22 hours ago, hemingway said:

I had the good fortune to attend all the suburban grounds. 

Its was footy in the raw. Honest, gritty and hard. 

For fans the conditions could be cold, wet, muddy and damn well inhospitable. But on a dry day, you were up close and personal to both the play and the spectators. You could see and hear the whacks and the intensity of play. 

As a kid, it was an education. The first time I heard men swearing, the first time I witnessed punch ups in the crowd, , got showered with beer, taken to the game. A kid with grown men. Treated as an equal. A ritual and an initiation. Watching the footy gods stride the turf. And don’t ever say that the Demons of the 64 era were soft. They were tough and ruthless.

Of course, we would not stand for the playing and spectator conditions today. However it was exciting then and memorable now. 

Favourite ground was probably the Lakeside. Swans fans were not too bad. The outer at other grounds could be frightening. But it was an education, an exercise in growing up. Of becoming a man. 

The game has become professional but has lost so much character. 

 

Yes really 

What about the character our players showed all last season ? 
 

very hard to please H !!! 

1 hour ago, mo64 said:

I would definitely prefer to stand at the footy, though it's not really an option now, aside from AFLW.

We didn't think about it at the time, but it was fantastic to be able to go to a game, pay your money at the gate, and stand pretty much wherever you like. I went to the races at Flemington on Saturday, and whilst standing in a queue with $20 in hand, I was told by a lady that tickets had to be bought online through Ticketek. The process was a knightmare, and If I wasn't meeting a large group of friends, I would have returned home. Everyone had the same knightmare experience.

The Hillsborough disaster had a fair bit to do with stadiums around the world becoming all-seating.

I agree with you mo, standing is so much better. It’s the same at concerts. I always prefer to stand. Sitting is for the cinema. 

2 hours ago, 58er said:

Yes really 

What about the character our players showed all last season ? 
 

very hard to please H !!! 

Our team this year was phenomenal. Awesome. Not hard to please, just reflecting on the differences, the grounds, the fans, the players and the behaviour. Still love the game. 

Lifetime in Emergency response, cramped aircraft and marine environments - more than happy to sit. Watch a Premiership from Perth, even

12 hours ago, hemingway said:

Our team this year was phenomenal. Awesome. Not hard to please, just reflecting on the differences, the grounds, the fans, the players and the behaviour. Still love the game. 

I also was a patron and MFC member who visited all grounds from the 60's on. 
Yes it was good for those days but we have moved on. 
Much rather have the product today ie our 2021 product than 1970's!!!! 

2 hours ago, 58er said:

I also was a patron and MFC member who visited all grounds from the 60's on. 
Yes it was good for those days but we have moved on. 
Much rather have the product today ie our 2021 product than 1970's!!!! 

Agreed. Apart from the shotty conditions most of these old grands couldn't handle the crowd sizes of today. It was fun its day but maybe just being older I prefer my creature comforts. And back in the day, I dont think many grounds were good to take the family.

The first time I took my seven year old daughter ( quality time with dad ..just like the motor show) the highlight for her was the red rooster shop in the ground at the G.)

 

I don’t understand some of the comments in this thread about the non-family nature of the old grounds. 
 

From about 1963 on, I went to the football weekly, aged 10 in 1963, in a group consisting of a mother, often one of her female friends or sisters, and up to about 5 kids of my age or within a couple of years of it. We would arrive at about halftime in the reserves and would usually have seats on the fence or a row or so back (my memory is the most grounds had rings of two or three seats from the fence back). We didn’t have any problems. A couple of times a season there would be a fight between spectators somewhere in the ground, but these fights would be over very quickly and would be very limited. True, a lot of the toilets were pretty disgusting but apart from that, facilities were basic – as were the times – but we could enjoy the footy in peace.

I reckon they should bring in more standing at the G so more people can go to the gf. It's big enough to have the best of both worlds.