Is your support of the MFC unconditional ?

[Hannibal 5,814]

Dec. 1964 was a very good month. Belzebub59 moved to Australia, Martin Luther King Ir won the Nobel Peace prize, Ian Chappell made his test cricket debut, and yours truly was born.

I was born less than 3 months after our last premiership. Great timing. I was the only child at my primary school in 1970 that barracked for Melbourne. The rest seemed to be either Carlton, or Richmond, which may explain my hate to this day. And I did it tough, because we were terrible and I was one of those troublesome little blonde kids that would most definitely stick up for his club. I had Greg Parke's no. 26 on my back, but my two all time favourite players are Flower and Wells. I really enjoyed meeting Wells at our 150 celebrations at Crown Casino in 2008. In my opinion he should have been in the TOC ahead of Todd Viney. Playing in a premiership at Carlton may not have helped his cause. I also met Jimmy again, who'd sold me private health insurance at my home 20 years earlier.

In one guise or another I've been posting on Demonland since Nov. 2002. I was 37 at the time with two boys under 3 and turn 50 the year after next. The years go quickly.

My two favourite memories are being at Footscray with my Brother in round 22, 1987 and Todd Viney's goal in the opening seconds at the G a week later when I knew we were going to win our first final in 23 years.

But my love for this club isn't unconditional. It never has been. I don't own a crystal ball, but if I knew that the club wouldn't win a flag in my lifetime I'd cease now. The only thing that matters to me and keeps me interested is the hope and chance of one day seeing a flag. Nothing else. I love Aussie Rules footy, so I enjoy games every week. I don't have to be watching the MFC to enjoy games of footy.

I also won't forever be a punching bag for a poorly run club. I'm not saying they are, btw. But going back into millions of debt, etc. is no longer an option for me. If a club isn't financial they won't be able to compete on a level playing field, or win a flag. And constantly making poor decisions, or judgments is also no longer an option. Right now I won't share my tipping point and I won't necessarily have just the one, but I do have them.

Many won't agree with me and I respect that. This is a very personal matter. And I wouldn't lambaste anyone that disagrees with me. And it's not about being weak, or not being able to be there for the long haul. As with many others, I think I've proved my resilience. But with anything in life I have a line in the sand.

Enough about me, let's talk about you. Will you unconditionally drag your sorry arse through the gates of the G no matter how the club is run, or what they dish up, for whatever timeline it happens to be ? Or, like me, do you have a tipping point where enough is enough ? Will you be unconditional for decades, because that is how you're wired, or is there definitely a time frame where you'd jump off this toxic ride - should you consider it such ?

With apologies to Rangey (is he on holiday ?) I've started a poll.

[Supermercado 2,802]

Unless they merge with the Nazi Party mine probably is. If the place falls into disarray again and the fans do nothing to stop it then we deserve what we get.

[BAMF 4,449]

If I had a crystal ball and we dont win a premiership, I would stop supporting. But I don't. And I never will. Therfore my support is unconditional.

[beelzebub 23,390]

and to think they wanted to blame me !!!! its YOU !!!! lol hehehe

[beelzebub 23,390]

If I had a crystal ball and we dont win a premiership, I would stop supporting. But I don't. And I never will. Therfore my support is unconditional.

actually its conditional on you not having a crystal ball !!

tbh Even if I had one ( cb ) Id ignore it and think it wrong as Im a stubborn bastard and I vehemently believe we will bloody will at least one Premiership in my life time.

Hate to think all the supporting, angst , frustration to say nothing of money was all for nought !!! lol

Go DEES

( but can you hurry up a litle...thanks )

[Sir Why You Little 37,313]

I will always support the Demons, BUT only if they support themselves.

[daisycutter 29,892]

actually its conditional on you not having a crystal ball !!

true, but a retrospectoscope is compulsory especially if you also wish to indulge in 'Land

[beelzebub 23,390]

Unless they merge with the Nazi Party mine probably is. If the place falls into disarray again and the fans do nothing to stop it then we deserve what we get.

if that happens...there'll be no team to support...decision made for you

[dl4e 5,851]

There is something hillbilly wierdo about me dragging my backside to the MCG to see Melbourne get done over again. Can't explain why.

And yes the orgasm of a win. Wonderful stuff.

Unconditional support ? Yes.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

I won't always enjoy it, but I will do it.

[mauriesy 7,418]

I've supported the Demon over sixty years. Too late for anything else now.

[Deers 202]

I was born into being a Demon. Our family are passionate people but we are not obsessives.

I will support the MFC until they are no longer the MFC. But I must admit, these past 5 years have tested my nerve.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,451]

My support for the club is unconditional but the level of support could definitely wane if we spent a decade or more in the doldrums (already heading on 6 years now!) I could never see myself supporting another club though - following and taking an interest in maybe, but not supporting. I did consider going to Carlton after our miserable effort in 2001 to back up from the GF in 2000 and Farmer & to a lesser extent Woewoedin leaving the club but that was pretty short lived and in hindsight was a good decision not to do so. I am Melbourne, I was raised a Demon and I will die a Demon but I can't guarantee that I will continue going to every game possible if we just keep banging our heads against the wall of continued defeats/smashings.

[Biffen 12,949]

No ,my support is conditional.

Every year I lay out my conditions to the club in a written document for the season entitled:

Biffs Conditions for season 20--.

The club usually responds by written letter agreeing to every one of my demands .

The playing group then ignore the club and do whatever they want so every two years I put in a "sack the coach"

automatic condition as well as a "sack the skip" clause every third year.

Every fourth year I have a "sack the board" clause in my conditions for my continued personal support .

In this way I manage to destroy any continuity or longevity of plans for the club and keep it a laughing stock so my friends

can give me a stupid condescending smile/ look every time we talk footy or the Demons .

[Ron Burgundy 8,588]

Perhaps unfortunately, but yes it is. My support is absolutely unconditional.

Hopeless coaches, hopeless players, hopeless administrators are just people transiting through the joint. My affection continues regardless.

Doesn't mean the hopelessness of it all doesn't annoy the hell out of me though.

[Goodvibes 3,596]

If I remember the gist of some of my old lectures then I think I'm right in saying a key component of existentialist thinking is the notion of 'bad faith'. And I always understood this, somewhat simplistically to mean that there's always a choice regardless of how bad that choice may seem. I'm also pretty sure another key element of existentialism is the belief that we can't blame external forces for our own actions. I remember many many moons ago sitting in a lecture room trying to get my head around these ideas and applying it to all the different parts of my life and the only one that I couldn't make sense of, was my support for the MFC. Following a football team is the only human affliction I've experienced that can challenge this notion of 'bad faith'. I've never felt it possible to walk away. Obviously it's possible to walk away and people have and will probably do so in droves over this pre-season but I can never get my head around an alternative to supporting the Dees.

As a QLD based supporter it could have been very easy once we moved away from Victoria to the Gold Coast to follow the Bears when they played their games out of Carrara. When I returned from a stint of work up in the Cape I very easily could have supported the Lions at the Gabba when I decided to live in Brisbane and obviously a fresh new team in the State last year could have been appealing but the idea of jumping ship didn't ever enter my mind. Put simply, I can't imagine my life without the MFC. I can't imagine not eagerly anticipating the line-up on Thursday or waking up on game day without that slightly anxious feeling in my stomach or actually watching a game without an emotional attachment to the team wearing red and blue. I'd have to walk away from footy completely and that's never going to happen.

Do I want my little girl and soon to be little boy following Melbourne like I have? Now there's a question I may have to reserve judgment on.

[bush demon 2,174]

Great thread, Ben Hur. Sometime in 1963 I was given Ron Barassi boots and a Melbourne jumper by my parents. My father, being English was a soccer supporter so the telly wasn't usually on footy replay, but for some bizarre reason I can still remember footage of Ron Barassi allegedly knocking out Roger Dean on the eve of the '63 finals resulting in a four match suspension. 12 months on, I have a memory of a Melbourne belting Collingwood in the '64 second semi. a year in the uk in 1965, wearing my Melbourne jumper (pictured) and return to australia, and Melbourne v St. Kilda round one, 1966. How did the demons go last year? I asked someone. they came 7th. wow, that was a surprise. but i thought we would soon be back in town and would do well against the saints. unfortunately we have had over forty years of beltings like that round one game but i am still a paid up member and drive in for several games a year. second half of this year though i couldn't handle the familiarity of walking out of the G as losers, the drive back to the bush - as losers - and all the radio and press coverage of how pathetic we have become. just finished the Jimmy book last night which has given me confidence that he hasbequeathed to the club a solid administration and an intangible 'we are Melbourne at this stage' spirit which may yet reap rewards.

[Biffen 12,949]

The Eighties were OK.

I remember the Drake sponsorship period as a meteoric rise from crapsville to within reach of the Grail.

Pity Hawthorns plane didn't go down.

Did I just say that?

That's terrible.

I'm ashamed.

[BAMF 4,449]

actually its conditional on you not having a crystal ball !!

Yeah but if I had a crystal ball I wouldn't use it. Why would you want to know when our next premiership is? It would ruin every season until the premiership year arrived, and even when the year arrived you would know it was coming and wouldn't be nearly as excited about it. It's like the lead up to Christmas as a kid.

[P-man 13,366]

Being a Canberra based Demon there is the lure of the charcoal and orange mob who hit the campaign trail hard up here, and many have jumped aboard. The Dees are in my blood though, I'll never ditch them until they cease to exist. Even at its worst (...as in right now?), it's character building..

Goodvibes raises the slightly more pertinent question of whether you'd coerce/encourage your kids to follow Melbourne.

[Ron Burgundy 8,588]

Being a Canberra based Demon there is the lure of the charcoal and orange mob who hit the campaign trail hard up here, and many have jumped aboard. The Dees are in my blood though, I'll never ditch them until they cease to exist. Even at its worst (...as in right now?), it's character building..

Goodvibes raises the slightly more pertinent question of whether you'd coerce/encourage your kids to follow Melbourne.

Surely this is a no brainer.

[dee-luded 2,959]

I've always been a Dyed in the Wool supporter, always a Demon.

But now with footy's congestion, & the mockery it creates I'm been slowly losing Interest in the Game itself, & the professional game without any characters & personality.

We are one of the worst with no personality, since the days of Farmer, Jakovitch, Schwartz, etc have gone by the wayside.

Many years ago I would read every bit of Newspaper footy news, the game columns, the all the reports, the Stats & study them on sort of collate them.

I had a pretty good run down of virtually every player in the AFL/VFL. Who was hot & who was an up & comer.

Now I can't be bothered, I can't even watch our games anymore.

I now never sit in fromt of the telly Unless with visitors to watch a game, & would rather talk because the game is boring.

The Intensity in some games is very good, some games, But the Highlights are poor.

The goalkicking, I'd rather see Buddy kicking it high & through the middle around his body, than trickling along the ground.

I miss the regular high marks, And the dashing runs down the field when the games opened up.

I miss the positional matchups we used to get. Our star player verses they're star player.

And when going to the ground we get "Looked" up & down by visitors to our Country. The security are all immigrants or temps.

Unbelievable.

You can't move around the ground readily as we could to sit we we feel.

Greed & money has hijacked the game from the FUN thing it was, with Hard Hits & Humour.

[Brian Wilson 331]

Jimmy's book is now compulsory reading for anyone whose faith is wavering.

[whatwhat say what 23,469]

Nope, not unconditional. Can't imagine supporting another club - just a fan in general of our great game these days.

The incompetence and inability to get the basic fundamentals of being a club right have killed my love for the club. I don't admire them any more, be it the players, the coaches, the staff or the board.

I think it's fair to say I'm entirely disenfranchised.

[Brian Wilson 331]

Nope, not unconditional. Can't imagine supporting another club - just a fan in general of our great game these days.

The incompetence and inability to get the basic fundamentals of being a club right have killed my love for the club. I don't admire them any more, be it the players, the coaches, the staff or the board.

I think it's fair to say I'm entirely disenfranchised.

Would a premiership change your view?