the other way? (I think I know the types of replies I'll get to this but be interesting to see if I get anything different )

 

[Macca19]

Allefgib - To answer your question, I dropped off the Crows in 1994 so the result of the first Showdown doesnt come into it.

Premierships bond a supporter to that club...pretty much for life. Once you experience a premiership, especially if you are at the ground, then it would be mighty hard to change teams after that. This is why I think a third team would never ever work. Those Adelaide paying members/season ticket holders wouldnt swap back to their SANFL club in my opinion.

 

[Leaping Lindner]

If (and it's a bloody big If) North was to join the AFL AND keep their original colours (not just add on an extra colour recommended by a committee because it appeals to 10 year olds) AND keep their original Guernsey (not change to something designed by committee once again because it appeals to 10 year olds). Then I'd have to say yes! I would however also follow The Crows except for when they played North.
But it isn't going to happen so I don't have to ever worry about it!

 

[finbarr]

So are you telling me that majority of your mob were not Crows supporters prior to 1997??????

There are quite a few of you that admitted it.

Wouldn't have touched the Crows with a barge pole pre-1997. But thanks for assuming the opposite anyway.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Wouldn't have touched the Crows with a barge pole pre-1997. But thanks for assuming the opposite anyway.

Nowdays you all say "I didn't"

Typical really

 

[Damp Squarie]

Unlikely to happen IMO, but let's assume that it does and it's Norwood.

I'd treat 'em as another Port Adelaide - they're just not my team.

Cmon Macca...theres no such thing as another Port Adelaide

I would treat them like all opposition teams; Id hope they lose every game except the ones against Port Adelaide.

Some things never change

 

[- PC -]

.What happens when norwood play against the crows??If they support the crows,that my friend is a typical bandwagoner

I think for me the Crows are it...the new team would be one more team to beat for the flag...even if it was a Sturt combine

Answered

 

[Crowked]

I'd support any SA team, except Port.

If it were Centrals getting the third license, I'd have guarenteed wins twice a year.

 

[Crowked]

SA will be forced to have a third club but this club will be outside of the SANFL’s control. It will play from Adelaide Oval under an AFL license and it will be a relocated Victorian side in competition with the SANFL for sponsorship, season ticket revenue and market grab. This third SA side will be put into the Adelaide market as a hostile entity, in much the same way as South Melbourne was injected into the hostile Sydney rugby marketplace.

This could never work in Adelaide. They wouldnt be competing with a rival code, with no direct competition in their scpecific market. They would be competing with two well established clubs of the same code in a state renown for hating all that is Victorian. They would get a couple of big crowds when they played the SA teams, but wouldnt get more than an average SANFL game every other week. Could you imaging anyone supporting a Melbourne, Western Bulldogs or a Kangaroos here in Adelaide? I certainly cant.

As South Australians we should never allow it to happen anyway. If there is room in the AFL market for another team in SA, it should be an SA entity. If we accepted a Victorian relocation to Adelaide, we would in essence become the financial support for a club that should have been relegated to the VFL in the first place. Why put your money into something thats not ours? or even worse it bloody Victorian!!

 

[Markthirtytwo]

You are fooling yourself by believing that. Still following Port in the SANFL I was a Crows season ticket holder and supporter for the 6 years before Port joined the AFL. I thought I could follow both clubs and I did until after the first Showdown. After that game I lost complete interest in the Crows and only attended Port games. I have since developed a deep dislike to everything that is the Adelaide Crows.

Awwwwwwwwww. And we are much better for it.

 

[JohnK]

Could you imaging anyone supporting a Melbourne, Western Bulldogs or a Kangaroos here in Adelaide? I certainly cant.

Believe it or not but there a few people living in Adelaide who are sick to death of the whole Port Adelaide/Crows/AAMI thing and would willingly attend Adelaide Oval to get away from it.

I know that sounds incredible but it is true.

Not to mention the 5,000 or so Victorians who just happen to be in Adelaide at any one time and wouldn't go to AAMI Stadium but might stroll down to Adelaide Oval.

Not to mention the one or two thousand Melbourne-based fans who might catch the train or bus over for a game every fortnight.

Not to mention the 5000 or so football nuts who would go to a game of football every night of the week if they could.

 

[Mad Dog]

Believe it or not but there a few people living in Adelaide who are sick to death of the whole Port Adelaide/Crows/AAMI thing and would willingly attend Adelaide Oval to get away from it.

I know that sounds incredible but it is true.

Not to mention the 5,000 or so Victorians who just happen to be in Adelaide at any one time and wouldn't go to AAMI Stadium but might stroll down to Adelaide Oval.

Not to mention the one or two thousand Melbourne-based fans who might catch the train or bus over for a game every fortnight.

Not to mention the 5000 or so football nuts who would go to a game of football every night of the week if they could.

I've got nothing against AFL at the Adelaide Oval - as long as it doesn't involve AFC Home Games....