When will the pain of 1997 go away?

[LostDoggy]

The 1997 Prelim is the only game that i have ever cried as a result of. I was completely decimated and could not speak to anyone for about 3 days. Devastating. I have never watched the game again.

[jeemak]

Sympathise! I remember a very mouthy Adelaide mob too, it was so unnecessary how many of them behaved and it seems it happened to more than one of us. A loose acquaintance of mine actually decked a mouthy Adelaide yob in one of the ramps. I don't condone it all, but I can understand why he did it. Their venom made the day extra shite.

My mother and I recollect how feral and tribal their crowd was coming off the coaches on the Swan St side of the foot bridge leading over to the G. Objectively looking at it, they actually knew they were in with a fighting chance from the very beginning, and they roard louder than I've heard a Bulldogs crowd roar. It was almost as if they knew they had a right to be there, and we didn't, which is kind of why the feeling I get from the game is one of being pathetic. By no means does that excuse their brutish behavior after the siren. Some of it was completely disgraceful.

I think we all experienced the shameful abuse after the game in one way or another. For me, it was an early lesson that entitlement and success is not a forebearer of class and grace. The Adelaide Crows are a typical example (and always will be, especially considreing their latest player management exploits and their token efforts to make right of the situation this draft period) of what can happen when entitlement and fortune is served on a platter by the AFL administration.

As much as I despised the 2009 prelim loss, and the lack of cordiality amongst the St Kilda supporters (MCC) throughout the game, there was nowhere near the abuse that was served up in 1997 after the siren was blown.

Crows supporters will always have a special place in my heart as a breed that does not deserve any conciliation in times of hardship.

[LongWait]

The 1997 Prelim is the only game that i have ever cried as a result of. I was completely decimated and could not speak to anyone for about 3 days. Devastating. I have never watched the game again.

It was the first and only time I ever saw my father cry - I was 39 and he was 62 at the time.

[strebla]

I am still so thankfully I was overseas .I called at 3/4 time to hear we were 5 goals up after the game I made about 20 phone call all of which went unanswered got excited thinking everyone is lining up for tickets.I then rand a dogs supporter working at werribee train station to relieve the news .i was in a hotel room with 3 Canadians and 2 poms it was 85 all over again!!!!! Not proud to say that the young ladies in our group certainly saw a performance the pain and the grief spewed forth as I lost the plot then he tears even so far away it broke my heart I have never and will never ever watch it .It remains the only final series I haven't watched and still can't bear to think about.

[Twodogs]

1985 was pretty hard to take too. Bloody Hawthorn took us to the cleaners a fortnight before in the Qualifying final but we played them again and we were in it to our eyeballs until bloody Leigh Matthews got away from us and won the game for them.

[craigsahibee]

We blew it. We just blew it. We didn't take our chances but they did. The winner takes it all.

I often think of what might have been had 3 of our best players from that season been in the team, Southern, Dimmatina & Kolyniuk. All sitting in the stands. More ifs and buts!

Yes, Daniel Southern, the first player to be suspended for wrestling. The final game of the home and away season we played Hawthorn at Waverley. Hawthorn had absolutely nothing to play for so they decided to put cash in to a pool for a winner take all prize for their most toughest player on the ground.

All day they were firing off cheap shots of which Dimma retaliated and copped 2 weeks and Southern went to the aid of Westy who was being mauled and as a result of being the 3rd man in was charged and subsequently suspended because of priors.

One of the reasons why I despise the Hawthorn Football Club immensely and wish nothing but pain and misery on them.

[EasternWest]

It was the first and only time I ever saw my father cry - I was 39 and he was 62 at the time.

Out of all these sad posts, yours made me the saddest.

A real Wonder Years moment. I read it in grown up Kevin Arnold's voice.

[jeemak]

Out of all these sad posts, yours made me the saddest.

A real Wonder Years moment. I read it in grown up Kevin Arnold's voice.

I read your post in Higgins off Magnum PI's voice.

[EasternWest]

I read your post in Higgins off Magnum PI's voice.

I read your post in Stephen Hawking's voice when he was on The Simpsons.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

The 1997 Prelim is the only game that i have ever cried as a result of. I was completely decimated and could not speak to anyone for about 3 days. Devastating. I have never watched the game again.

Same same

[bornadog]

I put the mozz on the boys at three quarter time. I was living in Singapore at the time and listening on the radio. At three quarter time, I remember saying to my wife, we are 30 minutes away from the Grand Final and she said don't say that.

I had my plane booked and everything ready to come back I have never watched that whole match only some bits and pieces and couldn't stand it any longer.

[Twodogs]

Out of all these sad posts, yours made me the saddest.

A real Wonder Years moment. I read it in grown up Kevin Arnold's voice.

I read your post in Higgins off Magnum PI's voice.

I read your post in Stephen Hawking's voice when he was on The Simpsons.

I just yelled "Timmyyyy" a lot.

[Sedat]

We blew it. We just blew it. We didn't take our chances but they did. The winner takes it all.

I often think of what might have been had 3 of our best players from that season been in the team, Southern, Dimmatina & Kolyniuk. All sitting in the stands. More ifs and buts!

The irony is that we were so efficient with our scoring in the first 3 quarters and Adelaide missed a truckload of chances in that time. Truth be told, we really only played 1 quarter of sublime football in that game - we kicked 8 of our 13 goals in the 2nd qtr. Adelaide dominated the 1st and 3rd but couldn't get any scoreboard pressure, and whilst we dominated the first 10 minutes of the last qtr, we were running on the spot thereafter and were completely overrun when the whips were cracking.

Agree with the 1985 calls, but I was also shattered after 2008. We played our assess off against Geelong and should have been in front in the last qtr - we dominated almost the entire 2nd half and were running Geelong completely off their feet but completely butchered our goalkicking, with 8 points in a row (not including the Eagle not even making the distance from a set shot from 35 metres out dead in front, and also a few out of bounds on the full). I remember Minson clunking a couple of massive pack marks and then shanking his shots at goal. The final straw was Brad Johnson being borderline sexually assaulted by Max Rooke after taking a clear mark, and the umpire waving play on to kill the match off once and for all in time-on of the last qtr - we were still withing a couple of goals and still in it up to our eyeballs. Also had Higgins kicked 4.1 instead of 1.4 in the 1st qtr, it would have completely changed the course of the match - Milburn would have stopped playing off his man and going 3rd man in, which would have created more one-on-ones up forward, and instead of playing catch-up after a poor 2nd qtr we would have been level pegging at half time.

The only PF that doesn't do my head in is 1992, because we were nowhere near Geelong's class and were never a show. Considering our club virtually ceased to exist only a couple of years earlier, 1992 will always remain one of my favourite seasons of all time as a Dogs supporter. We ended up equal top with 16 wins, won an awesome final against a rampant St Kilda and saw a 19yo Chris Grant completely dominate a final off his own boot.

[w3design]

Sedat your post brought back memories I thought I'd forgotten of the 08 pain. Maybe because of our inept showing v hawks in first week I didn't really see us as a big show against Geelong in the prelim. Your post reminded me that in reality we should have beaten them. Those shots on goal..and Eagleton 's pitiful miss...and THAT decision on JOhnno...how much agony we have endured as Dogs fans.

[bornadog]

The only PF that doesn't do my head in is 1992, because we were nowhere near Geelong's class and were never a show. Considering our club virtually ceased to exist only a couple of years earlier, 1992 will always remain one of my favourite seasons of all time as a Dogs supporter. We ended up equal top with 16 wins, won an awesome final against a rampant St Kilda and saw a 19yo Chris Grant completely dominate a final off his own boot.

Like many a Prelim we really missed two big names that year due to injury.

Fossie with his broken leg after the disgusting kickcing and tripping by that dud from Hawthorn (whose name escapes but should have got 10 weeks), and the Brownlow medalist of that year, Wynd, out due to injury. Fossie would have stopped Brownless kicking goals and Wynd would have been the dominant big man. We had a great first half but died in the second half.