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Barassi back in Demon colours
April 24, 2004
THE great Ron Barassi no longer bleeds for the Bloods.
The football legend credited with saving the Swans in the early '90s will be barracking against them tonight when Sydney and Melbourne battle at Telstra Stadium for the Barassi Cup.
Barassi confirmed yesterday that he had officially traded all allegiances to the Swans and gone back to his roots at the Demons.
Until the end of last season, Barassi, a Swans life member, had been on the Sydney board of directors since ending a coaching stint from 1993 to 1995, which not only brought credibility to the team but got the club off life-support.
This year Barassi re-established his ties with Melbourne in the hope he could help the Demons fight their way out of a crippling $5 million debt.
But after playing a major role in weaving AFL and the Swans into the fickle sporting fabric of Sydney, it will come as a shock to many Swans fans that Barassi no longer will "cheer, cheer the red and the white".
"I thought I might get asked that question," said Barassi. "No, I've decided to be a Melbourne supporter and I'm going to barrack for Melbourne [tonight].
"It's not going to be easy but I can't be ambivalent about this. I've got to decide to go back to my beginnings.
Barassi admits the decision would have been harder to reach if Melbourne were playing the Swans in the opening round, but the more he talks about it the more it seems he never really left Melbourne.
"Once you start barracking for a side that's it," he said.
The Barassi story is arguably the greatest story ever told in VFL-AFL history.
Ron Barassi Sr played 58 games for the Demons and was a member of their 1940 premiership team before he was killed at Tobruk in 1941, aged 27.
Barassi Jr was just five at the time but grew up to become the greatest Demon of all, playing 204 games, winning six premierships between 1953-1964, captaining the club for five years and winning two best-and-fairest awards.
"It's more than all that ? I was born the son of a Melbourne premiership player so there's all that history," Barassi said. "Up until the age of 31 I was a Melbourne supporter . . . my mother was at the club, I was welcome there as a little kid fondly because of the circumstances."
After losing the inaugural Barassi Cup to the Swans on Anzac Day last season, the Demons never recovered, coming a dismal 14th on the ladder while Sydney soared to a top-four finish.
This year Melbourne, like the Swans, have started impressively but Barassi isn't getting excited just yet.
April 24, 2004
THE great Ron Barassi no longer bleeds for the Bloods.
The football legend credited with saving the Swans in the early '90s will be barracking against them tonight when Sydney and Melbourne battle at Telstra Stadium for the Barassi Cup.
Barassi confirmed yesterday that he had officially traded all allegiances to the Swans and gone back to his roots at the Demons.
Until the end of last season, Barassi, a Swans life member, had been on the Sydney board of directors since ending a coaching stint from 1993 to 1995, which not only brought credibility to the team but got the club off life-support.
This year Barassi re-established his ties with Melbourne in the hope he could help the Demons fight their way out of a crippling $5 million debt.
But after playing a major role in weaving AFL and the Swans into the fickle sporting fabric of Sydney, it will come as a shock to many Swans fans that Barassi no longer will "cheer, cheer the red and the white".
"I thought I might get asked that question," said Barassi. "No, I've decided to be a Melbourne supporter and I'm going to barrack for Melbourne [tonight].
"It's not going to be easy but I can't be ambivalent about this. I've got to decide to go back to my beginnings.
Barassi admits the decision would have been harder to reach if Melbourne were playing the Swans in the opening round, but the more he talks about it the more it seems he never really left Melbourne.
"Once you start barracking for a side that's it," he said.
The Barassi story is arguably the greatest story ever told in VFL-AFL history.
Ron Barassi Sr played 58 games for the Demons and was a member of their 1940 premiership team before he was killed at Tobruk in 1941, aged 27.
Barassi Jr was just five at the time but grew up to become the greatest Demon of all, playing 204 games, winning six premierships between 1953-1964, captaining the club for five years and winning two best-and-fairest awards.
"It's more than all that ? I was born the son of a Melbourne premiership player so there's all that history," Barassi said. "Up until the age of 31 I was a Melbourne supporter . . . my mother was at the club, I was welcome there as a little kid fondly because of the circumstances."
After losing the inaugural Barassi Cup to the Swans on Anzac Day last season, the Demons never recovered, coming a dismal 14th on the ladder while Sydney soared to a top-four finish.
This year Melbourne, like the Swans, have started impressively but Barassi isn't getting excited just yet.
