Rab D Nesbitt

Morning all. With a forecast more hebridean than antipodean today I'll be looking for a spot near the fireplace at Dr Morse in Abbotsford for my eggs benny. Maybe a cheeky pint at Range Brewing next door before the short commute to the 'G. As for the game I'm expecting a really close one so we'll need to be switched on from the get go. Enjoy your day everyone.

In regards to the conversation about which Victorian clubs play down in Geelong and why, I think it has more to do with whether the game would attract a bigger crowd and financial return if it were moved away from Kardinia Park to the MCG. As a guess this might be 65,000 for example. It's probably why Carlton have started to play games down there again recently as their notional home ground at Docklands has a capacity not much bigger than KP (and where Geelong would still make less money even if it were at capacity) and they would need to draw at least 65,000 if it were played at the MCG to make it worth moving. I think if both us and the cats could regularly attract those sort of attendance numbers in our home games against them you'll start to see that we play down less often and some other schmuck will end up taking our place.

Open top bus on Cavill Street tomorrow has been moved to Swan Street.

Probably on the same plane as us though so if we're hanging around for hours before the game with nothing to do then so will they.

I'm guessing Steward Dew's nickname is mountain.

It's turned into a very funny thread tonight and we haven't even heard Hardwick's presser yet.

Is Stewie Dew's media conference in Cinemascope or is he actually that size?

David King - "Richmond, thanks for the memories" ?

Gold Coast. ? How Embarrassment.

How many microphones have the placed next to those 12 Suns fans behind the goals?

Marvel will be happy that their name can be seen on those seats nobody are sitting in on the far side wing.

Agreed. To be honest I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable about potting the English on this thread as like most things it's complicated and I genuinely love all of the friends I've made from living there. I just hope someone can knock them out before the final though!

Hi again Daisycutter, Thanks for the googled cut and paste job. You didn't need to send it though as it's not really any different to what I said in my last post. Scotland as a nation had no say in the empire because we had no government. Tom Devine is a fantastic Scottish historian who I remember hearing talk at the time of our last referendum.

Hi Mazer. The thing is that so many of the population south of the border are now conditioned to believe that foreigners are stealing their jobs, europeans are stealing their freedoms and the other home nations are subsidy junkies that they haven't noticed that the English elites, who despise the working and middle class, are literally selling the ground they walk on and the institutions they cherish (NHS) so much and they're not going to realise it until it's all gone.

Where's Ben ?

Again, yes on an individual level. Plenty of Scots were slave owners for example. Others became wealthy industrialists. It was still a concept driven by the English crown / government, initially to find trading routes to compete with the likes of Spain. These days most of us that are from the other home nations know that the term British is only ever used when it's expedient for England to use it. Usually in sports where England don't have anyone that's any good at that particular time. It's why Tim Henman and Damon Hill are English but Andy Murray and David Coulthard are British. It was only a couple of years ago when commentating for the BBC that Sue Barker said on live tv that Andy and Jamie Murray had just sent ENGLAND into the Davis Cup final after winning their doubles match.

Hi Daisycutter. No doubt there were plenty of Scots, Welsh & Irish individuals only too happy to take part in proceedings and reap the benefits for their own gain BUT the empire was entirely an English driven concept as none of the other nations have had any form of home government since the act of union in 1707 when we were all swallowed up by Westminster and the English crown. Football is a wonderful game, particularly at the lower levels and the term soccer should only be used when speaking about the game in the US.

Hi Skuit. An ex GF of mine is from Eindhoven so I have a big soft spot for the dutchies and PSV. I'm familiar with the hooligan element over there as well. Being a Scot there are a hundred reasons why I won't support our southern neighbours in international football. Some political, some historical, some media related. Having lived in England for a number of years though it has always puzzled me why so many genuinely lovely, funny and welcoming individuals turn into such a grotesque collective every two years for the Euros or World Cup. It's the only time I wished I was somewhere else and brexit unfortunately has only emboldened them. I think that there has been a deliberate attempt by both the media and political class over many years to airbrush the deeds and consequences of the English empire to the effect that it was at worst benign. As a result their people have been fed a deluded sense of place and entitlement in the world that the tories used to their benefit to get elected back in 2010 and continues today with their union jackery flag waving nationalism.

If you're looking for historical sporting alignments the only one that matters is this. England won their only trophy in 1966 (thanks to a dodgy Russian linesman at Wembley) St Kilda won their only premiership in 1966. Neither have won anything since. Long may this continue.

Essendon supporters on steroids. They wreck every town centre their national team is based at tournaments on foreign soil.

Don’t tell me that. I can’t begin to enjoy any international tournament until England have been knocked out. If someone were to tell me that we could only win the flag if they also won the Euros I’d be in a right bind.

Hi WWsW. I'm not so sure it'll be that close. Outside of their traditional leafy inner east heartland I don't think they'll get too much traction. A lot of people would have seen through the faux concern for the low income earners and migrants stuck in those North Melbourne flats last year and it wasn't very long ago they were in a bind about whether to back a new law that would ban gay conversion therapy by prayer of all things. They might even be tarnished a bit by the federal governments continued stance on fossil fuels. I think the current government we have down here is probably good for another three years although by what margin I could only guess. Anyway, back to Covid & AFL 2021 as the header says.

I thought South Australians were all one big family.

Charlie. Those 50,000 all have noses. Some are even on their faces.

Hi Stiff Arm. I've never been one to bag the club but the email from them dropped 2 hours before tickets going on sale which has never been the case before whilst under the same covid restrictions. If you're working and can't make prior arrangements to free yourself up and log on you might miss out on getting any available tickets.