Fans wait
There are three clubs in the AFL that have no Premierships at all, Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney and the Gold Coast Suns. St. Kilda only have one Premiership and the Western Bulldogs have two. That is a lot of waiting. 1964 was Melbourne’s last Premiership. 1995 was Carlton’s most recent Premiership, 1999 was North Melbourne’s. Yes Richmond won in 2017 however their Premiership before that was back in 1980.
Fans Hope
The cynical may say that the AFL plays favourites and that the narratives for Richmond and the Bulldogs were crafted by those in the shadows. But, for those like me who were definitely on the Tiger Train and the Bulldog Bandwagon; by the time of the Grand Final these Premierships were destined and very, very good for football.
Demons At the Pearly Gates of Splendour
Last season the narrative was definitely in favour of the Melbourne Demons. Finally, after such a long time in the wilderness the team was succeeding on and off the field. With a lot against them they made the finals for the first time since 2006. There are a whole generation of Melbourne supporters who have never seen their team in the finals apart from 2018. The public favour was the highest it has ever been for the Dees.
On the final round last season Melbourne needed to win to get into the finals. One of my co-workers is a young Dees fan and had never seen them in the finals, ever. He was old enough to have watched in 2006 but he does not remember much at all.
I walked into the pizza shop and he had the radio on listening to the game. I believe my words to him were “Don’t do this to yourself!” I think I yelled it. I was concerned that he was hurting himself again listening to another failed season. His hopes dashed once again. Of course my concern was valid, but not needed, as the Dees won. He stood there crying. No joke, he was crying. He hugged a few people. It was a touching moment to witness.
With all that happening around me how could I not support Melbourne in the 2018 finals series? I am of the opinion that a lot of people had the same feeling. It was like the 2016 arrival of the Bulldogs and Richmond’s golden year of 2017. The narrative was irresistible. Well it was to me.
It did not happen. Melbourne finished 4th and the Grand Final was played off between West Coast and Collingwood. If the cynics were of the opinion that the AFL plays favourites then the AFL were denied. Did we think that Melbourne were better than they were? Or ,was it that they did not believe in themselves? Only the Melbourne players really know.
Fans wait in vain?
I began with ‘Fans wait’. Well they do. Some wait in vain all their lives. When Richmond and Western Bulldogs fans attended those first Grand Finals in such a long time, they brought something with them. Photos of loved ones. Father’s, Mother’s, Aunt’s, Uncle’s, Grand-Father’s, Grand-Mother’s Birthers and Sisters who had followed the team through the lean and hard times. They took them with them to the game. This is how you treat your ancestors well.
These were the ones who kept the faith and passed it down to those who could be there when the Premiership finally happened. Fans wait. It is the players, the coaches, the board members who act. Fans always wait.
Sometimes fans become players, Coaches, and Board members. Perhaps the poster child for this is Eddie McGuire. You can see photos of Eddie on the ground at the 1990 Grand Final Collingwood won. He still carries that same passion. If he could bleed black and white, I am sure he would. But for a long time Eddie waited. He does not wait passively anymore.
The Promised Land Comes
Now it has come to the point where the biblical motifs that I have been using in this article are pointed out. For those who have read the Jewish Scriptures or at least watched Prince of Egypt or the classic “The Ten Commandments” you will know that the Hebrew people waited to be delivered up from and out of Egypt. They waited for the Promised Land to become theirs after wandering in the desert. They waited for a King. Then they waited for a good king, a few did come.
Then they waited for the Exile to end and to return to the Promised Land. Then the Greeks, the Romans, and pretty much every other world power found a way to scatter the people of God across the world. This waiting is permanently connected to hope whether it be exodus, promised land, return form exile, or messiah. It is revealed in the multiple words for hope that exist in ancient Hebrew. Yes, multiple and one of them (ksl) is used as a foolish, negative hope.
Faith, Hope and Charity. These are the top three according to 1 Corinthians. Hope in the Jewish context involves waiting, steadfast perseverance. Like the Fan, the faithful wait. Maybe that is a good thing sometimes. Because waiting is only going to bring waiting. Perhaps this is one reason Hope is not the greatest of the top three. Another reason appears in Romans 8:24 “..but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes what he already sees?”
Waiting has its benefits but it can paralyse and lull you into passivity. Charity is rated higher because it is not merely love but an action identifying with faith and acting out of hope. While we wait there is still much to do.
Eddie McGuire knew this and while his team was able to win one Premiership after a long wait. He acted to ensure the next Premiership would not be so far away. Since 1990 Collingwood has been to the Grand Final five times for one win. Other teams have been less fortunate in the same period.
Phillip Hall is a cynical Fremantle fan who would (if he had any influence) make drastic changes at his club. To detail those changes would be seen as foolishness. As a Fan he too waits. He thinks it is going to be a long wait.
Phillip Hall has been too long in Melbourne to see AFL in the same light as those back in Fremantle. East Fremantle born and bred, he would love to see the Dockers back in the eight. But would settle for just beating West Coast twice a year.