Whatever it takes

In the wake of the on-going supplements affair at the Bombers, and their appointment today of Ziggy Switkowski to review governance and procedures, it’s worth taking a step back and examining the AFL industry from a slightly different viewpoint.

 

Earlier today, a work colleague passed on to AussieRulesBlog a letter purporting to have been posted on a Carlton blog somewhere. It’s genuinely hilarious, but it points to the direction of this post.

 

AFL membership bases are increasingly vocal about perceived lack of success. Or should we say, at those clubs where success has been a fairly constant visitor over the last thirty or so years.

 

The Bombers’ membership slogan for 2013 says it in plain language: Whatever it takes. The apocryphal Carlton supporter’s letter alluded to above takes the same view: the ends justify the means. Certainly during the McGuire ascendancy at the Barcodes, there’s been a sense of entitlement to success.

 

AussieRulesBlog, as an Essendon member for most of the last fifty years, has always had a difficulty with those more recent Bomber adherents who suggest that the Bombers’ “rightful place” is at the top of the AFL tree. Lets not beat around the bush. That’s utter bollocks.

 

We remember the 70s, when the Dons would flatter to win a few games, but were, for the most part semi-competitive and simply making up the numbers.

 

We also remember in the late 60s and 70s the sense of entitlement of the Tiger horde — and we sincerely hope never to see them resurrected — that ended in the recruiting war that humbled the Tigers for a generation and the Barcodes for a decade.

 

The Blues of the 70s and 80s imbibed a sense of entitlement from their loudmouthed, opinionated and omnipresent President: a sense of entitlement that was dealt a blow when they were found to have blatantly rorted the salary cap. Creative salary cap manipulation isn’t a lost art at Princes Park either. Look at our post in recent days about the Judd arrangement with Visy.

 

Tell a St Kilda supporter about entitlement and ends justifying means. One Premiership in a century of competition. A Bulldogs supporter. One Premiership in ninety years of competition. A Fitzroy supporter, who has lost a club and only seen premierships since the mid-40s through a faintly distasteful surrogacy.

 

Club members, at least those at the powerful clubs, are no longer content to merely see their club compete and to enjoy the wins when they come. On-field success is the measuring stick, or at the very least the promise of imminent on-field success. Anything less and administrations are booted out.

 

AussieRulesBlog enjoys our team winning as much as most. We glory in those against-the-odds victories — the Zaharakis goal on Anzac Day, the ‘comeback’ against the Kangaroos — along with the rest. And we love victories against the oldest, most powerful foes. Some, like the Barcodes have earned respect. Some, like the Tigers, hint at the pain should the Bombers’ administration get it wrong, and some, like the Blues, . . . well, it’s just always good to beat the Bluebaggers.

 

And yet, we regard ourselves as fans of football first and the Bombers second. Without the competition around them, the Bombers are a meaningless construct. Success is certainly wonderful, but the game is more important than any club.

 

Whatever it takes? No. Work your hardest, give the best you’ve got to the contest, but respect your opponents and know that you’ve competed with honour.