Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Agree. The supporters roaring before Dicko's marked the ball is just sublime. I rated that win as the most enjoyable ever because it went right to the wire. The GF was over with 2 -3 minutes to go. It was fantastic but for pure gut wrenching tension, followed by a tidal wave of elation - nothing comes close to it.

And also because we all had that fear that this was going to be another gut-wrenching prelim loss. I was an absolute wreck and thinking we would lose by a point. To finally be on the other side of it felt fantastic. By far the best moment i've watched as well

Yep I was standing there thinking "how are we going to *!*!*!*! this up" as the ball came down the attacking win and we had them cold on numbers running into attacking positions. I'm thinking OK, so obviously someone will miss a target and the ball will pinball into their attacking area and we we all be out of position" (kind of like the Adelaide final in 2015.)

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Yep I was standing there thinking "how are we going to *!*!*!*! this up" as the ball came down the attacking win and we had them cold on numbers running into attacking positions. I'm thinking OK, so obviously someone will miss a target and the ball will pinball into their attacking area and we we all be out of position" (kind of like the Adelaide final in 2015.)

Yeah my thoughts as well. When the ball was on the wing i expected a fast transition from GWS straight into their 50. Especially when Dunkley had the ball. Actually even when watching the replay and one of our players has the ball on the wing and kicks 30m backwards i still shudder that it gets intercepted for a goal

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Yeah my thoughts as well. When the ball was on the wing i expected a fast transition from GWS straight into their 50. Especially when Dunkley had the ball. Actually even when watching the replay and one of our players has the ball on the wing and kicks 30m backwards i still shudder that it gets intercepted for a goal

And who was it ran over Scully's mark in the middle of the ground? It should have been 50. I didn't notice it on the night (which I guess is why I can never remeber who it was) but now that I watch the replay he may as well be carrying a sign saying "here's your chance!"

The first time we watched the replay my son says to me "this is worse than watching it live, I'm more stressed now than I was then"

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

And who was it ran over Scully's mark in the middle of the ground? It should have been 50. I didn't notice it on the night (which I guess is why I can never remeber who it was) but now that I watch the replay he may as well be carrying a sign saying "here's your chance!"

The first time we watched the replay my son says to me "this is worse than watching it live, I'm more stressed now than I was then"

It was JJ. I didn't see it at the time either.

I still get nervous/stressed watching the replay. Which reminds me. Its been a couple months since i last watched it

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

It was JJ. I didn't see it at the time either.

I still get nervous/stressed watching the replay. Which reminds me. Its been a couple months since i last watched it

There's a point. I will be back in a couple of hours...

[1eyedog]

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?

100% how I feel. Yes.

[1eyedog]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Everything and anything after my trip to Spotless is chasing the dragon. That was the pinnacle and never again will I attain such heights.

To beat GWS away to get into the Granny. Doesn't get any better than that.

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Everything and anything after my trip to Spotless is chasing the dragon. That was the pinnacle and never again will I attain such heights.

To beat GWS away to get into the Granny. Doesn't get any better than that.

Interesting analogy. I guess that puts us with the square heads.

[SonofScray]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Everything and anything after my trip to Spotless is chasing the dragon. That was the pinnacle and never again will I attain such heights.

To beat GWS away to get into the Granny. Doesn't get any better than that.

At the risk of being uncouth. Collective load was blown that night. GF the aftermath. We just shagged the cheer leader. was always going to take a little bit for us as fans to go again.

My eyes are already wandering.Given they weren't kicked out of the comp, the next best thing for me would be to beat Essendon in a GF after an away PF win at AO V crows. That'd be nice.

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

At the risk of being uncouth. Collective load was blown that night. GF the aftermath. We just shagged the cheer leader. was always going to take a little bit for us as fans to go again.

My eyes are already wandering.Given they weren't kicked out of the comp, the next best thing for me would be to beat Essendon in a GF after an away PF win at AO V crows. That'd be nice.

I don't even want Essendon having that measure of success. I honestly don't know if I could take a grand final if they were in it.

[jeemak]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Beating a full strength EFC, by ten goals with them receiving more free kicks than us is what I want next.

Watching them and their apologists fumble for excuses would be just as satisfying as winning.

[Ozza]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

To answer the OP - no not at all.

Love the game as much as ever, and its even more enjoyable to not have that 'we've never seen our team win a flag' monkey on our back.

For all the absolutely boring and constant whining I read about the league...the last two seasons have shown that all clubs have a chance to win a premiership. Which didn't always feel like it was the case in the past - judging by historical results - particularly in the 70s and 80s, and it was getting back to that from 2005-2015 when only a handful of teams won.

[Twodogs]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

Beating a full strength EFC, by ten goals with them receiving more free kicks than us is what I want next.

Watching them and their apologists fumble for excuses would be just as satisfying as winning.

Were you there in 2000? 1985 at Whitten oval or 1987 at Windy Hill? You probably weren't born in 1977 when I stood on the top of a pie stand at Windy Hill and saw us win by 100 points.

[The bulldog tragician]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

The original post asks a very interesting question. I was always looking at footy, in fact it’s what my blog is about - in terms of why do we follow an unsuccessful club. What on earth drives us in all those wilderness years our club has known so well. It’s something a bit magical and mysterious, because I know I’d still be there if we had (horrible thought) stuffed up the GWS PF. But our failures, the heartache we endured, our unmatched ability to fail to show our best in finals - they were so much part of our story too. Somehow that pain rusted us even further on. I sense it’s something fans of successful club just wouldn’t understand.

Now we have a different story. We know that when Bont said: “Why not us?” that it really was quite a simple uncomplicated practical question, not the one we’d asked, again and again, as we trudged out of the MCG as losers or watched other fans heading to the grand final parade.

So 2017 was a really strange year. I felt irritation when we lost. I was frustrated that players that we knew could play at an amazing level dropped off. But I no longer had that sense of the fates always, always being against us. After all JJ was denied that goal in the grand final, and our team just said, ok let’s get another one. And they did. That moment alone, when Roughie took the mark after the goal was changed to a point, it may have changed everything I thought I knew about what barracking for the Dogs was all about.

I still desperately want us to win more flags, but I feel more at ease with the likelihood that it will happen. I’ve joked at some points that when we used to ask the universe: JUST ONE FLAG IN MY LIFETIME..they didn’t have to take me so damn literally.

There will never be another year, another story quite like 2016. I view footy differently now, but not in a bad way.

[Sedat]

Re: Has 2016 Ruined Football For You?

For all the absolutely boring and constant whining I read about the league...the last two seasons have shown that all clubs have a chance to win a premiership.

Revisionist history - plenty of teams including us had numerous chances to win a flag in that 2005-2015 period you mentioned and earlier. We (and others) just weren't good enough when it counted. In 2016 and 2017 the best teams at the pointy end of the season won the flag just as they have done in 99% of seasons previously.

What you consider "absolutely boring" and "constant whining" is actually great concern for how the game has been played in the last 10 or so years and how it will be played in 5, 10, 20, 50+ years from now. You clearly like the product and think it is awesome how the game has virtually abandoned one-on-one positional play in favour of highly tactical and structural set-ups designed to minimise risk. I don't share your wildly optimistic view. If others are turned on by low scoring, multiple stoppages, congestion, incessant tackling, glorified circle work, reduced contested marking and Joe the Goose out the back cheapies they are in for a treat with the modern game. For mine it is a vastly inferior product today compared to the brilliant spectacle the game produced from the early 90's to the early 00's pre Paul Roos.