AFL - Is it worth the heartbreak?

[BulldogBelle]

For whatever reason, I barely even care who our next coach will be. And this is why:

GWS will probably take Ward. Next year, more of our top liners will still be in the gun.

Free-agency. Say no more.

Is the game even really that entertaining anymore?

So many times umpires have had a massive hand in deciding critical results against us. Forgetting multiple times this season, I am still bitter about the Johnno - Rooke decision in 08, and the Riewoldt push in 09.

Random rule introductions, nazi-esque justifications about piss-poor umpiring decisions, a distinct lack of "listening" from those that matter at AFL HQ.

A big differential between clubs with a healthy, "robust" football department and those that don't have that luxury.

Don't get me wrong, I love Footscray. I love the Bulldogs. I've been a member every single year I could feasibly be a member for.

And I know everyone else here is exactly the same way. But does anybody else question whether they actually love the game anymore? or is it just me?

[LostDoggy]

I don't love the game anymore, i only love the Bulldogs.

I haven't loved AFL for a long time, if the Bulldogs were ever to merge or fold i wouldn't care about the sport anymore.

[LostDoggy]

I don't love the game anymore, i only love the Bulldogs.

I haven't loved AFL for a long time, if the Bulldogs were ever to merge or fold i wouldn't care about the sport anymore.

Probably feel a little the same way today. It could only ever be the bulldogs for me, and if they folded, I wouldn't go and/or care much about AFL.

[Twodogs]

I love cricket more than I love football. If the Footscray football club played in the VFL (A, whatever) I woudnt even bother with the AFL scores in the paper on monday mornings.

[ReLoad]

I get the distinct feeling that many people feel the same way, and no its not because our team has tasted some "success" but rather that its just not fun anymore.

I'm much more enjoying local footy, and intend to be a regular at Willy next year.

[Maddog37]

For *!*!*!*!s sake people, stop being so negative . Please!!!

Life goes on and you only see the good stuff if you actively look for it.

[LostDoggy]

I ask the converse -- does anyone in their right mind think the AFL loves them?

We've gone from being a critical part of the success and popularity of the game, people who were the heart and soul and fabric of various clubs for decades (heck why do we care about it so much and remember ridiculous shit about a cold day in September 40, 50 years ago even though no one else in the world cares? BECAUSE IT'S OURS!), to being simply 'paying customers', a ticket through a turnstile, a number on a sales pitch to sponsors and TV stations, treated like mugs, spoken to like idiots, slapped around like naughty children, ripped off by shit food at ridiculous prices, taken for granted in any discussion about the game.

So the more pertinent question is: what logical reason other than nostalgia would we have to love the game? I mean, it's one thing to enjoy a sporting contest -- I do that with all sports, but love is another thing entirely. That's why Rocket's care for the ordinary fan was so important -- it was like a little part of history, when the game was still tangible and real for the average person, not something that has been packaged up for the corporate dollar and kept at arm's length from the unwashed masses.

[LostDoggy]

Lantern, you are on fire today. Articulated extremely well.

[bornadog]

For *!*!*!*!s sake people, stop being so negative . Please!!!

Life goes on and you only see the good stuff if you actively look for it.

I still love the game, but some of the things mentioned in the op really get on my nerves and guys like Anderson, Gieschen and of course Demitriou are making it worse. I wonder how many fans would agree.

[BulldogBelle]

Lantern, you are on fire today. Articulated extremely well.

I was about to say the exact same thing. Very, very nice form indeed

[The Underdog]

For *!*!*!*!s sake people, stop being so negative . Please!!!

Life goes on and you only see the good stuff if you actively look for it.

I do see the good stuff, it's just it's mostly while I'm not watching footy these days.

As per the OP I love our club but I've watched way less football this year than any year I can remember and to be honest it's not really been missed.

[Doc26]

I ask the converse -- does anyone in their right mind think the AFL loves them?

We've gone from being a critical part of the success and popularity of the game, people who were the heart and soul and fabric of various clubs for decades (heck why do we care about it so much and remember ridiculous shit about a cold day in September 40, 50 years ago even though no one else in the world cares? BECAUSE IT'S OURS!), to being simply 'paying customers', a ticket through a turnstile, a number on a sales pitch to sponsors and TV stations, treated like mugs, spoken to like idiots, slapped around like naughty children, ripped off by shit food at ridiculous prices, taken for granted in any discussion about the game.

So the more pertinent question is: what logical reason other than nostalgia would we have to love the game? I mean, it's one thing to enjoy a sporting contest -- I do that with all sports, but love is another thing entirely. That's why Rocket's care for the ordinary fan was so important -- it was like a little part of history, when the game was still tangible and real for the average person, not something that has been packaged up for the corporate dollar and kept at arm's length from the unwashed masses.

The game as I knew it died the day AFL officialdom warned off my family from draping our beloved red white and blue colours over an advertising hoarding.

[Chicago1]

Yeah. That Lantern ain't bad for a youngin'. :p

The Bulldogs have gotten me through some really tough times living here the past 11 years. I absolutely LIVE for my visits back to Melbourne and going to the footy. In 2002 I went straight from Tullamarine to the home I was staying at, had a shower and headed to the footy at Docklands where we lost to Collingwood. It was my first taste of footy in over two years and I loved it, even losing to those $#@%.

Every time I leave the Western Oval after my last training visit and prepare to fly back here, I have a long look around for I fear one of these times it may just be my last glimpse of what I miss most about Australia. Well, the Bulldogs and fish 'n chips and a capricciosa pizza and... :D

[w3design]

Thanks St 07 for summing up exactly how I feel. Lantern, you've said it even more exactly!

I feel very hollow today. I've been remembering the excitement and fun when Rocket came to the club and we went on a roller coaster with him those first 2 carefree years. We had hope of a brilliant shiny new era. Now some of those fresh faces that thrashed the Pies in 06 are proppy, heartbroken or already cooked..young men in their mid to late 20s FFS!

Great guys like Grant and Johnson will never be premiership players. Most of us have never seen the dogs in a grand final. After being sooooo close 3 years in a row, it feels hard to resign ourselves to refreshing, rebuilding, rejuvenating, whatever! We have such loyal fans but now we will have to invest faith in a new coach, new group. Right now as of today that's a struggle.

And if I have to endure Ward's departure to a trumped up franchise, it will test the faith still further.

Don't accuse those of us feeling like that of being 'negative'. I'll never stop loving the dogs, but we're entitled to feel empty today.

[LostDoggy]

I bet collingwoods & geelongs forums don't have threads like this?

[Bulldog4life]

Whether we are winning or losing I'll be buying my membership and going to as many games as I can.

GLORY IS FLEETING
PASSION IS FOREVER.

[SonofScray]

The game as I knew it died the day AFL officialdom warned off my family from draping our beloved red white and blue colours over an advertising hoarding.

Yep. That type of stuff has just ripped the guts out of the experience for me, outside of actually enjoying the physical contest. I am a big believer that fans make the game, it is passionate fans interaction with a contest that makes the event of a ball being kicked end to end a spectacle.

One of my favourite books was David Boyle's 'Authenticity: brands, fakes spin and the lust for real life.' This quote sums things up quite nicely for me:

"According to Brian Eno, carnival is the key to real culture. When spectators become part of the proceedings themselves, then the event takes on an authenticity it didn’t previously have. Carnival is good when it leaves the people with the feeling that life in all its bizarre manifestations is unbeatably lovely and touching and funny and worthwhile.”

Stuff like preventing kids from hanging flags, replacing Hyde St Bands with stock stadium music etc really diminish peoples' involvement in proceedings and subsequently weaken the authenticity of the event. It is one of the reasons I made my own FFC flag, amongst a few others and hang it proudly at games.

[LostDoggy]

I think if we lose another quality player (Callan Ward) to the second new team to the AFL, then that will just about do it for me.

Here we are hoping that our new young list will give us the ultimate glory but we have been taken for suckers by the AFL on this one ... plus the requirement to sell games interstate.

This isnt an even competition and our club appears to be on the wrong side of the ledger on most occasions.

[LostDoggy]

The game has definitely changed. More for some depending on your age. Style of play and interpretations of rules has really changed the game from something that was exciting and unique to something that is rather humdrum and times down right boring. Crowd figures for games other than blockbusters are down which would suggest that a lot of people are choosing not to go. This is a trend that will continue. Can't see the game changing any rules back so may become something really foreign to me as the AFL change rules to try and keep people interested.

[bornadog]

The game has definitely changed. More for some depending on your age. Style of play and interpretations of rules has really changed the game from something that was exciting and unique to something that is rather humdrum and times down right boring. Crowd figures for games other than blockbusters are down which would suggest that a lot of people are choosing not to go. This is a trend that will continue. Can't see the game changing any rules back so may become something really foreign to me as the AFL change rules to try and keep people interested.

Wait till next year when all games are live. Teams not in the finals race will have even lower crowds

[LostDoggy]

Probably feel a little the same way today. It could only ever be the bulldogs for me, and if they folded, I wouldn't go and/or care much about AFL.

It's more a range of things.

The game itself has really turned me off, but also the whole home town club feeling that i no longer get when going to the football. I used to love us being Footscray, it was my team from the western suburbs & the Western Oval was our ground.

Having the AFL push teams to play at Etihad & closing down all the home grounds teams had, all contributed to my feeling that the AFL has become a little soulless.

[AndrewP6]

I reckon I'll still get myself up for the Dogs games. To be honest, I've never really gone to other games, or followed others with any real interest - unless of course it affected us! I did Supercoach in 2009, did pretty well, and then bombed last year - predominantly because I couldn't bring myself to give a crap (pardon the French) about other team's players. In '09 I finished 3rd in my league at work, and at one point, I had 17 Dog players! Wouldn't have worked this year, obviously ;)

[LostDoggy]

Today I'm pretty shattered about the whole Rocket thing, and as I walked to my car after work I couldn't help but think to myself: “Gee, rebuilding again, probably another 5-6 years until I see a granny. Can I stomach it?”

I drove home thinking about the past 7 years with Rocket. Before Rocket, I was away at sea between 2001-2004 with the Navy and only really got the scores via Navy signals. Came back ashore in 2005 in time to see us nearly make it and excite a bit. 2006, a good exciting year, when we beat the Pies but were brought quickly back to earth against the Eagles. 2007, a shocker much like this year, then the utter magic of 2008-10 when we really started to kick some arse, take some names and get excited about maybe this time, maybe this group, maybe…

The excitement leading up to 2011. Barry Hall. Brian Lake. Adam Cooney. Ryan Griffen. Wallis and Libba. Pumped up to play that GF, certain that this year, we're going to get there.

It's been a hard roller-coaster ride. It rips the heart out of you. But gee it's been fun. This is what real passion is. What it's about. Call me a romantic, but it's like watching your kids grow up. It's not all roses and Kleenex ads, at times it's sheer f***ing terror and that's what makes it so rewarding.

Today I'm flat. Tomorrow (or some day very soon) we'll get a new coach. We'll start talking about the new game plan, the change in playing personnel, we'll watch and see how we go and in the process we'll all get caught up in the fun of the roller-coaster again.

I can watch any football match and just love it. Some things tick me off, like Ray Chamberlain or the amount of players around the ball or the press or the Saints' tactics or the Eagles' sheer existence.

But then Cyril Rioli does his stuff, Jurrah takes another freak mark and goal, Buddy kicks 10, Dahlhaus or Griffen gives us a spark, Judd destroys a whole team and suddenly those annoying things are forgotten. I don't think about the umps when I walk to the ground. (Just afterwards :D)

So, yes. I still love the game.

[1eyedog]

I don't love the game anymore, i only love the Bulldogs.

I haven't loved AFL for a long time, if the Bulldogs were ever to merge or fold i wouldn't care about the sport anymore.

I am very close to approaching this stage.


I love cricket more than I love football. If the Footscray football club played in the VFL (A, whatever) I woudnt even bother with the AFL scores in the paper on monday mornings.

I really enjoy the skill sets of AFL players, but as a science I would have to agree. The match fixing allegations and T20 have tarnished this a bit for me, but you just can't go past an evenly balanced five-dayer.

[GVGjr]

A guy I work with is often amazed that a person who is so passionate about the Bulldogs (me) watches bugger all 'other' games.
He on the other hand loves it and watches at least 4 games a week.

I really enjoy watching TAC games and Williamstown but for the AFL it's basically the Bulldogs and nothing else.

[AndrewP6]

A guy I work with is often amazed that a person who is so passionate about the Bulldogs (me) watches bugger all 'other' games.
He on the other hand loves it and watches at least 4 games a week.

I really enjoy watching TAC games and Williamstown but for the AFL it's basically the Bulldogs and nothing else.

Same here.

[LostDoggy]

I ask the converse -- does anyone in their right mind think the AFL loves them?

We've gone from being a critical part of the success and popularity of the game, people who were the heart and soul and fabric of various clubs for decades (heck why do we care about it so much and remember ridiculous shit about a cold day in September 40, 50 years ago even though no one else in the world cares? BECAUSE IT'S OURS!), to being simply 'paying customers', a ticket through a turnstile, a number on a sales pitch to sponsors and TV stations, treated like mugs, spoken to like idiots, slapped around like naughty children, ripped off by shit food at ridiculous prices, taken for granted in any discussion about the game.

So the more pertinent question is: what logical reason other than nostalgia would we have to love the game? I mean, it's one thing to enjoy a sporting contest -- I do that with all sports, but love is another thing entirely. That's why Rocket's care for the ordinary fan was so important -- it was like a little part of history, when the game was still tangible and real for the average person, not something that has been packaged up for the corporate dollar and kept at arm's length from the unwashed masses.

yep - points taken, footy has moved away from the common, 'rank and file' supporter and that is terrible because the game would not be where it is without us. Just look at the corporate clowns who turn up to the grand final and whinge that their precious essendon and hawthorn aren't playing.

Having said that what would be sweeter for an unfashionable, non-media darling club, which has now officially been written off by all and will by pushing crap up a hill for the forseeable future on a limited budget final eventually have its day..? I've been waiting years for it happen and looks like I'll be waiting a little longer, but I don't want to jump off until I see it...

[Ghost Dog]

I reckon I'll still get myself up for the Dogs games. To be honest, I've never really gone to other games, or followed others with any real interest - unless of course it affected us! I did Supercoach in 2009, did pretty well, and then bombed last year - predominantly because I couldn't bring myself to give a crap (pardon the French) about other team's players. In '09 I finished 3rd in my league at work, and at one point, I had 17 Dog players! Wouldn't have worked this year, obviously ;)

Stopped doing footypicks. My family wonder why I just gave up but losing a bit of interest except for the dogs.

[westbulldog]

Excellent posts by St 07 and Lantern, really insightful comments - thanks.

[Desipura]

I love the bulldogs not the game

[Maddog37]

I watch as much footy as I can. Beats anything else on the box(except Saints games, hate them).

I urge all of you to cool your jets and take stock over summer. A new coach, more kids, players in different positions and maybe a trade or two. The draft is also a great time of excitement for every club.

This is the best game in the world and as with anything you have your peaks and troughs but us Dog supporters are a minority and we need each other as much as the team needs us.

Go the Red White and Blue.

[GetDimmaBack]

I love the bulldogs not the game

Exactly. I love the Dogs far more than I love the game. Footy is important because the Dogs are part of it.

Tom Hafey once said that he didn't realise how important each club really was to its supporters until he spent time talking to aggrieved Fitzroy fans. He was amazed that many of them put the club ahead of the game and weren't interested in footy once the Lions "merged". I'd be the same if the Dogs were...ummm...compromised in the same way.

One of my mates hasn't watched an AFL game - even on TV - since Fitzroy got shafted (he was a Roys supporter). Before that he lived football. I'd be like that, I reckon.

I'm not being negative. Having followed them since 1961, I just feel tired...

[BulldogBelle]

I used to love everything about footy, bought papers to read the write ups of all the matches, bought Inside Football, watched League teams and all the replays. Now I can barely be bothered watching matches we aren't playing in even when they are on the teev.

But I'm more devoted to the Dogs than ever.

[LostDoggy]

Yeah its all about the dogs these days. I have fox so I can see most games but just dogs games.

If I want to watch some good, hard, gutsy, skillful football I will go to an Sanfl game.

F u AFL.

[NoName]

I don't love the game anymore, i only love the Bulldogs.

I haven't loved AFL for a long time, if the Bulldogs were ever to merge or fold i wouldn't care about the sport anymore.

I feel the same way.