Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

[Ozza]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

Geelong in camouflage, Bulldogs playing in red… surely it doesn't help with those automatic reactions? Surely on some level the players are conditioned to look for the royal blue, it must just take a split second to adjust to looking for red? Or is that ridiculous?

(Never played team sport, happy to be corrected.)

I don't really know what the right answer to that question is, however, an anectdote from when I played a significantly lower/slower version of footy!:

I played for a side who wore green and gold, and one day the opposition we were playing were also green and gold. I asked our team manager whether the opposition would be wearing a clash strip and he laughed. "What for, you don't clash!"....'Well, we're both wearing green and gold!'..."They've got white shorts, you've got green. You know our blokes, you don't know them...there's no drama!".

Sure enough...when playing, I never thought about a clash once and didn't think it was an issue out there. The mind works pretty quickly and adjusts quickly. So all these clash jumpers, after teams haven't clashed for 100 years prior - I don't really think its for the players - its for the spectators.

[1eyedog]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

I might sound a bit Sam Newmanish here but we've been playing Geelong since 1925 and there hasn't been a problem with the two guernseys until recently. In all my years of going to watch these two teams (and I was born and raised in Geelong so saw all our away matches down there), I have never had to stop and look twice to determine which player was ours. It must be said that I haven't been under any pressure as a spectator other than juggling four beers back to my standing position and my differentiating between the two has never had the repercussion of turning the ball over to the opposition.

Still, in all my time I can't remember a time when we have blatantly kicked the ball to a Geelong bloke because our guernseys clashed, blue, white, red or otherwise. I don't think the umpires have a hard time of it either, except for that time when that stupid umpire in our Prelim match against Geelong mistook Max Rooke for a Bulldogs player who had just poleaxed Brad Johnson on the half back flank, to which Rooke subsequently goaled thereby snuffing out a Grand Final berth...

For those that missed the night when the umpires mistook Max Rooke for a Bulldog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FAx5j30zVk

[Sedat]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

For those that missed the night when the umpires mistook Max Rooke for a Bulldog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FAx5j30zVk

Thanks 1eyedog, really needed to see that again!

[1eyedog]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

Sorry Sedat, I haven't got over it yet and think of it often. My therapist said that talking about my Bulldog-related problems will help.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

My eyes my eyes

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

Geelong in camouflage, Bulldogs playing in red… surely it doesn't help with those automatic reactions? Surely on some level the players are conditioned to look for the royal blue, it must just take a split second to adjust to looking for red? Or is that ridiculous?

(Never played team sport, happy to be corrected.)

You will find that this is a ruling by the AFL to suit the television audiences, which I struggle with given some of the ridiculous choice of jumpers.

[merantau]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

I might sound a bit Sam Newmanish here but we've been playing Geelong since 1925 and there hasn't been a problem with the two guernseys until recently. In all my years of going to watch these two teams (and I was born and raised in Geelong so saw all our away matches down there), I have never had to stop and look twice to determine which player was ours. It must be said that I haven't been under any pressure as a spectator other than juggling four beers back to my standing position and my differentiating between the two has never had the repercussion of turning the ball over to the opposition.

Still, in all my time I can't remember a time when we have blatantly kicked the ball to a Geelong bloke because our guernseys clashed, blue, white, red or otherwise. I don't think the umpires have a hard time of it either, except for that time when that stupid umpire in our Prelim match against Geelong mistook Max Rooke for a Bulldogs player who had just poleaxed Brad Johnson on the half back flank, to which Rooke subsequently goaled thereby snuffing out a Grand Final berth...

For those that missed the night when the umpires mistook Max Rooke for a Bulldog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FAx5j30zVk

Thanks for posting. A bitter memory. As for the commentators!!! Max Rooke - the first player to have eyes IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!!

[Twodogs]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

Thanks for posting. A bitter memory. As for the commentators!!! Max Rooke - the first player to have eyes IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!!!

Yeah. I don't know what eyes the commentators were looking at. The eyes in Max Rooke's head were firmly planted on Brad Johnson.

[1eyedog]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

Yeah. I don't know what eyes the commentators were looking at. The eyes in Max Rooke's head were firmly planted on Brad Johnson.

99 times out of a 100 a free kick.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

99 times out of a 100 a free kick.

My brother in law will no longer go to a footy match with me after this. Was a side of me he has never seen!

[merantau]

Re: Three Things I've Learned - Round 16 Edition

My brother in law will no longer go to a footy match with me after this. Was a side of me he has never seen!

Please elaborate. I love a good "First I went ballistic, and then I really lost it." story especially if it's accompanied by lots of blood!