There is a lot going on, mostly with Carlton supporters its either resignation, sadness or anger (or all three and that's before half time!).
We rant about St Kilda and their inability to win flags. We point fingers at Richmond and laugh about their supporters, we forget, as all clubs do, the tragedy of Fitzroy.
We stand like supermen and beat our chests and claim culture! Culture bah! read Fitzroy's history, then think about their fate. Shipped off to Brisbane like whipped dogs. Culture didn't mean squiddly dot when their foundations collapsed.
Same for us. Forget culture and history. Remember our great past and rejoice in it, but do not use it as a weapon for the present. It's a feather sword. It will not help one little bit.
What culture we had was blown away by the fools of the late 90's. We have no culture!
And we will not have any until we regain a list that can win games - that's where culture comes from. First a list and then culture.
So many people are angry claiming this isn't Carlton. 'We don't lose like this,' they cry as they leave another horrible loss.
Well now we do! And often!
Before we can worry about culture, about playing for the jumper, about that castle we want to stand on top of, we first have to draft some talent. We need genuine depth. We need some star midfielders. We need at least 3 big bodied Key position men and we need a ruckman or two.
In essence we need an awful lot.
We can sit aroud on our bums and crack jokes about St Kilda's sad history but the truth is right here and right now we are their bunnies. When our side runs out on the ground to play them, they own us. Sure Elliot was great at swaggering and calling them crap or rabble or pointing a finger at the Bullies and laughing and trying to buy the Roos but now we are the rabble. We are the crap.
Other teams are cacking themselves laughing at us, and why shouldn't they. Look at us. We are a joke. Like the Fitzroy of old, our jumper means nothing any more. Nor do the sixteen cups. Not for the present. Not out on the ground. Not with winning here and now.
We need talent. We need to rebuild a list that is so sick I'd almost back a WAFL side against them!
We're like a punch drunk throwing shadow punches while in our ears the bells of famous victories peel but our legs are jelly and our stomach a pile of flab waiting for the weakest team to jab. We have a glass jaw and a debt so large we live in a caravan and stuff all to look forward to.
Unless we accept. Accept this reality and grit our teeth and do what all those clubs we poke fun at have done. Swallow pride, put our heads down and work our butts off. Sure once we were heroes. Now we are fools. Cheats. Liars. And worse, losers; perennial losers. That's us.
Now we can succumb to the rage and start the merry go round up; a bit of fancy music, some silly lights and we can start the parade. Out with this, in with that, chuck the coach, sack the board, fire the bootstudder, change the jumper, around and around, doetsy-doing til there 'aint much left.
We can prove we are the new joke. The new rabble of the AFL or we can shut up, take what's coming and get to work. We can support this club while it sets about rebuilding the crappiest list ever!
It will take time. Forget wins/losses, forget pride, forget everything. We have a single thing to take on board. That is the draft.
We must draft better than we ever have before. We must collect the best talent and find the gems and try unturned stones and revive flagging dreams and in amongst all this will be many losses, sometimes it may even seem more losses than gains.
But that will just be preception. Like St Kilda once did. Like the Doggies are doing. We must shut up and work hard and find the players that can turn it around. We must rebuild this list. It will take a lot of time.
And if we go the merry go round route it will take even longer. If we start witch hunts, finger points and empty threats then it will take even longer.
We need to support this club and we need to be patient.
Denis has coached and is in it for the long haul.
Collo knows whats what and is in it to fix it.
We need to relax and let them. If we start the whole ditch this, try that, ditch that, try again syndrome then this club might just be gone. The Sainters who laugh and hope we die might just get their wish. We are not invulnerable. We are simply a club that once did many, many things well, better than most others but have not for so long it has almost killed us.
We started poor and accumulated wealth. We can do it again.
We once embraced new ideas. We can do it again.
We've been at the front of the pack. Sometimes we fell back and then we put our heads down and started again. We can do it again.
That's what we are doing now. These days we must go through the draft. Not buying ourselves out. No easy fix with a Kosi here or a returning prodigal son there. Just draft good kids, teach them, watch them develop and let them loose.
Time.
We must give this club time.
If we don't.
If we expect too much too soon.
If we seek to change everything all the time hoping somehow it'll all turn up roses.
Then our time as a club might just be up.
And the only roses we'll see
are the ones we place around Princes Park in memory.
Now other supporters might laugh at that but it would break my heart.
It would break many hearts.
But that doesn't mean it cannot happen and won't if we lose our heads or our hearts and chase dragons instead of recruiting champions.
Go Blues!
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