Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

[comrade]

It has for me.

In the best way possible of course. Give me the 2016 flag over anything else, everyday of the week.

But since then, the life and death nature of supporting the Dogs has dissipated. I've barely kept up with pre-season training news, the draft was a non-event when previously I would devour everything and anything to do with our future champions.

The flag has dulled my passion in a way. Not my love of the Bulldogs (I wouldn't check in here everyday otherwise), but in the way I support them now. I struggled to get angry last year. Yeah, there were some moments (the Eagles/Demons back to back weeks come to mind) but I honestly felt so grateful to the playing group for giving us the flag, I struggled to muster any real energy in terms of footy in 2017 and to be honest, I'm not that excited for 2018 either.

Anyone else feeling that post-2016 malaise?

[GVGjr]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I don't reflect too much on 2016 but I suspect many are like you Comrade.
I very much look forward to drafts, training, the VFL and watching the Dogs play. I haven't lost any passion for the club

[Bornadog]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I very much look forward to drafts, training, the VFL and watching the Dogs play. I haven't lost any passion for the club

Ditto for me.

The only thing I am angry about is not making finals in 2017 and the behaviour of some of the players, but I am just as enthusiastic as ever to watch the team play.

[Hotdog60]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I'm quite the opposite.
I can't wait for this weekend and the see the Dogs hit the field. I'm interested in all the preseason stuff but I never go over the top with it. I want to see us in more finals and holding more cups to be a member that all the other supporters hate.
To long in the wilderness at either not having a look to not quite being good enough but with this team I feel good things and I'm bound for glory bring on 2018.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Nope. As addicted and obsessed as ever. Bring on the season!

[ratsmac]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I am with you Comrade. I'm still a tragic supporter and mad as hell but there is definitely a sense of contentment with footy. Before I was never content, the longing to see the doggies being the ones on the dais was relentless but with a feeling it was only a fantasy that could never come to pass. When it actually happened its like I found the missing piece to make my collection complete. Now it's complete I need to start a new collection. It's 1:30am and I'm delirious and probably not making any sense, good night

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I am excited for the year ahead and feeling like the same period in 2016.

My only concern is that life is interfering with my footy following way too much.

[ledge]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I definitley have a satisfaction mindset now I've seen it but am still going to VFL/AFL and the women's games , I look at the game more as in game plan and understanding it more than yelling, screaming and being frustrated before 2016.
I have an interest in seeing if we copy what happened the years after 1954 and worry about that.
Would like to see the women get a premiership then I've lived in an era of all 3 grades flags.
Life has definitely been different since 2016 , I Am more mellow and satisfied.
I was always worried what would happen if we won one , like my football and cricket career after I was involved in a few premierships my passion turned to teaching the young and getting into coaching, as far as winning a flag is so amazing, so is coaching and watching the kids under you Be successful and you feel a warmth that you have helped a kid enjoy sport and they never forget you and the things you taught them no matter how small it was.

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I've had a taste, it tasted bloody good, and now I want more.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I’ve definitely lost passion for footy. Not so much the bulldogs though. I definitely take a different attitude to watching our games now. I’m not as stressed or pessimistic! I still follow draft news and a little of preseason like usual. But the AFL in general I’ve sort of lost interest in. Satisfaction and content are the right words when watching the doggies. Would I say I’ve lost passion? I don’t think so. It’s just....different

[Bulldog4life]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I don't reflect too much on 2016 but I suspect many are like you Comrade.
I very much look forward to drafts, training, the VFL and watching the Dogs play. I haven't lost any passion for the club

Ditto for me. I read and devour anything doggies related. Looking forward to the 2018 season.

[Sedat]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

It has for me.

In the best way possible of course. Give me the 2016 flag over anything else, everyday of the week.

But since then, the life and death nature of supporting the Dogs has dissipated. I've barely kept up with pre-season training news, the draft was a non-event when previously I would devour everything and anything to do with our future champions.

The flag has dulled my passion in a way. Not my love of the Bulldogs (I wouldn't check in here everyday otherwise), but in the way I support them now. I struggled to get angry last year. Yeah, there were some moments (the Eagles/Demons back to back weeks come to mind) but I honestly felt so grateful to the playing group for giving us the flag, I struggled to muster any real energy in terms of footy in 2017 and to be honest, I'm not that excited for 2018 either.

Anyone else feeling that post-2016 malaise?

It's like you have a window into my soul, comrade. A combination of reaching the summit in the most unexpected and thrilling way possible, and the way the game has been administered by the AFEL (most notably the Essendon doping saga and the regression of the aesthetic quality of the modern game, which is borderline unwatchable and dead boring) has left me with a deep feeling of ambivalence for the game. It's there, I'll watch during the season, I'll take an interest in drafts/trade period, and if we are at the pointy end again I'll be very happy. But I am nowhere near as emotionally invested as I have been for the vast majority of my 46 years on the planet.

What the AFEL did with regard to Essendon was the final straw for me - that club disgraced the code and set about to systematically cheat like no other sporting team in the world has ever done. And yet the narrative around that shitstain of a club has been a warped interpretation of the real story into a confected one of "courage and redemption". They should have been kicked out of the competition for good and their license handed to Tasmania, such was the depth of their cheating from the top down and the damage they caused the code.

The game itself is also a shambles. Lowest scoring in 50 years, massive problems with congestion, rolling mauls and stoppages. To be perfectly frank it is a shit product to passionately invest my time in, if not for the Bulldogs. What is so frustrating is that it's very easy to remedy (I've made suggestions elsewhere on woof).

I'm not some old man yelling at a cloud who hankers for the past just for the sake of it - there are clear problems with the modern game and the administrators have been asleep at the wheel and not been able to adequately manage even the most basic fundamentals that they are employed to do, allowing coaches/players to control the (d)evolution of the game. They excel in diversionary tactics to take away from the awful quality of the actual game today, and they have the entire media in their back pocket to control the communication of their narrative. They point to crowds and ratings as justification for their performance, but the reality is these crowds and ratings have been captive in footy states for decades.

Richmond were brilliantly coached (much like we were in 2016) and their players brilliantly executed their game plan - it was a thoroughly deserved premiership by them, but the fact that such an unwatchable game plan proved so successful is a savage indictment on City Hall.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

I can't disagree with Sedat, more so on the point of Essendon and the BS narrative that surrounds them. Makes me sick every time I listen to the media or AFL spin a 'redemption' feel good story. They should have been punished far greater than they were and there should be no rubbish storyline. Let's not forget what they did.

That aside, and annoyances with the AFL aside, I am looking forward to 2018 more than I was 2017.

I want to see what we're made of again. I want to see us respond and I want to see this group of players hunt.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

2016 has not diminished my enthusiasm at all

But I am disappointed in 2017, and disappointed that there was another fairytale premiership straight after us

However, since winning the flag, I am trying to become better and having some downtime (non footy focused) in my calendar - once the draft is done, I try to switch off until the games start - or at least thats what Im trying to do

[Bornadog]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

The game itself is also a shambles. Lowest scoring in 50 years, massive problems with congestion, rolling mauls and stoppages. To be perfectly frank it is a shit product to passionately invest my time in, if not for the Bulldogs. What is so frustrating is that it's very easy to remedy (I've made suggestions elsewhere on woof).

As a matter of interest, when was the product to your liking?