What would you prefer?

Which would you prefer?

  • 10 x top 4 finishes but no premiership

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    11
Apr 18, 2005
30,892
26,642
AFL Club
Melbourne
A question to ponder, would you prefer your team won 1 premiership in the next decade but bottom 4 in the other 9 years, or top 4 for 10 years straight without ever saluting?
Flag.

09 - 16th
10 - 12th
11 - 13th
12 - 16th
13 - 17th
14 - 17th
15 - 13th
16 - 11th
17 - 9th
18 - 5th
19 - 17th
20 - 9th
21 - FLAG

5 bottom four finishes in a decade and at the end a premiership.

Given the horrific form line we have had, the drought we endured, we needed a flag.
 
Jun 11, 2007
34,086
29,320
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Bayern, Milan, Boston Celtics
Most will say a flag. And i get it.

But i think i'd prefer to go to the footy week in, week out with the confidence we'll win. And we may or may not jag a flag. Ive seen 2. That's more than a lot of supporters.

Now, if we were talking a dynasty. i'd take 3 in a row and then a decade of what the hawks are about to go through either side of it.
 
Jun 11, 2007
34,086
29,320
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Bayern, Milan, Boston Celtics
Premierships and top 4 for a decade plus change without getting close to bottom 4 for me.

why-not-both-why-not.gif
don't forget free 1st rd picks and former 1st rd pick players for peanuts ;)
 

Dazb86

Brownlow Medallist
Mar 31, 2008
15,901
13,400
melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
I would take top 4 for the decade.
Reason being, the other option gives me 1 year of joy (flag) and 9 years of misery (bottom 4)
Top 4 gives me 10 years of pleasure each year, if we make top 4 we have won many games and had a good year.

I wouldn't have 2 decades left in me but if i had a choice to be happy for two of those seasons and absolutely miserable for the other 18.
Or be preety pleased each season for the rest of my days, seeing my team bring me joy most weeks.

I will take the second options.

The problem with this is expectations rise as a top 4 side. You can even get frustrated having a close win against a 'lesser' side and getting bundled out of the finals for years on end sucks.

I think I'd prefer the premiership out of nowhere.
 
Feb 26, 2013
525
984
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Flag. The most stressful, disappointing and frustrating seasons are when you make finals but no flag. I’m actually finding these shite years quite relaxing……for now.
 
May 3, 2013
10,118
10,081
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
Australian Cricket Team,
The problem with this is expectations rise as a top 4 side. You can even get frustrated having a close win against a 'lesser' side and getting bundled out of the finals for years on end sucks.

I think I'd prefer the premiership out of nowhere.
nah Flags aren't everything. Your enjoyment week by week shouldn't be retroactively negated if you don't win the flag that year. Thats a poor way to look at things. Enjoying the wins as they come is how you're supposed to watch the footy so i can definitely see where that poster is coming from.
 
May 3, 2007
35,993
20,763
Parts Unknown
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Man City, Valencia, Lazio, Panthers
A flag every 10 years is so far ahead of the curve its not even funny.

It's the obvious choice.
Yep and even my mate Grin agrees.

Again.... Wait until expansion, when it's 20 sides.

So over 20 seasons, if you made 2 grand finals, win 1 flag and make finals 8 times in 20 seasons. Well... You are not over achieving or under achieving, you are in par or in the line of midtable.
 

#23 Hill

Premium Platinum
Jan 22, 2023
1,820
2,681
AFL Club
Collingwood
No matter who you support most seasons are not going to be premiership seasons. So if your enjoyment of footy is based solely on whether your team wins the flag each year you should probably find another hobby. Otherwise footy will make you miserable. I'm disappointed when the Pies fall short in the finals but I'm still grateful for the enjoyment I got from seeing them win most of the time throughout the home and away season..
 
Apr 28, 2008
11,211
8,194
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Arsenal Kilmarnock
They both sound awful to me, kind of like an extreme rebuild v stay up thought concept. I'd have to go the top 4 10 years straight, as even if you finish 2nd-4th each year there might be a range of different narratives like a late bolt for top 4 or a narrow GF defeat, and no doubt some decent rivalries. Overall tragic, yes, but good for the club off-field. Bottom 4 for 9 years + flag is just sacrilege asterisk stuff, although would be fun in that one year.

I'd rather the top 4 for 10 years and hope we can thwart the footy gods and still get it done. It also implies that your club is playing well week-to-week, rather than putrid week-to-week.

Depends on the club too. Some can afford a decade like this or that, others can't. A battler might be better off with the top 4 decade, whereas a well-supported club with a recent flag could probably cop both options.
 

cobbly

Team Captain
Jul 6, 2009
396
135
Melbourne
AFL Club
Collingwood
Do i know that thats the deal in advance? That im gunna have 9 years of pain but also one flag?

Definitely would take that deal.

Whereas knowing you're always going to be top 4 but never going to win a flag would take all joy out of those years.



If i dont know, then is the flag at the end, or at the beginning or somewhere in the middle?

If its at the end then youd lose hope, but youd also get used to losing so it wouldnt hurt so much, and then the flag would be amazing coming out of nowhere.

If its at the beginning then for the first couple of years youd be ok, satisfied that you already had a flag but then it definitely would wear thin, as once you've had success you expect more. So this is probably the worst option.

The middle is probably the best, a few years of crap, flag out of nowhere, then you go back to being crap but now you have a flag so you're happy regardless.


On the other side if you're always making top 4 you would get some joy for the first few years, and have alot of hope... But constantly bombing out of the finals or losing grand finals can be tough to deal with. I should know being a Collingwood supporter. It wears down that hope and even all the joy you get from winning in home and away, cause you know that none of that is whats important. Not to mention all the choker talk youd have to deal with.


On balance, I'd say definitely have to take the flag.

Top 4 is only joyful if you have hope/expectation of winning a flag. Without that it's hollow and joyless. 10 years of making it and never winning would get to that point i believe.

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