When will the pain of 1997 go away?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I was pretty young too, but '97 hurt a lot more than 2009 for me. I felt if we made the GF in '97 we'd beat St Kilda easily to win the flag. In 2009 I felt if we could hang on and snatch the victory we'd get a Hawthorn 2008 Qualifying final style belting from Geelong the next week, so it softened the pain.

My dad says the same thing about '97.

I think we would have ran Geelong close. We were primed in 2009, we'd beaten Geelong only a month prior and then lost to them in the QF by around 14 points when we played terrible. It would have been a close one IMO -- we had a seriously good side.

2008 was a year too early, 2010 a year too late.

[AndrewP6]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I was 21. Wasn't a diehard then, to be honest. On GF day, we arrived in Adelaide for a basketball tournament. We decided in all our wisdom, to sit in the bar at the hotel and watch the game - and then go out that night (all in our Victorian uniforms!!)...

2009, I was absolutely gutted. Sat there stunned, couldn't move at the conclusion.

[GVGjr]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

In 97 we shot ourselves in the foot through a kind of awful paralysis both on the field and in the coaching box. ( why didnt we stack the backline? ) It was like a slowly unfolding horror movie where you wanted to yell : he's behind you !!

I too remember the brilliant sunshine, the daring to hope at half time, and then..that song. We didn't move or speak for 15 minutes.

09, I think we were robbed rather than throwing it away as we did in 97. And we were probably less than 50/50 to beat Geelong. It doesn't hurt as much, though we were probably line for line a more talented team.

My signature indicates how much it hurts! I will never ever watch that replay and I'm not sure even a flag will take away the pain completely. Don't get me started on 98 either...

[Twodogs]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

09, I think we were robbed rather than throwing it away as we did in 97. And we were probably less than 50/50 to beat Geelong. It doesn't hurt as much, though we were probably line for line a more talented team.

Oh we were robbed in '97 make no mistake about that. I was in the third row right behind the goals we were kicking to in the last quarter. Libba's shot for goal went through about a metre inside the goal post.


The only way I'll ever exorcise that pain is to beat the Crows in Adelaide in a prelim final.

[westbulldog]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Never. The window was wide open and it slammed shut, broken fingers. Am I right in recalling that Darren Jarman ran amok in the last quarter and his opponent was not changed ?

[Happy Days]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I was 5 in 1997, so it doesn't really resonate too heavily with me. I have an enduring memory of Dad chucking an empty tinny at the TV (which he denies to this day), and I've been conditioned to blame Paul Hudson for everything, but the game doesn't really sting that much.

Because of 2009 there is a hole through my wardrobe door.

[jeemak]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I haven't had a public meltdown like the one I had in 1997. I was 17 at the time, hard to believe it's half a lifetime ago for me right now.

Most of the game has been repressed. There's still flashes of the last quarter that stick with me, and the Adelaide song as well as the smug little shit that leaned out of a corporate box and started barking at me stand out in my mind.

2009 was an absolute joke. Six or seven goals from free kicks directly or indirectly, plus the dive of the century. I still haven't seen a free kick paid for the same thing since that dive, but the same thing happens each week. We shot ourselves in the foot through our inability to drop our vision and pick shorter targets going forwards, as well as our inability to convert scoring opportunities.

We were good enough both years. 2009 angers me a lot, 1997 makes me feel pathetic and consigned to a fate I don't deserve and can't really change.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Either way, the 97-00 years and the 08-10 years have been pretty draining and depressive as a whole on our supporter base. It feels as though many people are resigned to us never actually making another Grand Final, let alone winning one. That's the feeling I get amongst supporters I speak to and sit around at Etihad.

It'll be interesting to gauge the supporter's mindsets the next time we are in a position to realistically and seriously challenge. I can't help but feel the 97-00 and 08-10 years will have a bit of a lasting effect.

[Eastdog]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Im all signed up as a member for 2013 with my silver reserved seat. We have to break the drought one day when that day will be I don't know. We have come close many times but just have not been able to make the big one.

[Mantis]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

People often forget that Adel kicked 12.21 that day... We were pretty lucky to be in front by as mcuh as we were at 3/4 qtr and were running on empty for much of the last qtr.

That being said some sensible coaching tactics would have seen us through, but the coaching box were pathetic late in the game... Our skill execution and decison making were also poor under pressure.

[Missing Dog]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Unfortunately I doubt anything will ever erase the pain of 1997. To this day I still cannot watch a reply or highlights of that game even though I often see them in searches on Youtube. The scars will always be there till the bitter end. A premership may help but the highlights of 1997 will always still be there!

[The Pie Man]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Just on how likely a GF win would've been in either 97 or 09

* Adelaide beat St Kilda on a day pretty similar to our PF loss, so our run at the time would've been well served that day....kicking to a leading Simon Minton-Connell, as should we have played, Cook would've been rubbed out - it would have been a big loss. Romero probably wouldn't have played either.

* Geelong beat St Kilda on a wet miserable day, where KP forwards had little impact - our supposed achilles heal through this period. Contested footy won out, though we were more than holding our own in that department at the time.

Even just typing this post out really sh_ts me

[G-Mo77]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

Unfortunately I doubt anything will ever erase the pain of 1997. To this day I still cannot watch a reply or highlights of that game even though I often see them in searches on Youtube. The scars will always be there till the bitter end. A premership may help but the highlights of 1997 will always still be there!

I'm like you, it'll hurt until I die regardless of success, if we ever reach it.

[LostDoggy]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I will never get over 1997 either. Have never watched a replay. I remember being absolutely stunned, then the tears started. Went out that night for a friends birthday and every time someone mentioned the game I'd cry all over again. My husband (boyfriend at the time) couldn't believe how affected I was and in the end told everyone not to mention it.

Even Storm being robbed in the 2006 NRL grand final is a distant memory - probably because we won the next year. Believe me, it does help.

[Ghost Dog]

Re: When will the pain of 1997 go away?

I'm over it. Never think about it. BRING ON 2013.