Why doesn't anyone at the SCG sit at Kenny's end?

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  • bloodsbigot
    Regular in the Side
    • Mar 2010
    • 813

    Why doesn't anyone at the SCG sit at Kenny's end?

    Never actually been to the SCG and I've always wondered why most fans sit on the right hand side of the TV screen rather than the left side where Kenny Williams has always sat. Most weeks the right hand side is completely full and the other side is empty with the exception of a few fans (Kenny and his posse).

    Is it because it has a better view? Easier to get to? Closer to a bus-stop or station? Because nobody likes Kenny? More expensive?

    Sorry if the answer is bleeding obvious, it just seems like good seats are going to waste and doesn't look too good on TV. As far back as I can remember... (Around 1990), that particular area has always been empty with the exception of sell-outs.

    On a side note... they should rename that particularly seating area after Kenny. Opposition supporters have always recognized him.
  • ugg
    Can you feel it?
    Site Admin
    • Jan 2003
    • 15970

    #2
    The left hand side is for Red Zone members. Don't know how many there are but looks like much less than there are seats. The right hand side has remained for GA tickets, and out cheer squad

    The very first row of the new stands is noticeably lower than ground level. Hence if you sit there it can be hard to view play on the other side of the ground. In general sitting first row is a poor vantage point for Afl viewing

    Also, if you sit towards the back few rows you can have TV screens hanging from the roof, makes it easier to watch replays

    Technically though shouldn't those bays be for the away cheer squad ?
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    • DamY
      Senior Player
      • Sep 2011
      • 1479

      #3
      They've put opposition cheer squad in the bay to the left of it, dunno why hey. I'm loving new Red Zone!

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      • ScottH
        It's Goodes to cheer!!
        • Sep 2003
        • 23665

        #4
        Is it because of old man smell?

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        • baskin
          Long Term Injury List
          • Jan 2008
          • 286

          #5
          Originally posted by DamY
          They've put opposition cheer squad in the bay to the left of it, dunno why hey. I'm loving new Red Zone!
          Geelong has always had the away team cheer squad stuck in the pocket away from the goals and their own secondary cheer squad behind the goals. I've always considered it bad form. It takes away some more of the tradition of the game. Kenny got his head on the TV more than the actual Cheer Squad which is a bit sad. I love Kenny but I like the colour & movement a Cheer Squad provides, even if it is the opposition.
          Baskin

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          • bloodsbigot
            Regular in the Side
            • Mar 2010
            • 813

            #6
            Thank for the reply ugg! Understand now. Very strange arrangement by the SCG. You'd think they'd have rebuilt it more slanted for easier viewing.

            - - - Updated - - -

            Originally posted by ScottH
            Is it because of old man smell?
            Yes. Yes it is.

            - - - Updated - - -

            Originally posted by baskin
            Geelong has always had the away team cheer squad stuck in the pocket away from the goals and their own secondary cheer squad behind the goals. I've always considered it bad form. It takes away some more of the tradition of the game. Kenny got his head on the TV more than the actual Cheer Squad which is a bit sad. I love Kenny but I like the colour & movement a Cheer Squad provides, even if it is the opposition.
            Baskin
            This always annoyed me too. It almost seemed like the cats were cheating in a way. It's a bad position for a cheer squad to be in (Right next to the larger support group) and at an angle where you couldn't know for sure a goal was scored until the goal umpire gave the signal. There was dead silence until the goal was signalled and I found this highly frustrating.

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            • Matt80
              Suspended by the MRP
              • Sep 2013
              • 1802

              #7
              I was watching some old Warrick Capper highlights and there was Kenny behind the goals, cheering for Warrick. How long has Kenny been sitting in that seat and leading the team song? Can someone tell me the story behind the most famous Swans supporter?

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              • Primmy
                Proud Tragic Swan
                • Apr 2008
                • 5970

                #8
                He's been there since the Swans moved to Sydney. There used to be five friends together, now just Kenny and Mrs Kenny.
                The Club did a grand thing in 1996 by telling them they would take them to the MCG if the Swans got into the GF, and they did.
                They were also awarded special seats down behind the goals, with their names on them. Don't think that is the case these days. Those original seats were just garden chairs.
                They have always been on deck, Kenny is at all training and runs the water for the boys, and Mrs Kenny (Yvonne, but she has always been Mrs Kenny to me) provides a bit of home cooking for the boys and I suspect a shoulder and a home away from home.
                You can tell how much they are loved when the boys who have gone to other clubs come over and give them a hug before or after a game. Every time.
                If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhood

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                • Meg
                  Go Swannies!
                  Site Admin
                  • Aug 2011
                  • 4828

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Primmy
                  You can tell how much they are loved when the boys who have gone to other clubs come over and give them a hug before or after a game. Every time.
                  Thanks Primmy, yes I've noticed that. I particularly remember the first time we played the Bulldogs after BBB left us in rather tense circumstances. At the end of the match Barry came over to Kenny and with a beaming smile wrapped him up in a hug. Quite telling I thought.

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                  • bloodsbigot
                    Regular in the Side
                    • Mar 2010
                    • 813

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Matt80
                    I was watching some old Warrick Capper highlights and there was Kenny behind the goals, cheering for Warrick. How long has Kenny been sitting in that seat and leading the team song? Can someone tell me the story behind the most famous Swans supporter?
                    My Dad told me he used to see him around Lakeside Oval before 1982. Definitely one of our most diehard supporters. Wouldn't be surprised if he moved up to Sydney for the sole purpose of following the club.

                    I distinctly remember the first time I saw him speaking on camera. It was in 1995 versus the bombers. The boundary rider was chatting with him about raising money for the swans and he put in some money in the tin the boundary rider was carrying and said something like, "do it for me Plugger." Funnily enough, a year before this he was abusing Plugger in 1994.

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                    • dimelb
                      pr. dim-melb; m not f
                      • Jun 2003
                      • 6889

                      #11
                      Thanks Primmy and Meg. Terrific stories and an important part of our history.
                      He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)

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                      • Meg
                        Go Swannies!
                        Site Admin
                        • Aug 2011
                        • 4828

                        #12
                        3 April 2014. I think it was Kenny's 85th birthday.

                        Swans cult hero Kenny Williams was given an 85th birthday surprise by the boys at training today

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                        • dimelb
                          pr. dim-melb; m not f
                          • Jun 2003
                          • 6889

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Meg
                          3 April 2014. I think it was Kenny's 85th birthday.

                          SwansTV: Happy Birthday Kenny - sydneyswans.com.au
                          Nice. And he wiped his eye!
                          He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)

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                          • Triple B
                            Formerly 'BBB'
                            • Feb 2003
                            • 6999

                            #14
                            Kenny and Yvonne were interviewed in their usual spot on Sat during the reserves. I suspect it was Swans TV (not sure) in which case we will see it in the coming weeks...
                            Driver of the Dan Hannebery bandwagon....all aboard. 4th April 09

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                            • Meg
                              Go Swannies!
                              Site Admin
                              • Aug 2011
                              • 4828

                              #15
                              I stumbled across a Big Footy thread created in September 2012 about Kenny. There were a lot of nasty comments (typical of BF, the reason I don't usually read it). These comments had been read by Kenny's daughter Diane so she responded (remarkably politely given the provocation) with some background. Here is some of it.

                              "Hi all, I am Ken's daughter and am astonished by people's misinformation. Ken was a jockey not a footy player. He constantly has to reiterate this. He is a fan like everybody else but was the only constant supporter rain hail or shine, win or loose since they moved here. As a young child he and his Irish nana crept under the fence to watch the win in 1933 and he hasn't stopped loving the club despite coming to nsw to ride for tommySmith and my uncle phil (horse trainer). Many years ago he had a terrible stoke and his love of footy and his family got him through his rehab. He was invited by Ron barasi to sing the song and become a trainer at training. As he has got to 83 he feels it is an absolute privilege - he is blessed and relishes spending his life with these young men of character and talent We host new young boys in our home and support their journey regardless of how short lived with the club. The boys adore dad. He is like their combined grandpa. Mum bakes them birthday cakes and they share in their careers and their personal lives. They think dad is the thread from the earliest days to its present day and god willing, it's future.
                              Dad does press when asked and has a laugh with his boys but is actually a man of few words. The swans pumps the blood through his veins, his blood runs red and white. I wish every person I met had such passion in something as it really is INSPIRATIONAL Diane x
                              Sep 24, 2012"

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