When the Magpies lifted the premiership cup and yet another "Cooo-lliiiing-woood" chant rang around the MCG, McGuire's mission was accomplished. Surely the blood of Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Sydney and just about every other rival club's fans' blood was curdled by what must have seemed a sickening display of Collingwood's new triumphalism.
Similarly, as the Magpies began a gradual descent after losing the grand final, the schadenfreude of their rivals was apparent.
The Magpies had replaced their premiership coach, Mick Malthouse, with favourite son Nathan Buckley, whose destiny seemed to have been foretold by The Police — he was Collingwood's King of Pain. Buckley was the ready-made champion who left the lamentable Brisbane Bears and went to Collingwood to win in a premiership, only to suffer consecutive grand final defeats to his former teammates in and In that context, hearing McGuire appeal to fellow Victorians to back Collingwood this week might normally have seemed like Trump asking illegal immigrants to support his border protection policy.
Similarly, the predictable rallying cries by Melbourne newspaper editors for fans to "get behind our Victorian team" seemed, at best, contrived. Such attempts to create some sort of faux State of Origin with Collingwood representing Victoria and the West Coast Eagles representing WA do not resonate with the Magpies' old suburban rivals and, even less so, Fremantle Dockers fans.
And yet, and yet … this September there seems just the slightest softening of hearts usually hardened against Collingwood in whose interests I will confess a passing interest. For a rare time in their chippy, working class, triumphal, office-water-cooler-crowding, grand final-losing, media-dominating, controversy-riddled history, the Magpies are quite likable. There is most obviously — in every way — Mason Cox, the cm tall American Pie whose four-year journey from his native Dallas to Collingwood via Oklahoma State University's basketball team remains mindboggling.
Even more so that he has become an integral part of the Magpies' attack, not merely a bit-part player. Such was the pressure Mayne felt, the former Docker was in tears as he walked from the ground after the Magpies lost a VFL final last season. Yet now, here he is — a handy component in a team that was ravaged by injuries earlier in the season. Then there is the redemption of Josh Thomas, who has returned from a two-year drug suspension where he spent time as an Uber driver and is now an accomplished small forward.
There is budding superstar Jordan De Goey, who showed as much faith in the club as it showed in him after various off-field misadventures by re-signing for far less than he could have earned elsewhere. There is Travis Varcoe, who is playing deep into September despite the recent death of his sister Maggie after a head clash on the football field — resonant of the courage it took Damien Oliver to win the Melbourne Cup in just days after his brother Jason died in a race fall.
Jaidyn Stephenson was drafted despite a heart complaint that deterred other clubs from picking him, fellow forward Brody Mihocek was plucked from the VFL scrapheap … and so the feel-good stories go. What's more, from their energy and engagement, the Collingwood players clearly like each other as much as their legion of fans love them. There is a chemistry that is similar to that of the Western Bulldogs in and Richmond last season.
Meanwhile, having survived five seasons of diminishing results during which defender Brayden Maynard said the game plan was a "shambles" and even Buckley's father Ray thought he would be sacked, the coach has emerged as an engaging, good-humoured and popular spokesman for his club and the game itself. Because of you guys, only one team really hates us. Chief executive Matthew Richardson has penned a letter to members and supporters.
Proudly Sponsored By. Club Logo. Home Latest. Fan Zone. Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube. Created By. You hate us wearing our traditional jumper They do actually look different, but cheers for making the prison bars symbolically more powerful. You pinched our players and coach in the early 80s We'd just won four flags in five seasons, so you took John Cahill our best ever coach plus a slew of our favourite sons like Kutchie, Abba and Choco.
At least we gave him a premiership in black-and-white 6. Making us wear our clash guernsey - at home - in Yep, you did, and we'll never forget. Those early s finals Better left unsaid really. None of their players particularly grate on me.
He is terrific for the game and as an ambassador for his club. Yet the sight of the black-and-white stripes loping on to the field distorts all these rational views and evokes a primal urge to level abuse at my TV screen. Clearly, I am not alone. Collingwood is both the most famous and the most despised sporting club in Australia. Far from being a negative, the tsunami of vitriol which engulfs the Pies each season works in their favour.
From a marketing perspective it is a godsend. Collingwood fans live in the knowledge most other AFL barrackers dislike them, which surely solidifies their fervent support.
0コメント