LESSONS FROM GOTHAM by Whispering Jack

Ten years ago last October I visited relatives and friends in the United States and was brought face to face with American culture. I'd travelled to the States before but that was to do the Disneyland thing when the kids were younger. This time I spent some of the trip in a private home where my hosts were sports mad and eager to show off their own native games with which I was relatively unfamiliar. I came to appreciate how much you can learn from these quirky Yanks and their sports even if most of their political leaders aren't such endearing characters.

The Baseball World Series is played at that time of the year and, in late October of 1997, the Florida Marlins were the underdogs. They sparred against the Cleveland Indians in an intriguing set of matches that took them from one weather extreme to another. It was fantastic television viewing to see the teams slugging it out one day in sunny Miami and then, on the next, they were freezing their you know whats in snowbound Cleveland. The "Fish" were financed and run by H. Wayne Huizenga, a wealthy entrepreneur type who spent heavily to put together a team that ultimately won the title but the franchise was losing money so he sold out very quickly after savouring the victory. Literally. Huizenga dismantled the team by trading off most of the club's best players. The next year, the Marlins struggled at the bottom of the table.

We took a night off to see a National Hockey League game. Our hosts took us across the New Jersey state line into Pennsylvania where we saw the local team, the Philadelphia Flyers, take to the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those were the days when the only meaning of ice was frozen water. It was a real eye opener but not so much for what was happening in play - more so it was about the eating habits of my fellow spectators which was a demonstration of consumerism at its most gross. The sight of obese parents putting away bucket loads of hot dogs, pretzels and ice creams in between swigs of full premium beer in gargantuan plastic cups was matched only by the copious amounts of fast foods fed at alarming rates into the mouths of their equally obese offspring. Some fights broke out on the arena but there was also lots of mayhem among the boofheads in the bleachers as well. Luckily, I was a safe distance away from all that and in the company of my host's business partner – a former pro boxer from Mexico.

When we were finally able to focus our attention on the game itself, one of the Flyers stood out head and shoulders above the rest. I didn't have to ask to find out that Eric Lindros was a star of the sport. In fact, it turned out that he was just about THE star of the sport, the premier power forward in the NHL. With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, he exuded presence with a capital P. "The Big E" was clearly in control on the arena, the difference between the teams and, at 6'4", he reminded me of … um … well … Wayne Carey in the way he dominated proceedings.

I was reminded of that visit this week when I watched in awe as another underdog, the New York Giants pulled off a last gasp victory in Glendale, Arizona over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Throughout the season, the Pats had performed at a different level to all of the other teams in the NFL, their legendary quarterback Tom Brady had been breaking records and they stretched their record to 18-0 a fortnight before the Super Bowl. Most Americans believed they only had to show up to claim claimed the Vince Lombardi Trophy. There were some warning signs however, when Brady was seen limping in his hotel foyer only days before the big dance but the bookies, the fans and the pundits still had them as raging favourites.

When the day came, the Giants were ready. Their coaches were well prepared and had an innovative and flexible game plan for the offensive team and one for the defensive team. Their harassing tactics and strategies were applied relentlessly without let up; the players applied themselves with persistence, passion and hard work. Like all of the better teams in this competition, they had a blending of youth and experience but they also had a number of players in their line up who had improved beyond expectations. All of that seemed to be insufficient as the favourites took a 14-10 lead with less than three minutes to go but it was then that the reality set in - the Giants wanted the ball more than their cocky opponents. We saw a series of inspirational plays driven by their own quarterback Eli Manning who looks more like a mere mortal than a no neck American footballer. His perfectly executed long throw to David Tyree was caught perfectly under pressure and set up the ultimate winning touchdown. Dennis Cometti would have labeled the throw as "centimeter perfect" and perfect it had to be because the result virtually depended on the outcome of that play. Some of the pundits are calling it the "Immaculate Reception" but it was man made and certainly not divinely inspired.

On return from my Stateside visit those many years ago, my own football club was being presided over by an orthodox rabbi who had made a fortune on paper from mining exploration in outback Australia and it had a newly appointed coach who hailed from N.S.W, had once studied Divinity and came to be called the "Reverend". Our hopes were high but they all came to nothing in the end. I hope therefore, that I don't cause offence when I reveal my suspicions that the club might have wasted the ensuing years looking for some sort of divine inspiration rather than getting down to the basics and finding the right formula to put the Lessons from Gotham into practice. After all, we still are the Demons, aren't we?

On the subject of sports from the other side of the big pond, here's the German viewpoint about this year's Super Bowl (with thanks to Deeman) - The Schicklegruber Moment.

As WJ said, we hope no one is offended .

Your last paragraph has the potential to start up old arguments and debates.

fwiw I agree with you though

Your last paragraph has the potential to start up old arguments and debates.

fwiw I agree with you though

I'm not worried about arguments and debates - they're probably a good thing for the club. What I hope is that what I'm saying is not considered as a criticism of the past but that it spurs some positive action in the future, particularly with regard to the selection of our next CEO and the way he goes about his tasks of heading the club's business activities. I'm fairly confident about our on field prospects in the short/medium term but when you read of our staff problems, our failure to attract sponsors andto meet budgets it worries me. As Patrick Smith wrote in the Australian - "Melbourne might be 150 years old but it remains just one more mistake away from misery."

I'm not worried about arguments and debates - they're probably a good thing for the club. What I hope is that what I'm saying is not considered as a criticism of the past but that it spurs some positive action in the future, particularly with regard to the selection of our next CEO and the way he goes about his tasks of heading the club's business activities. I'm fairly confident about our on field prospects in the short/medium term but when you read of our staff problems, our failure to attract sponsors andto meet budgets it worries me. As Patrick Smith wrote in the Australian - "Melbourne might be 150 years old but it remains just one more mistake away from misery."

Patrick Smith would not know where his arse is......a great over reaction again, taking up Denhams article from a month ago (must be a slow news day) and this coming from a man who said the Dons were going to explode over the Sheedy issue, "this will spit the club down the middle and will take years before it settles" yep 450 votes against.......that sure hurt the club.

Greg Denham another one that is a "[censored] short of an Orgasm".....got on radio in the newspaper that Voss was signed sealed and delivered at Carlton, yep I am still waiting to hear his appointment to the position.

So I guess, excuse me if I don't rate them to highly.

Patrick Smith would not know where his arse is......a great over reaction again, taking up Denhams article from a month ago (must be a slow news day) and this coming from a man who said the Dons were going to explode over the Sheedy issue, "this will spit the club down the middle and will take years before it settles" yep 450 votes against.......that sure hurt the club.

Greg Denham another one that is a "[censored] short of an Orgasm".....got on radio in the newspaper that Voss was signed sealed and delivered at Carlton, yep I am still waiting to hear his appointment to the position.

So I guess, excuse me if I don't rate them to highly.

I dont give any credence to anything Patrick Smith says either but dont waste time on him.

However it is correct that MFC does not have endless chances to ensure our beloved club's survival long term.

I totally support Whispering's right to make the above comments with the hope that they be taken constructively. A supporter and with the Directors and MFC Admin open and constructive debate is healthy.

A fundamental cause of our club's struggle off field over the last 40 years has been the failure to learn from the mistakes or to dissect and address the deficiencies in the way the club has functioned. One positive from the Ellis regime ironically is that the administration was so bad that it exposed the lack of structure and proper procedures etc and focused PD's Board on instilling a sound foundation as well as getting the financials back into balance. That has at least been done and John Phillips put in proper reporting practices etc.

We are yet again at the start of a new start with new coach and soon a new CEO and as usual all MFC supporters will pin our hopes on them to realise the potential of the current group of players and achieve the ultimate success.

The ND 10 years was undoubtedly a rollercoaster and was not wasted but I think we all including ND would feel the club did not achive the success it could have and probably should have - maybe not a premiership but certainly top 4 back to back was a realistic target & GF more than once.

Overall the club as a whole also moved forward with the 'unity' actions in 2003 and there was real spirit of co-operation and enthusiam of all "element" of the club and discarding of previous factional interests. There was real optimism in that regard in 2003 and 2004. My observation is that as a club collectively we slipped backwards in 2006 and 2007 perhaps due to some complacency starting in 2005 perhaps because some thought the job had been done once the historical balance had been restored (about break even). The new CEO faces the task of establishing a sound and viable long term financial base for MFC. We have to hope that not only the MFC Board but also the AFL recognise the importance to everyone of a strong and sucessful Melbourne Foortball Club in the competition. When Melbourne is successful there are better attendances at the G and this benefits MFC and MCC and also strengthens MCC's hold on the GF. The AFL does not want the non Vic clubs to dominate the competition as Vic market remains the strongest one and most profitable for games.

Also, MFC has probably the most dormant or non financial supporter base and as such the most upside if it achieves ultimate success. MFC supporters do 'come out of the woodwork" if the team is sucessful e.g. 1994 and 5 when the Ox and Neita first came on scene in the finals. Conversely, if MFC ceased there would be a very significant proportion of MFC supporters who would not become supporters of another AFL club and the MCC hold on GF would diminish as a result. Both would be detrimental to finances of the G.

So as WJ proposes look to the past to learn those lessons and NOW is the time the lesson must be learned and acted on. We should all act on the assumption that this is the last chance.