|
Australian Football League (AFL) on eBay
|
|
|
|
|
Get Blogged!
|
| It started off so good, then... |
 admin writes, "What a perfect day it started out to be today."
|
After days of cloud, rain & bloody cold weather, this morning was sunny & warm with just a slight breeze to help dry the footy jumper on the Hills Hoist.
The Parrots & Magpies were singing in the back yard.
And Collingwood was playing Richmond (for the first time since Round 3 last year!) at the MCG later that afternoon.
Almost like a dress-rehearsal for Spring, I thought.
The day got better at the 'G' during the second quarter when 'The Blue' started.
I havent seen a good old fashioned dust-up like that since the 1980's, when it was a regular occurance between Collingwood & Carlton, and Hawthorn & Essendon.
It was wonderful! Nobody was injured. Just all the players showing a bit of strength & fire.
Jack Dyer & Harry Collier would have LOVED it!!!
Nowdays they call it a melee & everyone cops a huge fine.
I love those shows of agression from players every now & then.
So do 99% of the fans.
Even the great Premiership player & coach and Brownlow winner, Malcolm Blight, admitted on the telly that "it got him a bit excited!".
But the 'powers-that-be' have all but eliminated it from the top level of our great game. What a shame that is.
'The Blue' was a fantastic part of the game, and as long as nobody gets hurt it should be encouraged.
But that will never happen.
Mummy wont want 'Little Johnny' playing if there are any scuffles. Instead she will take him down to the local Sooker pitch where he can learn to be a sook & collapse in pain every time someone breaths on him. Pathetic game with pathetic offside rules and even more pathetic scorelines!
Anyway, after feeling contented after watching the Maggies & Tigers put on a bit of a display of nostalgia, I was shaken back into the reality of the modern day and the realisation that more tradition is being flushed down the toilet.
And that tradition is the good old club nickname.
If it was not bad enough that the AFL 'new boys' Gold Coast decided to abandon the traditional practice of having a nickname for the team (although many opposition fans WILL be calling them the 'No Names' or 'Budgie Smugglers'), we then heard that the new Western Sydney team are being called 'Team GWS'.
WHY???
It is stupid! What are the fans going to yell out? "Carna Mighty GWS's"?
A nickname should, in my opinion, be a reflection of the image that the team projects. Fear, danger, agression.
In fact the last four additions to the AFL have had pathetic nicknames...The Power (well not too bad I guess, but not great.), The Dockers (I call them The Anchors) and now The Mighty GWS's and The Mighty Blanks.
A visit to the Gold Coast site will reveal why they have not adopted a nickname.
Club Chairman John Witheriff is quoted as saying “The GC 17 Bid Team carefully considered all the available information and community input from the process. The overwhelming response was that people were passionate about the Gold Coast and wanted the team’s identity to reflect the symbols of the Gold Coast"
Why not at least call them 'The Meter-Maids' then?
Further on the question is asked "Do you think people will understand why you have chosen Gold Coast instead of a name like Titans or Blaze?"
The answer given is "Yes and because of that we believe we had a unique opportunity to position ourselves around the City and its values. Some of the world’s great sporting teams and brands are synonymous with the cities they come from. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea are just a few. Gold Coasters love the Gold Coast and they will be just as passionate about their footy team".
And there is our point. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea ARE ALL SOOKER TEAMS!!!
This is Aussie Rules, not Sooker!
And Aussies have a nickname for everything. Even Virgin Airlines are called Virgin Blue in Australia because their planes are Red. We call everyone with red hair 'Bluey'. It's the Australian way. And this is the great Australian game. Lets not stuff it up by trying to compare it to Sooker.
When 9-a-side Aussie Rules is admitted to the Olympic Games as a permanent sport, then Sooker officials will be looking over their shoulders wondering when Aussie Rules will start impacting on their boring game. And they will be worried about it.
If the AFL are fair dinkum, they should not be letting any teams into the competition unless they have a decent nickname.
Like the good old 'Blue', the nickname is a very special part of our wonderful game and everything should be done to make sure that every team has one and the tradition is preserved.
|
Posted on Aug 16, 2009 00:20am.
(Return)
|
Please login to post a comment.
|
|
|
|
Date and Time
|
|
|
Search Our Site
|
|
|
