Letter in the Herald-Sun today

[ROK Lobster]

Golly it doesn't take much to fire you lot up - as they say in the classics, 'keep your face paint on'. Cliff from Potts Point is quite plainly having a dig at the 'old South' supporters coming out of the woodwork to climb on the bandwagon. He is not having a dig at those who stayed loyal to the club, but the Melbourne fair weather supporters - or is there no such thing in a city of rarely fair weather. A lot of 'Sydney' supporters have been given a hard time over the years for only supporting a winner etc (see the 'disposal' joke in the paper the other day). Cliff is just having a dig back.

As I said before, the club does not want to alienate its Sydney supporter base and has to manage this problem carefully. I support its objective of having as many Melbourne based members/supporters as possible but if it wants to secure itself in the Sydney market, and secure its Sydney membership numbers, it cannot be seen to have its 'heart' in South Melb. People will jump off if they think they are on somebody else's bandwagon. The 2 cities message looks great on a banner but could prove a political nightmare for the club.

[SXP]

They should be removed from the gene pool.

[timthefish]

However, Bob Davis introducing the team at the end of the GF as South Melbourne was wrong and a rather inflamatory thing to do.

it's about time davis got over his blinkered view that the game still belongs to victoria. there's nothing wrong with a little romantic remeniscence, but the swans are a sydney team with a south melbourne history and not a victorian club residing in sydney.

[mocaholic]

Originally posted by ben.carbonaro
Thanks for you help, Ann.

Whilst not siding with this bloke at all, isn't wrong to judge what someone has written based purely on where we live ?

Benny! Nice to see you here. Next we'll be judging people on their fashionable eye-wear and footwear, hmmm?

And as a general point, I couldn't care less what these idiots are on about.

I believe the club is doing a great job in marrying the support of the cities, as testified by growing memberships in both Sydney and Melbourne. It was great to see the crowd in Albert Park (as we can well testify Ben), but for me, even better was the crowd at the SCG.

As an old Sth Melbourne boy, it really warmed the heartles of my....oops, I mean cockles of my heart.

[timthefish]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
As I said before, the club does not want to alienate its Sydney supporter base and has to manage this problem carefully. I support its objective of having as many Melbourne based members/supporters as possible but if it wants to secure itself in the Sydney market, and secure its Sydney membership numbers, it cannot be seen to have its 'heart' in South Melb. People will jump off if they think they are on somebody else's bandwagon. The 2 cities message looks great on a banner but could prove a political nightmare for the club.

exactly. perhaps this premiership should be seen as a symbol of closure for south melbourne and the crystallisation of the sydney swans.

we can retain the shared history of the club with the "swans" and "bloods" nickname and the nod to history that exists with "smfc" on the nape of the jumper. i think, however, that is where it should end and that 2005 be the last premiership taken in the name of south melbourne.

[Dave]

He sounds more like a rugby troll to me, stying to stir up some @@@@.

Who gives a toss what these wankers think?

We are the South Melb/Sydney Swans/Bloods!
Probably the most famous footy club in the land (in any code).

I think maybe the strength of our bond is probably a bit scary for these small people!

[timthefish]

Originally posted by Dave
We are the South Melb/Sydney Swans/Bloods!

i think this is the crux of the matter. i am not saying what people should feel in their hearts or say in any forum but i think that the club should only refer to themselves in official matters as the sydney swans and make it clear references such as bob davis' on such occasions are not appropriate.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by anniswan
Just remember the banner

One Team, Two Cities

Living the Dream

I had enough Victorian members rubishing Sydney members this week to make me want to scream, I didn't react, just quietly made the point that we all follow the team in a different way.

When I started the Swans yahoo mailing list in 1998 there were numerous threads that argued that the old bloods supporters were the real supporters as opposed to the people that started following the swans after they arrived in Sydney and vice versa.

This whole issue needs to be put behind us and each cities supporters should just accept each other and get on with just enjoying the moment.

I didn't post this thread as a Sydney vs Melbourne thread. I posted it as a selfish moronic idiot vs club unity thread. As far as I'm concerned - and as far as the other Victorian fans are concerned - the issue is long behind this club.

I also don't have a problem with the bandwagon at all. It's a) something that happens at every club anyway, b) makes the club a lot of money whenever it happens and c) gives us people like Des, Liz, Bron and the like.

All clubs gain the majority of new support (as opposed to familial support) during successful periods. That's perfectly fine by me. It's even fine when people don't want to stick around. Let them share the glory - we here on RWO and people like us know about the years of wondering if we'd ever win another one. The more the merrier.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
Golly it doesn't take much to fire you lot up - as they say in the classics, 'keep your face paint on'. Cliff from Potts Point is quite plainly having a dig at the 'old South' supporters coming out of the woodwork to climb on the bandwagon. He is not having a dig at those who stayed loyal to the club, but the Melbourne fair weather supporters - or is there no such thing in a city of rarely fair weather. A lot of 'Sydney' supporters have been given a hard time over the years for only supporting a winner etc (see the 'disposal' joke in the paper the other day). Cliff is just having a dig back.

As I said before, the club does not want to alienate its Sydney supporter base and has to manage this problem carefully. I support its objective of having as many Melbourne based members/supporters as possible but if it wants to secure itself in the Sydney market, and secure its Sydney membership numbers, it cannot be seen to have its 'heart' in South Melb. People will jump off if they think they are on somebody else's bandwagon. The 2 cities message looks great on a banner but could prove a political nightmare for the club.

I think you're being charitable to Clifford. But that's beside the point.

I don't give a rats arse what is a 'political nightmare' for the club. History is history, and it should be acknowledged, and it should be celebrated. Heritage isn't something that should be locked away in a cupboard whenever its inconvenient.

Besides, with the exception of tossers like Clifford, just how serious is this 'alienation'. I'm finding it hard to fathom why everyone is so accepting of the idea that Sydneysiders would be so shallow. 'Oh, the club used to be in Melbourne? Stuff them, then.'

The worst that can happen is that we'll lose a handful of self-important twits like Clifford, and that most Sydneysiders won't care about South Melbourne. That's life.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by timthefish
exactly. perhaps this premiership should be seen as a symbol of closure for south melbourne and the crystallisation of the sydney swans.

we can retain the shared history of the club with the "swans" and "bloods" nickname and the nod to history that exists with "smfc" on the nape of the jumper. i think, however, that is where it should end and that 2005 be the last premiership taken in the name of south melbourne.

Every premiership will be taken in the name of South Melbourne... and Sydney. Like this one was.

Why? Because every premiership, every member that signs up, every time the Swans hit the front and back pages of the Sydney papers, its a symbol that it was worth it. The move was worth it. The years of waiting was worth it. The countless times that the club was on death row and was saved were all worth it.

Why should something so special be hidden away?

[Frog]

Originally posted by timthefish
i think this is the crux of the matter. i am not saying what people should feel in their hearts or say in any forum but i think that the club should only refer to themselves in official matters as the sydney swans and make it clear references such as bob davis' on such occasions are not appropriate.

And that is what they are - The Sydney Swans, based at the SCG, Sydney.
And that is how I refer to them when someone asks me which team I follow. When then, incredulously, being ridiculed for following a NSW team whilst I live in Victoria, I let them know that I did, once upon a time, follow South Melbourne. And since I am a loyal moron, I stuck with them.
Since the charter of the move at the end of 1981 included the edict that the team was being MOVED, including all its history, and was not the creation, or birth, of a brandnew team, it only stands to reason that OLD South supporters still feel part of the club. And so they should. Articles like the one from Mike Gibson (in another thread which I cannot locate) that says the Swans do not have a history as South Melbourne because they were a new team just like the Storm in the NRL, is wrong. Tell me which team was moved to create, or give birth, to The Storm. Again, these so-called journalists that have to have an opinion, often don't do their research. Maybe some-one could enlighten him. (Disclaimer : I also did not do any research, but then, I am not a journalist )
Bob Davis was wrong and he should be told he was wrong. The football public in Victoria sneers at the parochial followers in SA and WA, but little do they know they are guilty of the same offence. Most of us feel the utmost respect for Wet Toast supporters after their gallant behaviour last Saturday.
Clifford, who wrote the letter, is someone like me. No research, just type something on paper, send it of, and see what happens. That doesn't mean he is right or wrong. It's his opinion. Much the same as Mike Gibson is his and mine is .... well ... mine.

[Sean]

Originally posted by Frog
Bob Davis was wrong and he should be told he was wrong. The football public in Victoria sneers at the parochial followers in SA and WA, but little do they know they are guilty of the same offence.

I think that this issue is being blown out of proportion thanks to a letter written by an idiot but what you've said here is the major part of the problem. I actually thought that it was a bit of a disgrace that Bob Davis said that - we haven't been called South Melbourne for 20+ years and if Sydney fans should respect the South link then South fans should respect the fact that side is now called Sydney.

For someone with a very narrow mind, like Clifford, Saturday's events would be annoying. I think he's wrong but lets not just assume that there is no reason for someone to come to the conclusions that he and others have.

[Go Swannies]

If all the old South Melbourne supporters can join in the chants of "Sydney" and cry when we win, I don't see why we can't acknowledge the club's history and accept everyone with enthusiasm for the Swans - and that includes bandwagonners as well as those who were there for the 1933 victory and everyone else who came in in between.

[Nico]

Originally posted by Plugger46
That just makes my blood boil. Who does this idiot think he is.

You mean your beer boil dont you.

[lachlanc]

all been said before on this thread, but wanted to add my comment that the great thing about the Victory was its inclusiveness. its not the time to open wounds, but to let them heal for good.

one look at the expression on Bob Skilton's face after we won is incontravertible evidence that the "two cities, one dream" thing was powerful and real for many of us. I, for one, would never ever want to spoil it for him by re-opening a ridiculous old and increasingly irrelevant dispute about South Melbourne v. Sydney.

any sporting team attracts bandwagoners if it looks like winning a final - whether they live in sydney or melbourne - so its pointless to rubbish people for doing it. not everyone is as obsessed by the Swans as those of us who visit and post on this site.

let's just enjoy the Victory. if you want to see people turn on their own, check out eaglesflyinghigh.com