The players change, the coach will change and the board/administrators change but the club remains the constant and I support the club. It's let me down before and it will let me down again, probably many times, but it's there for me to take my kids and grand kids too and I've had too many good times to abandon it. Not just winning times but times where I've had some great days just being there with them.

Damn dude, I didn't think getting laid was so complicated.

If it were me I'd probably get arrested for donkey-punching.

who said anything about getting laid? i was talking football

I am hanging out for the party when we win our flag. The prospect of Dees winning a flag is as farfetched as any other sporting drought, and when the drought breaks it will be a feeling the supporters of Hawthorn/Essendon/etc (successful clubs) will never feel. The ultimate feat which we've been waiting 50 miserable years for. I don't know how old I'll be, but I will be one happy bugger.

So that's the reason I support and will never support anyone else. I don't give a [censored] about any other sporting team in the world, just this one.

I'm happy to wait until I'm 80 to see a flag (well not really). The length of the wait isn't my tipping point (assuming I still have hope).

But I will not turn up week in/week out to watch garbage. I will not pay my hard-earned if I think the club is being run by monkeys.

But that's the problem Tim - we often only realise that we're being run by monkeys until the next bunch of monkeys take over and by then we've already fallen for the spin of the new regime.

I'm happy to wait until I'm 80 to see a flag (well not really). The length of the wait isn't my tipping point (assuming I still have hope).

Please take this the best way possible - I think you are grandstanding.

We all have put up with enough from this club in our short and not so short lives to say wonder if we have stuck around so far - what could possibly push us away now.

No-one wants to be tethered to hopelessness and I completely understand the desire for one's ego to not want to say "I am here for the rest of my life whether we are a joke or not."

But I will make a wager - you will be posting here for years to come and watching the Dees until your final days.

Hell or high water...

I've long held a suspicion that Melbourne supporters are all secret sado-masochists, how else to explain it??

Seriously though, I'm an unconditional supporter of the club, the way I feel now is that I've gone too far to ever contemplate anything else. MFC is a part of me, it's in my blood and part of my identity like nothing else. So many of my favourite memories of my family revolve around the MCG with all of us in red and blue and in some small way supporting the Dees (my club and their club) keeps me connected with those who are no longer here.

Whenever things get to me I remember my Dad's favourite saying: the club is bigger than any individual. When that fails I cast my mind back to 2000 and remember how awesome grand final week was. Our time will come and when it does it will feel even better for having stuck with them through the low times. Go Dees!!

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

I am on holidays and fully absorbed in Jim's book. I fully agree with you.

I have been a Demon supporter all my life - will never waiver my love for the red and blue and always optimistic that next season will be the one.

I havent seen a flag in my lifetime but I have faith it is not too far away.

Go Dees.

Family is more important than anything else. But MFC is something that is intertwined with family for me. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood involve going to the footy with my dad. Now it's something I share with my brother. And my nephew has just started going to games, so we will continue to go and support our team. Like all family life, suffering through bad times only brings us closer.

Family is more important than anything else. But MFC is something that is intertwined with family for me. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood involve going to the footy with my dad. Now it's something I share with my brother. And my nephew has just started going to games, so we will continue to go and support our team. Like all family life, suffering through bad times only brings us closer.

Agree 100% - I did the MFC supporter survey the other day and when they asked for 5 words I associate with MFC two were childhood and family. Two others were frustration and disappointment though so take that how you will.

No support is unconditional!

Would I support any other AFL club? NO!

Ed: Absolutely NO.

Edited September 16, 201212 yr by Mono

It's an interesting question - my support for the club is completely unconditional. Come 12:40, 1:10, 1:45, 2:10, 2:45, 3:10, 4:40, 5:15, 7:10, 7:40, 7:45, 7:50 or 8:10 (sh*t it was much easier when it was just 2:10...) no matter what the circumstances are I'll always want the Dees to win, and always cheer on whoever is wearing the red and blue.

That said, I think there's a difference between support and being a member. Speaking to friends who are also Dees supporters there is a despair about their feelings towards the club that I can't remember being this strong before. Many suggest they are unlikely to or have already decided not to renew their membership for 2013. I can't say that they are giving up their "support" for the club as they are some of the most passionate Dees supporters I know, and have been going week in week out this year when plenty of others have dropped away. I have no doubt they'll still turn up next year - but they feel their response to the current problems is to make a statement by withdrawing their financial commitment to the club.

Does that make their support for the club conditional? I would argue it doesn't, but I can see how it could be seen that way.

Wow, getting smashed here in the polls benny-boy!

I would walk away from this club in a heartbeat if we pass on Viney.

I know it's not going to happen, but that is my major tipping point. Course I'm not going to stop loving the team for anything less than a stuff up of monumental proportions.

Everyone here has a tipping point but you suppress it because your sub-conscious tells you it's not going to happen.

A great thread which really made me think.

I have decided my support is unconditional. I can't imagine life not being a Demon supporter. The club has certainly tested my loyalty over the years, but over nearly 60 years I have just kept coming back for more - I must be a masochist!

Perhaps one secret to survival as a demon is to have a second team to follow - it can be different in different years and the reasons can vary - maybe they just play good footy, maybe they have a great player... Anyway, it seems to work for me.

Thanks BH.

Considering that 5 years ago i had 0 interest in footy The Melbourne Demons are an organisation that i have developed a strong passion for.Yeah it hurts listening to the [censored] people throw at this club but at the same time every dig,every cheap shot,every snide remark by people like Paul Roos makes me love this club even more.At least this club has heritage and tradition unlike an artificial club like the Meth Coast Eagles with their artificial theme song and their fans with their foam hands and their flying high since 1987 signs.Why would anyone stop supporting this club?Jim gave his all for this club while he was dying from cancer and some of you are thinking about walking out on a cause that Jim died for.There's no guarantee of success in sport.You suck it up take the blows and just really appreciate the periods of success when they come and come they will.At least the clubs debt is cleared and we now have the training facilities to compete with the best.The playing squad is bit of a mess but let's give Neeld a fair chance to put it right.Mind you i do have a second favourite team but that team is The Western Bulldogs and it looks like they will be down for the next few years.I just love the doggies theme song and unlike the poor doggies at least we have won more than 1 flag.It's kind of sad really that clubs like Meth Coast have won flags in recent times while Footscray have been waiting since 1954 and we have been waiting since 1964.

Edited September 16, 201212 yr by Irish Demon

I will die a demon!

Regardless of how many games I can get to I will always support them via my membership.

What might be conditional for me is my support for Aussie Rules footy itself. Its all the rubbish that comes from the MRP, the control freak mentality of the AFL and the moronic media that is doing my head in.

But I will die a demon.

Edited September 16, 201212 yr by Lucifer's Hero

I voted that there is a tipping point but its extreme circumstances. If it did come to that I would not follow another Club. Learnt alot from some old Fitzroy mates and watching their reactions post 1996.

......

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.

I would like it but FMD I would not push it on them given the past six years. Hell, let'em enjoy life.

The other question, to sort out the journey-driven supporters from the flag or bust variety, is whether you'd remain a Dees supporter if you knew that we'd never ever win a premiership?

For the past 15 years or so I have come to that conclusion and every year of misery only compounds that view.

My position, FWIW, it that I am a Dee for life but that doesn't mean I'll stick around forever. There will be no other teams, no other codes. But I will not turn up week in/week out to watch garbage. I will not pay my hard-earned if I think the club is being run by monkeys.

I'd argue that all relationships are conditional - my affection for Melbourne is permanent but I'll not stick around if all I get is disappointment and heartache.

Captured the issue well.

It'd take something pretty epic for me to not support the club. Obviously if we merged or folded that'd be the end of my interest in AFL, and I'd stick to cricket and US-based sports.

As for making my kids support Melbourne, they've got no choice.

Sloonie, it's not a mtter of getting smashed in the poll. This is a personal matter and the poll is running at about what I thought. I've never been a populist.

Rsvp - Grandstanding ? Possibly, but I was interested in people's views.

I don't easily become enamoured with players. In the main they're cattle to me. Which is why I don't get concerned by trading them. I'm interested in improving our list. But I do like players with grunt and those with genuine talent that work hard to improve their game. I like players that display great courage. I like players that would kill their Grandmother to get the ball. I like players that want to shove a fire hose down the throat of a drowning opponent. My two favourite footballers are Lenny Hayes and Joel Selwood, previously it was Michael Voss. I loved Matthews, even though most Melbourne supporters loathed him. I loved what Chris Scott and Mal Michael did to Nick Riewoldt. I love ruthless players. There's not terribly many players on our list that I even like. But there are a few. What I'd give to have a Demon as a favourite player.

One of my tipping points is coming in the next few weeks.

Rsvp

Please tell me this was auto correct.

I know one poster who has had Hannabal/Tweed Pig/Lone Wolf/Ben Hur...

Could have made fun of those names...

I don't understand the people who wonder about forcing their kids to support the Demons! My fiancé is a Geelong supporter and I have made it clear that our kids will barrack for the Demons no matter how many flags the Cats win. She doesn't go to games, I do and I'll be takin the kids along with me and the rest of my family. We don't have enough supporters as it is and you wonder about recruiting your kids in no wonder we have an aging membership - I know that this is not an issue in Collingwood or Carlton households. Just remember the crap years won't last forever and the good times will come again even though it seems a million miles away at the moment. Supporting the MFC builds character which is a lot more than can be said for those born into or bandwagoning on clubs like Essendon or Hawthorn.

I don't understand the people who wonder about forcing their kids to support the Demons! My fiancé is a Geelong supporter and I have made it clear that our kids will barrack for the Demons no matter how many flags the Cats win. She doesn't go to games, I do and I'll be takin the kids along with me and the rest of my family. We don't have enough supporters as it is and you wonder about recruiting your kids in no wonder we have an aging membership - I know that this is not an issue in Collingwood or Carlton households. Just remember the crap years won't last forever and the good times will come again even though it seems a million miles away at the moment. Supporting the MFC builds character which is a lot more than can be said for those born into or bandwagoning on clubs like Essendon or Hawthorn.

True Gonzo.

I hate the smugness of those Hawks pricks who have never been to the wilderness.

I feel like they need to learn about loss.

I want them smashed-I want them crying and bleeding.

The only thing I enjoy about football now is Melbourne. So I'm unconditional. Doesn't mean I always like what they do, but I'll always support them

If we disappeared one day, so would my interest in the game

I love the MFC and always will. But like a family member, if they keep F$&@ing up there is a time where you just have to walk.

We are not at that point yet.

But if we don't play hard ball with Free Agency and recruit players we need for NOW & not in 5 years time we will go down.

The gap between top & bottom clubs is getting wider.

The time is now to pull it back otherwise it will not happen.

Ben - are you saying you've NEVER had a Demon as a favourite player or just not right now? Surely the Ox met your criteria.

Interesting subject first it just shows how little of interest there is in MFc at present that we are reduced to this subject.

I have been a Dees supporter since 1960 and will be until the MFC folds or I do.

However I do have a tipping point re membership and interest in attending games etc.

The next 2 years will IMO decide my interest in being a member and attending games.

I agree with WYL we are at the cross roads

If we do not draft very well and improve our position we will be doomed to remain a irrelevant club in the new competition.

If the trend of the last 6 years continues for another 2 years My support will be surely tested.

Not sure I have much left after the last 48 years.