1 hour ago, Demon Jack said:

I'm hardly a superstitious person, but if we win this year's flag, I might believe that the curse is/was real.

How long has it been since we won our last premiership - 57 years

How old was Norm Smith when he passed away - 57 years

Spooky...

Which year was I born. ?  '57

Which number is 33% of my IQ ???    57

Spooky !

6 minutes ago, No Plan B said:

The Channel 7 one is brilliant. Really captures the pain we've all felt as fans over the past 20 years especially.

Am I right in saying a few of the fan snippets were from Round 2, 2013 after the 150 point defeat to Essendon? 

Yes. Down the race

23 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Which promo was better? Love them both but I think channel 7 edges Fox out..

I legit nearly had tears when I saw the Norm Smith one..

Channel 7 way better

Thanks for this, didn't see it last night as was watching on Kayo

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Did anyone see the pre promo that Channel 7 had going? It was mostly around the Norm Smith curse.

It was very spine tingling and was a pretty power video.

Did anyone see it and can anyone upload on here please?

You and me both Dazzle. Thought that bit was very well produced and I was getting goosebumps to the max. That old Norm Smith footage gets me every time.

I don’t really understand how anyone could sack a coach who’s won 10 flags. Like literally I would be in favor of giving Goodwin a 15 year contract if he just wins us one! Just one!

Is there a team more haunted by its history than us?

You could argue St. Kilda and there Grand Final record, but I'd say a team that was absurdly dominant failing to make finals for 22 straight years and then always either been unlucky or smashed when it matters.

I'm a sports fan, so I am naturally superstitious, if we win it this year coming from 9th after 57 years with Norm being 57 when he died, I'll say this was a real curse.

2 hours ago, Demon Jack said:

I'm hardly a superstitious person, but if we win this year's flag, I might believe that the curse is/was real.

How long has it been since we won our last premiership - 57 years

How old was Norm Smith when he passed away - 57 years

Spooky...

I like it! If we break the curse, then the curse is real (and broken). If we don't, then it is not real anyway ... :-)

56 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

You guys would understand the Norm Smith impact more.

For us that weren't around at that time I think for the first time watching that promo made really realise the impact it's had on this footy club.

 

I was 14 when it happened and it [censored] me off that much I didn't follow them as much for quite a while, if I recall I started again when I left the army at about the age of 24. RDB leaving at the end of '64 didn't help as well.

1 hour ago, MurDoc516 said:

Is there a team more haunted by its history than us?

You could argue St. Kilda and there Grand Final record, but I'd say a team that was absurdly dominant failing to make finals for 22 straight years and then always either been unlucky or smashed when it matters.

St. Kilda from ‘09 to ‘10 were horrifically unlucky. A couple of bounces of a ball denied them in both those years. That was more fate as they had done everything right, and you couldn’t question their endeavor.

In our case, it would be fair to say that our implosions on the big stage were mostly brought about by fragility. Both our GF’s were over by half time.

4 hours ago, Demon Jack said:

I'm hardly a superstitious person, but if we win this year's flag, I might believe that the curse is/was real.

How long has it been since we won our last premiership - 57 years

How old was Norm Smith when he passed away - 57 years

Spooky...

Whether you subscribe to the curse or not, there are little pointers along the journey. The weirdest one was when we got pipped for 8th place in 2017 by the Eagles on  the slimmest of %. To rub salt into the wounds, the Eagles’ Points For were 1964 and Points Against 1858. 

3 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Yes. Down the race

Absolutely abhorrent behaviour. I don’t care about the whys and wherefores, under no circumstance should “fans” spew forth their filthy bile to our boys like that. Makes me blood boil. 

8 hours ago, Kent said:

Who was on the committee that sacked Norm Smith?

@picket fence @olisik no doubt

8 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Who sacks a coach after 6 premierships.  Reigning premiers.  
win record 9-2 in 11 games. 
won the first 8. 
 

it was all about jeolously and egos

board thought he was getting too powerful 

Well the reason norm was sacked had nothing to do with his coaching, norm got sued for defamation for criticising an umpire on live TV, he wanted the MFC to pay for his legal fees,  they did not, so norm was sacked

6 hours ago, No Plan B said:

Am I right in saying a few of the fan snippets were from Round 2, 2013 after the 150 point defeat to Essendon? 

I was at that game against Essendon, and backed it up the next week for our almost 100 point loss against the Eagles at the G. I’m sure many of you were too.

When we win I think about those 2 games a lot. I think about the other Demons supporters I saw at those games as I sat there by myself. The heart breaking looks we gave each other, and the empty seats around us - that represented the family members who’d stopped coming, and caring. At the time I genuinely feared for the future of the club.

I don’t care if you just jumped on the bandwagon. Just stay on it. The hard stuff is worth it if you stick around long enough.

Seemed like yesterday for me. For the younger ones, life goes so quick. Enjoy the ride. Memories of the Pink sporting globe. reading the results of the seniors Reserves and Under 19s in one go. After games in the rooms with the players for any kid who had the balls to ask the doorman. Drinking/sharing the players aftergame cordial, the slightly wild boys of the Melbourne cheer squad on the wing of the Old Great southern stand. Many losses and hard times but all worth it.

My first hope is that we slay this curse once & for all this year.

My second hope is that it's replaced by the "Clarkson Curse" which can stick around at Hawthorn for 50 years or so

7 hours ago, Jaded said:

I don’t really understand how anyone could sack a coach who’s won 10 flags. Like literally I would be in favor of giving Goodwin a 15 year contract if he just wins us one! Just one!

This post got me thinking…what was the last flag won by a coach who is no longer coaching?

Excluding Clarkson at Hawthorn for a moment (the man will be back in the chair somewhere in 2023 you would think), the last Premiership won by a sacked coach is…Collingwood in 2010 (Michael Malthouse).

That's 11 years ago.

Perhaps the 2 dynasties in that time (Hawthorn and Richmond) have skewed the numbers, but it just shows that if you win a premiership you get a heck of a lot of job security as a result. As you should.

7 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

I was 14 when it happened and it [censored] me off that much I didn't follow them as much for quite a while, if I recall I started again when I left the army at about the age of 24. RDB leaving at the end of '64 didn't help as well.

One thing I've always wondered is how history would have played out had Smith stood aside and let Barassi take the reigns at the Demons in 65. Would Barassi have got us more flags as the supercoach he turned out to be? Or would he have been hamstrung by the board and the setup of the league at the time (zone system)? Would he have left Melbourne after a couple of years having had his own troubles with the board/committee?

Reading The Last Hurrah over the last couple of weeks brought these questions to mind.

Edited August 29, 20214 yr by Dr. Gonzo

13 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

One thing I've always wondered is how history would have played out had Smith stood aside and let Barassi take the reigns at the Demons in 65. Would Barassi have got us more flags as the supercoach he turned out to be? Or would he have been hamstrung by the board and the setup of the league at the time (zone system)? Would he have left Melbourne after a couple of years having had his own troubles with the board/committee?

Reading The Last Hurrah over the last couple of weeks brought these questions to mind.

We will never know how things would of played out but I suspect Barassi would of had the same issues with the MCC board and most likely left to coach elsewhere.

At the time I just couldn't understand why Barassi would want to leave the MFC and Smith getting sacked just about ended me following the club anymore, as I said it was nearly 10 years before I resumed my allegiance to them but for a lot of those years my time was taken up with other matters. 

You could certainly argue that the Dees have been cursed off field. The tragedies have been uncanny. What struck me is how old Norm looked. He was 49 in 65 but yet looked 70 plus. The Dees obviously sucked the living marrow out of him. The vision of his wife just showed how devastating the event was heart breaking. On the field I don’t think where cursed we simply have not been good enough. Both 88 and 2000 were built on solid team with passion but simply not in the same class as the premiers. This year is different there is no Hawthorn or Essendon. There are no certainties but if you value form then how we are not odds on is staggering. Forget next year the Dees will never be in a stronger position to win it. That why I’m locked and loaded for Grand Final as I truly believe after 60 years of support this is the year. I made the trek in 2018 and it was the longest flight home. The only thing that can beat us this year is COVID and if that happens we truly are cursed.