Mazer Rackham

Hell no! They're licensed by a rival company!!

What's the chance our new corporate overlords have either kicked in funds to make this happen, or (more likely) ordered the AFL to put the frighteners on and make it happen under an obscure clause in the sponsorship contract? The post above about dressing up as Spiderman is probably more than a figment of some marketing apparatchik's imagination. They're probably measuring up Nathan and Max for sizes right now. Many of us were joking at the time it was announced (the unholy marriage of the AFL and the comic book company) but it was always highly likely that they weren't going to be spending all those $$$$ without infiltrating our game with their toys and cosplay. Why do you imagine the Dogs are the first cab off the rank and not Collingwood or Hawthorn? This is only the start of it. (This Iron Man post about the Marvel AFL brought to you by Captain America Demonland, powered by Batman and Robin: Robin Returns, part IX Invision forum software.)

No, it's the same old rule ... 1. decide the outcome 2. work the high/low/medium/careless/negligent etc parameters and injury reports backwards to get the outcome you already decided It's Australia lore that you can't really explain "the vibe"

The bad news is that your prediction will not come true. The MRP/tribunal have failed every year to show any consistency whatsoever. You know that within 4 rounds of footy, there will be an identical (or worse!) incident where the perpetrator will either not be charged, will cop only a fine, or will be let off at the tribunal, and "the look" will not enter into it. Funny Christian is interested in "the look" of May's incident, but not concerned about "the look" of random and inconsistent decisions by the MRP. (Just wondering where the words "the look" appear in the MRP guidelines? ... he asked, knowing the answer already.)

Nice point. I see Mick as being more like the photographer at the end of Apocalypse Now. Too much time in the company of the evil genius(es) [at AFL house] has sent him round the twist and he's a few pips short of the whole orange.

Have you seen some of the arguments that player advocates have come up with over the years? That have succeeded against all common sense? We are seriously dense if we play this with a straight bat and don't try to game the system like all other clubs, and try to get May off. This is quite apart from the serious argument that he was legitimately "standing his ground", in accordance with the rules of a contact sport.

I think "they" got to Paolo. Thanks "Delusion demon 82" for waking up the sleeping giant.

Hmmm ... it's obvious that this "Delusional demon 82" knows too much ... CODE RED. CODE RED. Men in black are moving into intercept position as I type ... all future posts by "Delusional demon 82" are to be disregarded as they will be plants by AFL agents. Repeat CODE RED.

Let's not kid ourselves. These things you say are supposed to be true, and in a fair and consistent MRP/tribunal world they would be true and no-one would have any issue with any of it. But ... we don't live in that world. We live in a world where the MRP work off the wheel of fortune, or a darts board, or dice rolls, or horoscopes ... no-one can be sure, such is the discrepancy and inexplicable randomness of it ... and the tribunal is something to be gamed, where you take your most audacious shot and hope that the tribunal members' biorythms are out of sync and you get a favourable result. And you often do! We are out of our minds if we sit back and say "well, it's a fair cop". Because it is not a fair cop, not in the world where fairness and consistency have been replaced by chooklotto. We've come up snake eyes and want a second roll of the dice. If we don't get it, or if we accept the results of the first roll, we're not playing the same game and deserve to lose. Until the AFL/MRP/tribunal get their act together we have every right to be upset, and every right to have a second bite of the cherry. Clubs need to challenge every decision of the MRP for no other reason than to get the AFL to work toward finally getting it right, ie, consistent.

Is that the new PC term for "demented"?

Even our sponsors are getting into the swing of things! The value-add of being associated with MFC just goes up and up. (PS she looks like a Collingwood supporter)

The entire MRP from its conception has been laughable. Business as usual.

What game are we watching? Australian rules football? Translation: as MFCSS sufferers (long term, lapsed, and recovered), we accept that this kind of bullsh*t just happens to MFC But this is the new MFC! If we have the nads to shoot for 70,000 member,s we have the nads to challenge the MRP lottery 1000%

A higher authority has spoken. Channel Seven: AFL must be ready to move to twilight grand final

The road to Cranbourne is open in the summer months. Take plenty of water, and provisions for three days, and extra fuel. Notify police before you go, including your car rego and expected date of arrival. There is no mobile phone coverage, so two-way radios will be useful, as will flares and matches, whistles and mirrors in case of emergency. Once you safely arrive in Cranbourne, you will be able to re-provision for the second leg to Cranbourne East, where the same precautions will be necessary. Good luck, and may God watch over those poor brave souls. (And, GO DEMONS!)

This very thing has been on radio in the last few days as the downside of the NRL night grand final. Kids can't go as it finishes so late (and it's a "school night" in NSW). Country folk can't go as they face a long drive into the wee hours or face staying overnight = more $$$ Your average die-hard supporter/family numbers are reduced and it becomes a corporate-only event. They've got extra transport challenges in Sydney but the writing is on the wall. A night grand final is another middle finger to the people who made the game the attractive TV proposition that it is.

Oh well. One has to be philosophical about these things.

like: beer dislike: is that like not liking something? it is? in that case i dislike not having beer like: drinking dislike: not drinking. unless it's eating nuts or chips in which case i start drinking like: getting drunk dislike: not getting drunk like: being drunk dislike: getting .... what's the opposite of being drunk? disdrunk? undrunk? i don't know. whatever it is-- no ... no .. whatever it is ... i don't like it. i even dislike it. like: footy dislike: uvver sports. unless it's footy. then i like it. but this is about things i dislike. running out of beer, not having any beer. you know. things like that. like: beer. did i say that already? you sure, mate? another like: essadan. and james hird. by jeez, james hird. now i feel like another beer. like: writing about footy. except the writing part. that should be a dislike thing. except i get paid. that's the bit i do like. dislike: not having money. you ever wake up and you've got no money but lots of empties and old betting tickets? i have. and i dislike that. then i have to write some more. and i dislike that too. it's enough to drive a man to drink. oh, and i like james hird too. put that in. whose shout is it? yours? thought so.

They mean Association Football, better known by its abbreviated name, Soccer. For some reason, Soccer is a dirty word in Aussie media. They will instead call it "football" (as if it's the only football code around) or "the world game" or "the round ball game". They can't seem to admit that Association Football is just one of a dozen or more codes of football around the world and has no greater claim to the word "football" than any other code. The rules of Association Football were codified in 1863. Ours is the older game! (Meanwhile, the oldest club is Sheffield, 1857.)

Yes, probably true. Because there is no way we would have had the clout or connections to shove out the athletes and claim the oval. Olympic Park was supposed to be the one true permanent home of athletics in Victoria. In 2006, to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the 56 Olympics, there was a considerable refurbishment of the area, hence "Olympic Boulevard", with lots of goodwill about the permanent home of athletics, and other Olympic-related vibes. Statues, a mooted new stadium (turned out to be AAMI), etc. But then a board member of Athletics Australia got the idea that AA would be better off in South Melbourne. Got in the ear of the premier. Somehow along the way Melbourne City Council ceded title to the State (ie, Victoria). Lo and behold, within two years, AA was out of their permanent home, shifted to Bob Jane stadium, with promises of new digs there, and now there's barely anything "Olympic" about "Olympic Boulevard". It's all tennis and various codes of football. [*] By the way, the board member was none other than Eddie McGuire. And the premier was John Brumby, a keen Collingwood supporter. [*] and who can forget when a certain prominent Toorak businessman suggested moving an entire tennis stadium to make way for (guess what) more football.

Counterpoint: you think you may *not* stop following footy, etc. OR: you *don't* think you may stop following footy ... Oh god, this thing just gets murkier the more we learn. All this on top of the fact (you won't read this in the MSM) that Spargo is Princess Di's lovechild and is only guaranteed a spot in the 22 to stop him revealing the truth about the royal family. Hillary (Q) must be furious.

For those about to rock ... Angus Young was a gun. Discuss.

Not directly. Thank you. Correction: is known. That's why we don't want to go via the Evil Place.

Dear Demonland, Can you post the link to the destination article (in this case at SEN), so we don't have to go to the Evil Place? Thank you, -Readers who don't support the Evil Place.

Thank you Hillary. Marc-Ange Draco here. We have heard these words before. "Ah, but that's not PURE communism. PURE communism would get you the results we predicted." All the while ignoring the fact that pure communism is so completely antisocial, normal people reject it in droves. It can't work. It's against human nature. Through a fluke of nature, IT nerds somehow became cool. (A strange phenomenon worth of study in its own right. It's as if international scrabble tournament players became celebrities and their every enunciation press-worthy, with the ordinary masses goggling over their wisdom and insight.) Gates, Jobs ... then Zuckerberg. With a cool person, it's possible to overlook their character flaws. Zuckerberg has the greatest character flaws you can imagine. Basically, he's an odious little [censored] trapped in a man's body. And too immature to see it or do anything about it. I'm not normally a pessimist, but I think we're stuck with it until the next generation fixes it. A truism, maybe too simple to be bear out in real life and the long stretch of history, but I believe the kids of the kids you reference, I think (I hope, I trust), will rebel and correct the errors of their elders. If you read Churchill's history of the English speaking peoples, you will see that a lot of [censored] has happened in 2000 years, and essentially, everything old is new again. We've been through a lot of turmoil over centuries, and even though the current generation may end up as collateral damage, goodness and rightness will shine through eventually. (Again, human nature.) We see glimpses of it even now. Long live the younger generations. They are easily dismissed, but they see as far as we older and supposedly wiser ones.