Letter in the Herald-Sun today

[Doctor J.]

Originally posted by Bandwagoner'96
...t got worse Kirk yelling out 'for the bloods' - what about the rest of us?

Welcome to The Nation.

Kirks reference to "The Bloods" was a reference to the ethos that the current Sydney players have adopted. ie the never say die, in it together, one in all in ethos. By saying "this is for the Bloods" was more to do with recognising the effort that the players had put in for the last 3 seasons to achieve the success. In my opinion it had nothing at all to do with the past history of the club.

As for Bob Davis. Effing old fossil.
No Problem with Roosy's speech.

[BayesysLeftBoot]

Originally posted by Bandwagoner'96
...Listen, I was really proud that the Swans still had old fans south of the border and even those old 'Bulldogs' on the other side of the country....but comments made after the victory have left me with some regret.

I have no problem admitting that I actually cried after the game, however it turned bitter with all the constant references to South Melbourne and Bloods...I'm a Swannie not a blood. I have no issue with history and that's great BUT SYDNEY and SWANS should be made mention of before South Melbourne or Bloods...otherwise you're gonna be alientating a large portion of fans in a market you're trying to attract.

Watching some of those old Wide World of Sports moments with Davis and Richards was always good...now Davis can get f&$cked! from tears to bitterness is what I felt when he came up to present the cup...Hell I'd have preferred Barassi or even Rocket Eade!! it got worse Kirk yelling out 'for the bloods' - what about the rest of us? Some as my nick will suggest have been fans since the 1996 season...are we considered still as Sydney newbies and not as important as the bloods?? I don't care if Roos said 'South Melbourne SLASH Sydney'...at the end of the day SYDNEY comes first and then you can mention the rest.

At the end of the day if the Swans are South Melbourne in disguise to appease old fans then that's me out. If Sydney is there to attract a new market and WELCOME old fans who RESPECT the new and not continually going on about HISTORY then I'll stick around.

I don't think references to South Melbourne are something you will have to worry about in the future, I think it was just the fact that it was the first swans premiership in 72 years that caused it's over use by the media.

Secondly the red and white have been known as the swans ever since most melbourne based supporters were born so I don't think anyone has a problem refering to them as the swans. I doubt any Melbourne based supporters would prefer the team to be known as the bloods than the swans anyway, but if the media and the players want to use it as a nickname I'm more than happy for them to do so (It's no different to the roos being reffered to as the shinboners).

Personally I use all three terms: Bloods, Swans and Sydney when refering to my team and happily interchange between them when screaming my lungs out at the footy. The only thing I really hold sacred is the colours and I was outraged when the suggestion of changing them came up in the early 90s.

[goswannie14]

Morons like Cliff are the reason that the so-called National Rugby League has only two states represented plus a token team from Melb. One day he'll wake up and find that he is in the 21st Century...and that all of us who follow the Swans are celebrating a premiership.

Just a thought, maybe he's peed off cos he couldn't get a GF ticket with all of us old Sth Melb/Sydney supporters on the "band wagon"

[robbieando]

Originally posted by Bandwagoner'96
I have no issue with history and that's great BUT SYDNEY and SWANS should be made mention of before South Melbourne or Bloods

What came first, The chicken or the egg??? At the end of the day this club was born in South Melbourne in 1874 and from there grew into what is now known as the Sydney Swans. Its not a competition over which part of our history is more important because its all one big thing, split between two cities.

it got worse Kirk yelling out 'for the bloods' - what about the rest of us?

Quite easy, as stated by other here, the "for the bloods" was in regards to the playing group and a sign of respect to our clubs history. Don't like it take it up with the players.

At the end of the day if the Swans are South Melbourne in disguise to appease old fans then that's me out.

Good. Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you.

If Sydney is there to attract a new market and WELCOME old fans who RESPECT the new and not continually going on about HISTORY then I'll stick around.

Looks like you'll be leaving us then, because they club has made it clear that they want to keep showing respect to this clubs history and not write off anything that happened before 1982.

[swansrule100]

dont see why theres too much fuss over the bloods, its no different to the shinboner spirit, it seems to have helped the teams footy.


Today will one day be history and it will be noted and the past must be noted and respected now, we have a team thats been in two different states, so what, you dont have to live in the suburb of sth melbourne or the city of sydney to support the club, whatever club you go for has history, name changes etc etc who gives a toss.

If you want to support the swans and ignore sth melbourne yourself then u can, it wouldnt be hard, but most people are proud of this club and where it has been and see everything as one proud history!

[Sanecow]

Originally posted by swansrule100
whatever club you go for has history, name changes etc etc

Amusingly enough a WCE supporter tried to pull the "your club must suck to have had to move to Sydney" line. Short memory on the move from the WACA to Subi. How many teams are still based at their original home ground? Big deal!

[Bandwagoner'96]

Kirks reference to "The Bloods" was a reference to the ethos that the current Sydney players have adopted. ie the never say die, in it together, one in all in ethos. By saying "this is for the Bloods" was more to do with recognising the effort that the players had put in for the last 3 seasons to achieve the success. In my opinion it had nothing at all to do with the past history of the club.

Thanks for the clarification...I guess Davis got the 'blood' ;-)
boiling to begin with. If it is as you say then okay, no issue with the nickname.

I don't think references to South Melbourne are something you will have to worry about in the future, I think it was just the fact that it was the first swans premiership in 72 years that caused it's over use by the media.

Let me clarify something. I'm not against the acknowledgement of South Melbourne. Historically that's where we came from - I've already made that quite clear in my first post. My only problem was that there was too much emphasis on Souths and let's be frank - none on Sydney. Had Davis not made his comments
I doubt I would have been so touchy on Roos stating South SLASH Sydney ;-) I hope we still do hear the name South - in the right context of course - as it should never be forgotten. Who knows like some of the NRL franchises they might start being called the Swans with no relevance to any city...

BUT I won't let you get away with the "it took us 72 years", no way I wanna wait 72 years to hear the emphasis on Sydney!! ;-)

Morons like Cliff are the reason that the so-called National Rugby League has only two states represented plus a token team from Melb. One day he'll wake up and find that he is in the 21st Century...and that all of us who follow the Swans are celebrating a premiership.

So much for not wanting to make this a Syd v Melb thing. Too much discussion on Sydney 'NRL' types and no real mention of 'fickle' southerners who still don't rate Sydney AFL or swan fans.

What came first, The chicken or the egg??? At the end of the day this club was born in South Melbourne in 1874 and from there grew into what is now known as the Sydney Swans. Its not a competition over which part of our history is more important because its all one big thing, split between two cities.

Tell me was it the chicken or the egg??? Then I guess the mentioning of the colours and the V from the Bulldogs and all 'em sandgropers from WA to give us the name the swans was a constant mention during *our* first three premierships??? As for being split in 2, nice to know there is 2 of me as opposed to 1 reject like yourself :-)

Looks like you'll be leaving us then, because they club has made it clear that they want to keep showing respect to this clubs history and not write off anything that happened before 1982.

Ahhh robbie we've just met and I can see you're a real hoot! Do you comprehend English at all?? Please show me where in that quote I made any reference to omitting the HISTORY? Made mention that the Swans are only A team for Sydneysiders/NSW???
The only reason I would be leaving Robbie is if as I stated earlier, the Swans focus was only on Victorians. Is that easier to understand or you want me to use pics and crayons??

[lachlanc]

People....I'm very concerned that all this Swans v. Bloods furore is going to spoil that warm inner glow all of us (no matter where we come from) are entitled to feel after that brilliant victory last Saturday.

Let everyone enjoy it in their own way. I was really really touched by a post on the "official congratulations" thread where a woman from Melbourne talked about going to visit her father's grave (an old south's supporter) on the day after the GF and they cried as they sang the club song and be-decked the gravestone with the red and white. If this isn't sport intersecting with real life, please tell me otherwise. She said there were other gravestones with red and white on them too. This means a hell of a lot to a lot of people.

Surely we have to be a "broad church" and that church has branches in south melbourne and all through sydney. its a historical anomolie, for sure, but that's how it is. No-one can change that history

everyone has their own story about how they came to support the team that won last saturday. Surely it doesn't matter how you got there.

For myself, i grew up in SA in the 70s as a mad supporter of a team in the SANFL (Crouch's home of Norwood). But when I moved to Sydney in 91, I totally embraced the Swans and have been a fan ever since.

Maybe I'm a bandwagoner. Frankly I don't care. I fell to the ground and cried with joy when we won on Saturday, and I've been on a high ever since. Even drove three hours from where in live (NSW north coast, a nest of league fans!) to the SCG on Sunday to attend the celebrations, and cried with joy again.

This premiership has been one of the best things I can remember in my 43 years on this planet. Its even better than the premierships my team Norwood won in the 70s and 80s because the story is so much more powerful.

Its ridiculous for people to think that they hold the "sacred flame" of the team, and that it excludes everyone else. Personally, I'm delighted to share it with anyone who declares allegiance to our fantastic team. Look at where the players come from, for example.

If Kennelly from Ireland can play with Buchanan of Colac and they can win the ultimate prize through playing brilliant team football together then I can share my team with anybody else who loves them as much as I do.

[Charlie]

I can't help wondering if Brisbane-based Lions fans would have gotten so uptight if Davis had presented the cup in 2001 and said 'I hope Leigh Matthews makes sure Fitzroy doesn't have to wait another 57 years for its next flag'.

Or would there be outrage if it had been the Doggies breaking a drought on Saturday, and Davis had said 'Footscray' rather than 'Western Bulldogs'?

The 'South Melbourne' focus is fairly simple. It was partly driven by the Herald Sun and The Age looking for a Victorian angle to what is, after all, a Victorian institution (the Grand Final). That's NOT saying that its only Victorian, far from it. But the truth is that football isn't just part of the culture here... it IS the culture here. Make no mistake - the Melbourne Cup, Boxing Day Test and Grand Prix are big here, but the GF is number one. The Melbourne papers, as the Melbourne papers, played up a Melbourne aspect of the story. I'm not sure why that surprises anyone.

It was also partly driven by the sheer reality of that story. It HAD been 72 years. It HAD been the longest existing drought in elite Australian sport. That's a good story, any way you look at it, and it was never going to be ignored. And once the story was focused on, it was unavoidable (and nor should it be avoided) that the club's South Melbourne heritage took a key role in the story.

I honestly don't get what *some* Sydneysiders are getting worked up about. What on earth is wrong with being the Australian sporting club with the biggest support outside its own city? To me, its something unique and it should be celebrated, not ignored.

[Charlie]

Originally posted by lachlanc

Its ridiculous for people to think that they hold the "sacred flame" of the team, and that it excludes everyone else. Personally, I'm delighted to share it with anyone who declares allegiance to our fantastic team.

Amen.

[swansrule100]

people seem to have find a problem with everything

we won a flag

lets be happy and accept that in reality in doesnt matter where an afl team is based it has support all over the country.


IF we can keep builidng the spirit between the two cities and make the most of it we will always play "home" games. The history of the club is a bonus. Bob davis can call us the seagulls for all i care it doesnt change anything!

[lachlanc]

i wasn't lucky enough to be at the MCG last Saturday but would anyone who was there made a distinction between the people in the next row, wearing full Swans gear, simply because they came from the wrong side of this Sydney/Melbourne/Bloods/Swans divide.

I don't think so. Surely they would have fallen into each other's arms at the final siren and screamed with delight!

Just as our fans did all over Australia, and even all over the world. I had friends who flew in from Hong Kong to Melbourne for the game.

(they left pretty happy, I can tell you)

[bloodz&guts]

Originally posted by lachlanc
People....I'm very concerned that all this Swans v. Bloods furore is going to spoil that warm inner glow all of us (no matter where we come from) are entitled to feel after that brilliant victory last Saturday.

Let everyone enjoy it in their own way. I was really really touched by a post on the "official congratulations" thread where a woman from Melbourne talked about going to visit her father's grave (an old south's supporter) on the day after the GF and they cried as they sang the club song and be-decked the gravestone with the red and white. If this isn't sport intersecting with real life, please tell me otherwise. She said there were other gravestones with red and white on them too. This means a hell of a lot to a lot of people.

Surely we have to be a "broad church" and that church has branches in south melbourne and all through sydney. its a historical anomolie, for sure, but that's how it is. No-one can change that history

everyone has their own story about how they came to support the team that won last saturday. Surely it doesn't matter how you got there.

For myself, i grew up in SA in the 70s as a mad supporter of a team in the SANFL (Crouch's home of Norwood). But when I moved to Sydney in 91, I totally embraced the Swans and have been a fan ever since.

Maybe I'm a bandwagoner. Frankly I don't care. I fell to the ground and cried with joy when we won on Saturday, and I've been on a high ever since. Even drove three hours from where in live (NSW north coast, a nest of league fans!) to the SCG on Sunday to attend the celebrations, and cried with joy again.

This premiership has been one of the best things I can remember in my 43 years on this planet. Its even better than the premierships my team Norwood won in the 70s and 80s because the story is so much more powerful.

Its ridiculous for people to think that they hold the "sacred flame" of the team, and that it excludes everyone else. Personally, I'm delighted to share it with anyone who declares allegiance to our fantastic team. Look at where the players come from, for example.

If Kennelly from Ireland can play with Buchanan of Colac and they can win the ultimate prize through playing brilliant team football together then I can share my team with anybody else who loves them as much as I do.

Well said,I totally agree with what you have written, I too have come from a similar background as you (grew up supporting Glenelg) but have followed the Swans since around 1981 and I don't care from what side of the border you come from as long as you are a true supporter and follow your club thru thick and thin.

[Bandwagoner'96]

I can't help wondering if Brisbane-based Lions fans would have gotten so uptight if Davis had presented the cup in 2001 and said 'I hope Leigh Matthews makes sure Fitzroy doesn't
have to wait another 57 years for its next flag'.

Lions are a merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Lions...Sydney is more like the LA raiders moving to Oakland...

Or would there be outrage if it had been the Doggies breaking a drought on Saturday, and Davis had said 'Footscray' rather than 'Western Bulldogs'?

I think a team name change and a relocation to a non-AFL state looking for a new market is 2 different things...

I honestly don't get what *some* Sydneysiders are getting worked up about. What on earth is
wrong with being the Australian sporting club with the biggest support outside its own city
? To me, its something unique and it should be celebrated, not ignored.

So if all the attention was on Sydney and South Melbourne and the rich history was ignored...you telling me you wouldn't be worked up? Think about that.

[swan_song]

don't get sucked in...it's probably Mike Gibson's nom de plume...