2011 AFL Thread - Melbourne: The suckiest sucks that ever sucked

[cobl04]

10 minutes to kick four goals

 

[cobl04]

By the way the highest winning margin ever is 190.

 

[LemonMelon]

I figure that between all those draws at the beginning of the year and this historical blowout, it was an interesting year for me to get into AFL. Plus, Carlton is the best they've been in years.

 

[cobl04]

FUCK! We only needed seven more points!! Why do I even bother with this shithouse team!!

 

[bono_man2002]

fucking sucks when your team gets rolled by that much. D's surely chasing a new coach now?

 

[LemonMelon]

Lost in the shuffle is the fact that West Coast beat Western and Freo by a combined 9 points. That's crazy. But they continue to climb up the ladder; I'm just surprised their percentage is low relative to their talent.

 

[bono_man2002]

Tipped the weagles too

 

[LemonMelon]

Gotta cheer for the Dockers tonight. Ugh. Carlton in third at this point would be hilarious; I consider us far below Hawthorn and West Coast in talent, though well beyond Sydney on down. I picture us finishing 5th, with one victory in the finals. Nice improvement over last year in that scenario.

 

[cobl04]

I was gonna make this thread, and title it "Marvelling in Geelong's Brilliance". Can khan please change the name?

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Never!

 

[The Sad Punk]

Shit, Cats.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Also the other game today was amazing, heartbreaking, heartwarming, frustrating and BIG COX HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU.

 

[LemonMelon]

BIG COX HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU.

Thankfully, Laz doesn't follow AFL.

 

[cobl04]

He wouldn't post in here if he did anyway!

 

[Alisaura]

@Ali: thanks for the GWS knowledge. At least it's not another fucking Melbourne club.

I think that if the AFL could, they would reduce the number of Melbourne teams, although whether or not that would then mean more interstate teams I don't know. I feel that GWS will struggle for supporters, and I hadn't heard that Sydney's membership is overflowing. But the AFL is obviously hoping that a team will produce supporters (and money), rather than the inverse.

The AFL certainly has tried in the past to move Melbourne teams interstate (see South Melbourne -> Sydney and Fitzroy merging with Brisbane), or merge two struggling Melbourne teams (see the failed Melbourne/Hawthorn merger).

Also LM, I love how you and Ashley have whole-heartedly embraced the whole AFL thing and your chosen teams so quickly... I've lived in Victoria for most of my life and I'm pretty sure you know more about the current ladder/season (and probably care more!) than I do.

 

[Axver]

233?! No words. Talk about humiliation for Melbourne.

What a year of footy it's been, and it's not even the finals yet.

Lost in the shuffle is the fact that West Coast beat Western and Freo by a combined 9 points. That's crazy. But they continue to climb up the ladder; I'm just surprised their percentage is low relative to their talent.

I can't believe the Bulldogs actually came back from being 50 points down to snatch the lead at one point. Thank god the Eagles held their nerve (and got a couple of favourable calls from the umpire).

I was gonna make this thread, and title it "Marvelling in Geelong's Brilliance". Can khan please change the name?

No.

Also the other game today was amazing, heartbreaking, heartwarming, frustrating and BIG COX HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU.

 

[LemonMelon]

I think that if the AFL could, they would reduce the number of Melbourne teams, although whether or not that would then mean more interstate teams I don't know. I feel that GWS will struggle for supporters, and I hadn't heard that Sydney's membership is overflowing. But the AFL is obviously hoping that a team will produce supporters (and money), rather than the inverse.

The AFL certainly has tried in the past to move Melbourne teams interstate (see South Melbourne -> Sydney and Fitzroy merging with Brisbane), or merge two struggling Melbourne teams (see the failed Melbourne/Hawthorn merger).

Also LM, I love how you and Ashley have whole-heartedly embraced the whole AFL thing and your chosen teams so quickly... I've lived in Victoria for most of my life and I'm pretty sure you know more about the current ladder/season (and probably care more!) than I do.

It's about demand, I realize...I can't imagine a city as pampered and overflowing with competing activities as Gold Coast could support a football club. It's like having an NFL team in Las Vegas or Orlando. Melbourne, on the other hand, is loaded with footy-lovers. Just really blows that Perth and Brisbane teams are doing so much more traveling than the Melbourne teams, on the whole.

I discovered last night that I knew like 7 players on the Blues by name and position, which felt pretty good. It was strange at first, not knowing who the team leaders were, but now I want an Eddie Betts jersey ASAP. I still don't know our defenders though.

 

[Axver]

Plus Danny, a changed thread title like that will just jinx it so that Geelong loses by a point to Collingwood in the grand final.

 

[intedomine]

Remaining suburban and retaining home grounds WAS an option. If the clubs and the VFL understood that the clubs could have been controlled more autonomously and boutique, not only would "Away" games still exist today, but Fitzroy might have even survived. Little Geelongs everywhere.

It's a great shame that it has gone the way it has. While Glenferrie was never gonna be a viable option for redevelopment (it's too hemmed in between the railway track and a road), a redeveloped Vic Park (35k), Western Oval (30k) and Moorabbin (30k) all would have been suitable to host 8 matches a season, no worries.

To make matters worse, and this still riles many of us in the East/South-East, they got rid of Waverley, a 75,000 seater stadium that had great character, and would have housed a huge Hawthorn club in the long term quite suitably.

What do we have instead? Docklands (Etihad, Colonial, Telstra "Dome" even though it's certainly not a "dome"), an eyesore on the Melbourne cityscape, one of the ugliest stadiums in the world, a concrete donut that is stale in atmosphere. A stadium that claims to hold 54,000, but is incapable of doing so. A poorly designed stadium that has proved dysfunctional time after time after time and is a displeasure to watch footy in.

Is it any wonder people yearn for the suburban days when we have something as depressing as Docklands as the modern alternative?

Carlton ruined Princes Park. It could have been transformed into a graceful 40,000+ seater, but John Elliot built the pointless stand he named after his horrible self, and the Heatley stand was demolished to make way for gym and swimming pools which is of great importance to us football fans

 

[Vlad n U 2]

What do we have instead? Docklands (Etihad, Colonial, Telstra "Dome" even though it's certainly not a "dome"), an eyesore on the Melbourne cityscape, one of the ugliest stadiums in the world, a concrete donut that is stale in atmosphere. A stadium that claims to hold 54,000, but is incapable of doing so. A poorly designed stadium that has proved dysfunctional time after time after time and is a displeasure to watch footy in.

Your hate for Docklands has no bounds.

 

[intedomine]

The ironic thing is that I've had so many of my most memorable experiences there, whether it be the three U2 gigs, camping outside to get front row for U2 twice, a few Melbourne Victory premierships, a few soccer internationals, watched some great games of footy and had good times with friends.. I even lived a 5 min walk from the joint for half a year.

Meanwhile, Fremantle are losing to Hawthorn in one of the worst games of the season. Lance Franklin has been pathetic.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

What did you expect of a game where the field is being flooded?

 

[Axver]

Was at a gig last night, watched the second quarter of the Freo/Hawks game in the front bar before going in to see the bands, and good lord that was TORRENTIAL. Rarely seen rain that heavy at a sporting event.

 

[coolian2]

Remaining suburban and retaining home grounds WAS an option. If the clubs and the VFL understood that the clubs could have been controlled more autonomously and boutique, not only would "Away" games still exist today, but Fitzroy might have even survived. Little Geelongs everywhere.

It's a great shame that it has gone the way it has. While Glenferrie was never gonna be a viable option for redevelopment (it's too hemmed in between the railway track and a road), a redeveloped Vic Park (35k), Western Oval (30k) and Moorabbin (30k) all would have been suitable to host 8 matches a season, no worries.

To make matters worse, and this still riles many of us in the East/South-East, they got rid of Waverley, a 75,000 seater stadium that had great character, and would have housed a huge Hawthorn club in the long term quite suitably.

What do we have instead? Docklands (Etihad, Colonial, Telstra "Dome" even though it's certainly not a "dome"), an eyesore on the Melbourne cityscape, one of the ugliest stadiums in the world, a concrete donut that is stale in atmosphere. A stadium that claims to hold 54,000, but is incapable of doing so. A poorly designed stadium that has proved dysfunctional time after time after time and is a displeasure to watch footy in.

Is it any wonder people yearn for the suburban days when we have something as depressing as Docklands as the modern alternative?

Carlton ruined Princes Park. It could have been transformed into a graceful 40,000+ seater, but John Elliot built the pointless stand he named after his horrible self, and the Heatley stand was demolished to make way for gym and swimming pools which is of great importance to us football fans

didn't they actually forget to build boxes for the coaches at docklands?

 

[cobl04]

Plus Danny, a changed thread title like that will just jinx it so that Geelong loses by a point to Collingwood in the grand final.

good point

Also the other game today was amazing, heartbreaking, heartwarming, frustrating and BIG COX HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU.

not that it really matters, but he had 120 of his 214 supercoach points in 14 MINUTES.

It's about demand, I realize...I can't imagine a city as pampered and overflowing with competing activities as Gold Coast could support a football club. It's like having an NFL team in Las Vegas or Orlando. Melbourne, on the other hand, is loaded with footy-lovers. Just really blows that Perth and Brisbane teams are doing so much more traveling than the Melbourne teams, on the whole.

I discovered last night that I knew like 7 players on the Blues by name and position, which felt pretty good. It was strange at first, not knowing who the team leaders were, but now I want an Eddie Betts jersey ASAP. I still don't know our defenders though.

Gold Coast will succeed, of that I'm sure. And so will GWS. Unfortunately.

No one knows them, Jamison aside.

Remaining suburban and retaining home grounds WAS an option. If the clubs and the VFL understood that the clubs could have been controlled more autonomously and boutique, not only would "Away" games still exist today, but Fitzroy might have even survived. Little Geelongs everywhere.

It's a great shame that it has gone the way it has. While Glenferrie was never gonna be a viable option for redevelopment (it's too hemmed in between the railway track and a road), a redeveloped Vic Park (35k), Western Oval (30k) and Moorabbin (30k) all would have been suitable to host 8 matches a season, no worries.

To make matters worse, and this still riles many of us in the East/South-East, they got rid of Waverley, a 75,000 seater stadium that had great character, and would have housed a huge Hawthorn club in the long term quite suitably.

What do we have instead? Docklands (Etihad, Colonial, Telstra "Dome" even though it's certainly not a "dome"), an eyesore on the Melbourne cityscape, one of the ugliest stadiums in the world, a concrete donut that is stale in atmosphere. A stadium that claims to hold 54,000, but is incapable of doing so. A poorly designed stadium that has proved dysfunctional time after time after time and is a displeasure to watch footy in.

Is it any wonder people yearn for the suburban days when we have something as depressing as Docklands as the modern alternative?

Carlton ruined Princes Park. It could have been transformed into a graceful 40,000+ seater, but John Elliot built the pointless stand he named after his horrible self, and the Heatley stand was demolished to make way for gym and swimming pools which is of great importance to us football fans

It is a shame but as I think Ali said it all comes back to money. I think it was somewhat inevitable but it is regrettable that Melbourne games are only ever played at the G and Docklands. AFL must be the only sport in the world where nine of the 18 teams have absolutely no connection with the town of their name.

 

[Alisaura]

It's about demand, I realize...I can't imagine a city as pampered and overflowing with competing activities as Gold Coast could support a football club. It's like having an NFL team in Las Vegas or Orlando. Melbourne, on the other hand, is loaded with footy-lovers. Just really blows that Perth and Brisbane teams are doing so much more traveling than the Melbourne teams, on the whole.

I discovered last night that I knew like 7 players on the Blues by name and position, which felt pretty good. It was strange at first, not knowing who the team leaders were, but now I want an Eddie Betts jersey ASAP. I still don't know our defenders though.

I think it's rubbish how things are stacked in the Melbourne teams' favour, or so it seems. And if one wants to be cynical, one could look at the fixture and wonder if it's stacked in favour of certain Melbourne teams over others, let alone over interstate ones. Or at least in the AFL's favour, since some matches will bring bigger crowds and more money than others.

... Not that I'm cynical or anything. Or that I've actually analysed it myself.

Heh, I can name maybe 3 current Hawks players off the top of my head. *L*
(Franklin, Rioli, that guy the commentators were calling The Poo... um... Oh, Roughead... er... *resists urge to consult her Footy Record*)

To make matters worse, and this still riles many of us in the East/South-East, they got rid of Waverley, a 75,000 seater stadium that had great character, and would have housed a huge Hawthorn club in the long term quite suitably.

I admit I only saw one game there, and while the colourful seats/benches were kinda cool, I mostly remember that they were bloody uncomfortable and it was frickin' FREEZING.

 

[cobl04]

Things aren't that heavily stacked in Melbourne teams' favour though. That was evidenced by the fact not one Victorian side came close to winning a flag from 01-06 (though had the umpires counted Sav's behind as a goal, they might have won in 02).

And just for the record, the day the grand final changes from 2:40pm Saturday at the MCG is the day I stop following the game.

I've got footage on one of my AFVs (Zoo Stayyyyshuuuun) showing I think it's Sydney v Hawthorn at Waverley, or maybe Hawthorn v Adelaide, and there's no one there, and it was hailing.

 

[Alisaura]

Things aren't that heavily stacked in Melbourne teams' favour though. That was evidenced by the fact not one Victorian side came close to winning a flag from 01-06 (though had the umpires counted Sav's behind as a goal, they might have won in 02).

And just for the record, the day the grand final changes from 2:40pm Saturday at the MCG is the day I stop following the game.

I've got footage on one of my AFVs (Zoo Stayyyyshuuuun) showing I think it's Sydney v Hawthorn at Waverley, or maybe Hawthorn v Adelaide, and there's no one there, and it was hailing.

See, this is what I get for repeating other people's cynicism without checking.


(Edited again after further googling: I retract my silly question, seems the Grand Final will sell out the 'G no matter who's playing. *L*)

 

[cobl04]

Three, in fact.

Brisbane vs Port Adelaide, 04
West Coast vs Sydney, 05
West Coast vs Sydney, 06

And they were just as heavily supported as all Victorian grand finals, in my opinion. This town and state loves the game so much. And the G will ALWAYS be packed to the brim on GF day, though most of those seats are taken up by corporates and very lucky members, which digusts me.

Edit, although, as disappointed as I was I couldn't get tickets to the 07 GF, it's my favourite day of the year, and I have so much fun just drinking with mates during the day I don't have a huge urge to go to a GF now.

I haven't been to an AFL game all year and I'm not sure I saw one last year either.

nice tags .

 

[Axver]

See, I can't wait for the day that the grand final becomes a night game like almost every other big clash. I've got to be honest, day games always come across to me as just appearing amateurish, not due to the play but it just seems sort of like a kiddie thing. I guess that comes from the fact that when it comes to rugby, lower rung games (like provincial games) are often during the day, while the big international Tests are always at night, and that mentality of the big games being at night is hard to shake, especially when so many in AFL fall at night, including almost all of the finals series.

Plus day games just look far worse on telly than a nice floodlit match.