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  1. #1
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    Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Bob Murphy



    WHEN I was nine, I asked my dad if I could change the team I barracked for. Up until that point I'd been a Tigers man (just like my dad), but having endured another flogging on the TV, I thought it was time for a change.

    So I asked - or rather, told - dad that I would now be barracking for Collingwood. He didn't really react at all, just said ''no problem'', or words to that effect, and walked off into the kitchen.

    As soon as the words had left my mouth I regretted them, and I could tell dad was disappointed. It didn't take long for me to reassure dear ol' da that I was a Tiger again.
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    That was in 1991. Just the other day I was subjected to a similar event, and I've been unsettled ever since. Horrified, in fact.

    The weekend before last, I took my little family to the footy at Port Melbourne to watch the preliminary final between Williamstown and Werribee. I took Jarvis by the hand and we walked up ahead as the girls tucked in behind us on the footpath.
    Jarvis is a chatterer; he could talk a glass eye to sleep. Anyway, he was jabbering on about all sorts of things when he asked me a typical question of a boy coming up to four years old.
    ''Dad, do you like magpies?''
    To which I replied: ''They're all right mate, but sometimes they can be a bit mean and swoop you.''
    Then the unthinkable took place. I'll let my son take it from here.
    ''Yeah, I like magpies, magpies are good. They're good players. The Magpies are my team …''
    My wife's face shot up and we both looked at each other in utter confusion and panic. Where had all this come from?

    Up until this point young Jarvis had shown no interest in football of any kind. I didn't know he was aware of the Magpies, never mind the notion of pledging allegiance.
    What happened next is not something either Jarvis's mum or myself are proud of, but we did kind of, sort of, snap back with: ''No Jarvis! Dad's team is the Bulldogs! Your team's the Bulldogs too!'' I can't remember who said what, but that was the crux of it.
    A few seconds passed before his little chin began to shake and a few tears trickled down the cheeks. For the time being it would seem that the Magpies really were going to be my son's team. As perverse as that was, I had to let it be and hope he would crawl back into line like I'd done two decades earlier.

    The season began (for this columnist anyway) with me being shat on by a Magpie. It could all come full circle and end in a Magpie cakewalk - with my son cheering them on as the cherry on top of a disastrous 2011. Oh dear, I need a lie down.

    Speaking of the Magpies, they are lucky to even be in the grand final after Hawthorn gave them the scare of their lives last Friday night. I almost hit my head on the roof when Lance Franklin dribbled through what I called at the time ''the best goal I've ever seen''.
    It's a shame we won't be seeing ''Buddy'' or Cyril Rioli on the big stage on Saturday, but you have to give credit to Collingwood, which got itself off the canvas to sneak home. Luke Ball is one of my favourites, and his goal to put the Magpies in front was full of thought and class.
    The whole drama of the night and of the knife's edge of one's football life was too much for Mick Malthouse, and his tears once again showed how much people invest personally in the bounce of an oval ball. It serves us well to cry once in a while, just as it serves us really poorly to stand on a rotating wheel in front of a TV camera. Blimey.

    My fancy to win on Saturday is Geelong. The Cats are like the Beatles - they are just that good, and their style of play is pure. They have Luke Balls on every line, players who think about every possession.

    I love watching players create things with the ball in their hands, and this year's grand finalists have plenty. They'll line up and face off on Saturday as the anthem plays, and the silence will be sucked out of the stadium by the roars of the opposing tribes. You don't need to have an interest in football for that to give you tingles.

    I'm also pleased to report that Jarvis did sidle up to me last night and whisper: ''The Magpies aren't my team, dad, the Bulldogs are!'' With that kind of turnaround and a new coach as well, I can feel good things for my Bulldogs just around the corner.

    That's me signing off for another year, without even mentioning my dog. It's been a ride and never dull, just as the premiership decider is bound to be.
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  2. #2
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Great stuff Murph! Some of his articles are a bit "same old same old" for me, but this one was funny.
    [B][COLOR="#0000CD"]Our club was born in blood and boots, not in AFL focus groups.[/COLOR][/B]

  3. #3
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    A great article but gee it's depressing to think that even kids of our players are vulnerable to choosing other teams. Murph, make sure Jarvis NEVER succumbs!

  4. #4
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Sockeye had a very similar thing happen with his Pup this season.

  5. #5
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by KT31 View Post
    Sockeye had a very similar thing happen with his Pup this season.
    He decided to jump on the Storm instead

  6. #6
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon View Post
    He decided to jump on the Storm instead
    And he still didn't get the result. Bugger.

  7. #7
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon View Post
    He decided to jump on the Storm instead
    Changing clubs is one thing but changing codes!!! It has signs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader all over it. Only Rugby is the dark side.
    Don't piss off old people
    The older we get the less "LIFE IN PRISON" is a deterrent...

  8. #8
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Hotdog60 View Post
    Changing clubs is one thing but changing codes!!! It has signs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader all over it. Only Rugby is the dark side.
    Rather a rugby supporter than a Pie's or Saint's supporter.

    Although if the pups had gone that way it would have saved me the $600 dental bill last month.

  9. #9
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by KT31 View Post
    Rather a rugby supporter than a Pie's or Saint's supporter.

    Although if the pups had gone that way it would have saved me the $600 dental bill last month.
    Thanks for making laugh
    Don't piss off old people
    The older we get the less "LIFE IN PRISON" is a deterrent...

  10. #10
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Hotdog60 View Post
    Changing clubs is one thing but changing codes!!! It has signs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader all over it. Only Rugby is the dark side.
    Sorry, but I would change codes before I supported any other scum team in the AFL.
    But then again, I'm an Internet poster and Bevo is a premiership coach so draw your own conclusions.

  11. #11
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by 1eyedog View Post
    Sorry, but I would change codes before I supported any other scum team in the AFL.
    If there wasn't any Bulldogs, I'd drop sport all together except for Bathurst and the Olympic and Commonwealth Games
    Don't piss off old people
    The older we get the less "LIFE IN PRISON" is a deterrent...

  12. #12
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon View Post
    He decided to jump on the Storm instead
    That's not so bad - I started going to Storm games as well! Good to have a team in either code, surely?

  13. #13
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Magic Griffen View Post
    That's not so bad - I started going to Storm games as well! Good to have a team in either code, surely?
    Definately. I'm a proud member of both the Bulldogs & the Storm. Love both sports equally. And none of our games even clashed this year - bonus!!

  14. #14
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    Re: Changing allegiances a very big deal

    Quote Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon View Post
    He decided to jump on the Storm instead
    Just another prelim loss... No biggy

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