Just chew us up and spit us out again!

[picket fence 18,169]

That's what it feels like being a Melbourne supporter. My dad took me to the 1964 Premiership win ( which I don't remember) but  I was converted properly coz I loved the old style Demon jumper after seeing the mobil footy cards in the mid late sixties ( For those who don't know what I'm talking about think a glossy Tassie Johnson photo and others on your bedroom wall). The closest we got was probably 1987 ( Im not convinced we were that good in 2000 even though we made a GF). 

So I went today with a couple of my adult kids and they were pumped shouting cheering and very involved, I sat there today with a nondescript look on my face not getting in any way excited. I spose I was hoping for something but knowing full well another probable loss, particularly aftter that abysmal third quarter. So I don't seek closure , I don't seek the impossible, I just want before I get much older to see sustained success. I'm not convinced after today we are any closer to the premiership success we yearn. So excuss the melancholy and rhettoric but in all honesty being a Dees Supporter means you just get chewed up and spat out again, year after year after year! 

[dieter 3,325]

8 minutes ago, picket fence said:

That's what it feels like being a Melbourne supporter. My dad took me to the 1964 Premiership win ( which I don't remember) but  I was converted properly coz I loved the old style Demon jumper after seeing the mobil footy cards in the mid late sixties ( For those who don't know what I'm talking about think a glossy Tassie Johnson photo and others on your bedroom wall). The closest we got was probably 1987 ( Im not convinced we were that good in 2000 even though we made a GF). 

So I went today with two of my adult kids and they were pumped shouting cheering and very involved, I sat there today with a nondescript look on my face ( my daughters expression), not getting in any way excited. I spose I was hoping for something but knowing full well another probable loss, particularly aftter that abysmal third quarter. So I don't seek closure , I don't seek the impossible, I just want before I get much older to see sustained success. I'm not convinced after today we are any closer to the premiership success we yearn. So excuss the melancholy and rhettoric but in all honesty being a Dees Supporter means you just get chewed up and spat out again, year after year after year! 

That's life, baby. Remember, it's in the end a game of football, a first world privilege. I recall reading an article by Noam Chomsky about his College days. He recalled how everyone at the refectory one Saturday night was upset and morose. He was told their football team had been defeated that day. He chewed his cud morosely then said to himself, So what? The world has not changed. What's the tragedy?

 

[bing181 9,473]

5 minutes ago, dieter said:

I recall reading an article by Noam Chomsky about his College days.

I'm not sure that a quote from Chomsky was what Picket was looking for.

[The heart beats true 18,201]

34 minutes ago, picket fence said:

I'm not convinced after today we are any closer to the premiership success we yearn. 

Than we were 2 years ago? Give it a spell. We lost a game by 2 points to a team that we beat for 3 out of 4 quarters, and had arguably our 3 best players out (including the only AA we've had in 6 years, and the only KPF we've had since Neitz). Harmes kicks that goal at the end, or Kent's handball to Watts in the 3rd doesn't take a leg break and we win.

No ones giving out awards for the most heartbroken supporter. Hang in there, but stop looking for reasons to feel bad about the club. It's not very constructive, or good for your health.

[leave it to deever 17,614]

18 minutes ago, bing181 said:

I'm not sure that a quote from Chomsky was what Picket was looking for.

Ha. I dont think any quote would help. Feel a lot the same. Picket has a lot of passion for this club and I understand his frustration. Last year I posted that some of us have waited longer to see a flag which people dissed but its true.

For guys in their 50s and some in their 60s who cant recall the glory days its been a [censored] hand. Its  a [censored] hand at times for all of us the last 10 years but trust me for those who have only supported the club that long..... add another 30 years and youd be making posts like this.

 

This was supposed to be a breakout year but we play like this at home against a bottom side. Its hard to see finals happening now which eway you slice it and Im guessing that's why Pickett is upset. I know I am.

 

[leave it to deever 17,614]

3 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

Than we were 2 years ago? Give it a spell. We lost a game by 2 points to a team that we beat for 3 out of 4 quarters, and had arguably our 3 best players out (including the only AA we've had in 6 years, and the only KPF we've had since Neitz). Harmes kicks that goal at the end, or Kent's handball to Watts in the 3rd doesn't take a leg break and we win.

No ones giving out awards for the most heartbroken supporter. Hang in there, but stop looking for reasons to feel bad about the club. It's not very constructive, or good for your health.

Cant blame players out. Sure there are two huge losses but thats footy. Good teams have enough depth to cover losses. Look at the doggies last year....they were completely decimated with injuries but won the flag.

I like your optimism but Im not sure its totally warranted. I think we will struggle to get 13 wins and make finals after this effort and Im sure this loss will come back and bite us.

[The heart beats true 18,201]

Just now, leave it to deever said:

Look at the doggies last year....they were completely decimated with injuries but won the flag.

Same Bulldogs that got beaten by Freo last week? Freo aren't a bad side.

And I appreciate everyone's perspectives but it gets SOOOOO boring around here when we lose a game and we have to start hearing about the desert since 1964.
It's ups and downs, thats how it goes. Today was a frustrating loss, but not the end of the world.

 

 

[leave it to deever 17,614]

Just now, The heart beats true said:

Same Bulldogs that got beaten by Freo last week? Freo aren't a bad side.

And I appreciate everyone's perspectives but it gets SOOOOO boring around here when we lose a game and we have to start hearing about the desert since 1964.
It's ups and downs, thats how it goes. Today was a frustrating loss, but not the end of the world.

 

 

I hope it is a case of Freo being better than we all thought.

[Mydee 288]

23 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

I hope it is a case of Freo being better than we all thought.

Andthere will be plenty of others too

[leave it to deever 17,614]

THBT makes a fair point about Freo. This a team that 2 years ago could have wont the flag. It helps take away a bit of the sting but not much.

[Nasher 33,655]

35 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

Same Bulldogs that got beaten by Freo last week? Freo aren't a bad side.

And I appreciate everyone's perspectives but it gets SOOOOO boring around here when we lose a game and we have to start hearing about the desert since 1964.
It's ups and downs, thats how it goes. Today was a frustrating loss, but not the end of the world.

 

 

Spot on. Today's the first day that I can honestly say I'm fed up... with Demonland. I don't think I can take another minute of the full grown adult tantrums that go on every time we lose. I think you can be bitterly disappointed - and believe me, I am - without resorting to ridiculous over the top pessimism. It's getting really, really old.

Nearly time for me to go on a self imposed hiatus for the three days following a loss.

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

3 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Spot on. Today's the first day that I can honestly say I'm fed up... with Demonland. I don't think I can take another minute of the full grown adult tantrums that go on every time we lose. I think you can be bitterly disappointed - and believe me, I am - without resorting to ridiculous over the top pessimism. It's getting really, really old.

Nearly time for me to go on a self imposed hiatus for the three days following a loss.

Good points Nasher

I was going to bate some flogs but then I thought what's the point.

Demonland sadly seems to be a place where self indulgent sooks like to hang out

[layzie 34,528]

Yeah you're probably right. The loss hurts, a lot. Yes we probably haven't taken the next step yet but there's no gimme games anymore. Must look forward 

[John Crow Batty 8,892]

39 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

I hope it is a case of Freo being better than we all thought.

And now reasonable to assume more sides are better than us or at least the ones that show up to play.

[worldwideweb_demon 90]

We all love the club but I guess some of us get rather sick of disappointment after disappointment.

We're the team that manages to lose to the wooden spoon team year after year?

We're the team that keeps losing to the cats, saints, roos, etc etc or any team at etihad (1 win out of 50 doesnt mean anything)

We're the team that loses to the blues last year when our season is on the line and carlton haven't won a game in 2 months.

Met up with my swans mate earlier this year and reminded me how we lost to the swans in 1993 when they were on a 26 game losing streak and couldn't win another single game that year.

We've got to be the most frustrating team to follow? Why oh why?

On the bright side, there's always next week.

[Mydee 288]

17 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Spot on. Today's the first day that I can honestly say I'm fed up... with Demonland. I don't think I can take another minute of the full grown adult tantrums that go on every time we lose. I think you can be bitterly disappointed - and believe me, I am - without resorting to ridiculous over the top pessimism. It's getting really, really old.

Nearly time for me to go on a self imposed hiatus for the three days following a loss.

And if you do where is voice of sanity? To quote Yeates The worst are full of hopeless ambition while the best are coldly pessimstiic

[layzie 34,528]

Good old Yeats 

[Little Goffy 14,953]

After the Geelong game I felt ok because I could see that instead of being a team that should lsoe most of the time, we were now a team that has to have a bad day to lose.

After this game I described it as 'Goodwin's first crisis'.

I actually stand by both statements. We are a capable team, but right now we are at a pivotal moment that could shape or near-term and longer term development as a team and club.

Maybe 'crisis' around the Demons has come too much to mean 'oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die'. In this case, I mean 'how you act in this moment is going to have a massively disproportionate effect compared to normal times'.

Times like this are the coach's proverbial 'shot on goal after the siren'.

 

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

That's what it feels like being a Melbourne supporter. My dad took me to the 1964 Premiership win ( which I don't remember) but  I was converted properly coz I loved the old style Demon jumper after seeing the mobil footy cards in the mid late sixties ( For those who don't know what I'm talking about think a glossy Tassie Johnson photo and others on your bedroom wall). The closest we got was probably 1987 ( Im not convinced we were that good in 2000 even though we made a GF). 

So I went today with a couple of my adult kids and they were pumped shouting cheering and very involved, I sat there today with a nondescript look on my face not getting in any way excited. I spose I was hoping for something but knowing full well another probable loss, particularly aftter that abysmal third quarter. So I don't seek closure , I don't seek the impossible, I just want before I get much older to see sustained success. I'm not convinced after today we are any closer to the premiership success we yearn. So excuss the melancholy and rhettoric but in all honesty being a Dees Supporter means you just get chewed up and spat out again, year after year after year! 

Searing stuff.

I want to come back to this in three weeks. I really think we'll be 5-2. I know that's poor form and you shouldn't do that. But I've not seen much to make me think we've lost the respect we earned this first month. Just for what it's worth.

[ding 5,126]

1 hour ago, Dappa Dan said:

Searing stuff.

I want to come back to this in three weeks. I really think we'll be 5-2. I know that's poor form and you shouldn't do that. But I've not seen much to make me think we've lost the respect we earned this first month. Just for what it's worth.

Interesting.. I actually see us losing 3 of the next 4, before wining back to back.

No way are we playing finals with our current skills.

[Goffer 256]

Yeah been pretty down in the dumps too, but it could always be worse. 

My folks are Irish so I have a keen interest in Gaelic football, and one of the strongest counties in the sport is the county of Mayo. They have been in more All-Ireland finals (equivalent to the grand final) since 1989 than any other county. They have, however, lost every single one. They are apparently subject to a curse, the Mayo Curse, laid on them when they last won an All-Ireland in 1951- the story goes that the winning team disturbed a funeral procession on their way home with the cup, whereupon the officiating cleric stood out on the road and cursed the county  to never win a title again until all members of that panel were dead. Three of them survive, for the record, and so too does the Curse. Tough and all as it has been for us, I always have the Mayo curse in mind when things go wrong, it could be worse!

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

12 hours ago, ding said:

Interesting.. I actually see us losing 3 of the next 4, before wining back to back.

No way are we playing finals with our current skills.

Yeah I know I'm not in the popular camp on here. Demonland are glass half empty sometimes. You think we'll lose to 2 of Richmond, Essendon and Hawks? (I assume you're chalking up Crows as a loss, and who wouldn't after last night).

My thoughts have to do with Hogan and Lewis coming back. They're just so important.

Hogan. Against Blues, we kicked a winning score without him kicking a goal, and that was partly related to the dump kicks by midfielders always heading to Hogan, with Jesse crashing packs and cleaning up 3 players. Or at very least, drawing two defenders. If he kicks 4, and the team kicks another 6 from his involvements... we win the last two games easily. A player like him simply cannot be replaced. There isn't anything he doesn't do. And how often does he get to a contest and NOT win it, or spill it to advantage? How often is he absolutely beaten one on one? Now compare that to Weed, Smith, even Watts. Weed and Smith haven't done a damn thing for the club in our two losses. Literally nothing. Watts has done great, but is often spoiled and taken out of contests. I really do believe we're at minimum a 5 goal better side with Hogan in.

Lewis is a lot of similar things, but in the backline. Not often beaten. Makes about 3-4 other players better. Think about how badly we cleared the ball with Melksham, TMac and Vince. Going back to the bad old days, our worst kicks were always blamed for delivery, when it's more down to the targets not leading. Lewis out there directing traffic, we clear the ball SO WELL. We create 5 opportunities a quarter based on good zoning. So Lewis alone, again, we're a 3-4 goal better side.

Both players straighten us up remarkably, and not only get it inside fifty, but to good places that it's easier to kick straight from.  I'll be interested to come back to this in a month. I think by the bye we'll be as far as 7-3. 

[Pennant St Dee 13,443]

13 hours ago, Goffer said:

Yeah been pretty down in the dumps too, but it could always be worse. 

My folks are Irish so I have a keen interest in Gaelic football, and one of the strongest counties in the sport is the county of Mayo. They have been in more All-Ireland finals (equivalent to the grand final) since 1989 than any other county. They have, however, lost every single one. They are apparently subject to a curse, the Mayo Curse, laid on them when they last won an All-Ireland in 1951- the story goes that the winning team disturbed a funeral procession on their way home with the cup, whereupon the officiating cleric stood out on the road and cursed the county  to never win a title again until all members of that panel were dead. Three of them survive, for the record, and so too does the Curse. Tough and all as it has been for us, I always have the Mayo curse in mind when things go wrong, it could be worse!

The town was Swinford hence the Swinford curse and as Dubliner I was happy to see the curse rear it's head in last years All Ireland which ended in a draw with Mayo throwing away their best opportunity against the Dubs worst performance in 2 seasons. The Dubs won the replay to go back to back and make it 3 in 4 and 4 titles in 6 years

[Goffer 256]

1 hour ago, Pennant St Dee said:

The town was Swinford hence the Swinford curse and as Dubliner I was happy to see the curse rear it's head in last years All Ireland which ended in a draw with Mayo throwing away their best opportunity against the Dubs worst performance in 2 seasons. The Dubs won the replay to go back to back and make it 3 in 4 and 4 titles in 6 years

My family's from Galway, so the old man hates Mayo with a passion. I think he's started to feel some real pity for them though, even going so far as to barrack for them during the All Ireland last year. It'd be like MFC supporters cheering Collingwood in a GF because they had lost 8 in a row and they were starting to feel sorry for them 

[What 18,810]

Typical overreaction to a loss.

We are finally heading in the right direction, and Picket you know full well there will be bumps along the way.