I always feel that people have no idea what they are talking about when they try to explain to me why Player X at Team Y is better than Player Z at Carlton.

My story is simple...

The old man started supporting Carlton back in 1967. Didn't really start to "dig" them until the end of 1969. But after that, it was game one. Went to most Grand Finals in the 70s, both Carlton and non Carlton and was a Carltonian for many, many years. Really stopped going to the football back in 84/85 because my brother had to have himself born.

Tells me all sorts of great stories about his dealings with Carlton players and officials. Had a good relationship with Shane O, Robert Klomp, Greg Wells, Wayne Johnston, just to name a few.
Had a dislike for Val Perovic as most of the players were quite happy to interact with the public after the games up in the social club, but for some reason Perovic hated talking to the supporters.

And being a Carltonian he would get to go to all the club functions they had and he'd be able to get in the rooms after the game. Said he used to love going into the rooms after the game not because he would get to interact with the players, but because of the reaction from the people outside the rooms. He struck up a good relationship with the doorman outside of the room and when my old man would walk up, he wouldn't have to flash his CFC pin, he'd just walk on through.

And now, I carry on supporting the greatest team in th AFL. I look forward to the day I get to influence my own children into supporting Carlton. I have already started on my eldest nephew. His dad is a Tiger supporter, so it may be a tad hard. I look forward to telling my kids about the darkest period in our clubs great history. I look forward to telling them about all the experiences I have been through with the Carlton Football Club.

Looking forward to my family continuing to support this great club...

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

Best thread ever!


You should get pissed more often Tyrants!



Moving stuff. I'll share my story tommorrow.

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Oompa loompa doompety dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me

have only just got back home after another frustrating weekend in 2005, at least i got a really good seat at the 'G' today, next to the players wives/girlfriends etc!! really disappointing crowd by the way .... but i wont dwell on that ... !!

i remember in 1968 watching the replay of the saints thumping collingwood at vic park (which is just next to where i now work!!). my favourite uncle, an italian version of dannyboy i guess, was a supporter of an italian soccer team called 'torino' who were the city rivals of the 'despised' juventus. for those who don't know, juventus wears the black & white vertical stripes!! my uncle had done his best to fill me with a hatred of all things black & white!

i was 5 years old and could barely speak english, but seeing these saints thump the maggies met with my approval, so, horryfying as it now seems i decided to adopt st kilda as my aussie rules team!!!

i went to school on the monday and proclaimed such to my mate, jack torosides. jack was 6 months older and he did something to me for which i'm eternally grateful.

he sat me down, slapped me around and told me that my choice was stupid!!

he explained that we lived in brunswick and as such were only a short walk from princes park. he told me all about the exciting team carlton was putting together, especially this guy named 'jezza'.

he basically sold me on the idea to adopt carlton! i promptly ordered my clan of cousins, all of whom were younger, to support the blues. many weekends were then spent standing behind the goals at the heatley stand end cheering on the many champions who have graced our magnificent jumper (by far the best in the comp).

of course, as i came to find out, we were the real anti-collingwood so things worked out well!

as we've all acknowledged, we're doing it tough at the moment. but the club has been an important part in my life, and will continue to do so.

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... an eagle flew out of the night. he was something to observe, came in close i heard a voice, bending stretching every nerve, had to listen had no choice ...

Love your work everyone, some great, great stories, keep 'em coming.

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Great story Maxy, love it!!

Where's Jack Torosides these days? reckon you should buy him a beer

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

mate, i owe him more than a beer!!!!

sadly, i haven't seen him since our mid-teens ... but i always remember him!!

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... an eagle flew out of the night. he was something to observe, came in close i heard a voice, bending stretching every nerve, had to listen had no choice ...

Yeah my munms side of the family settled in Brunswick so when i went to visit sometimes as a kid my uncle would take us to the game (after half time because it was free )
I remember the first time i got in and saw those navy blue jumpers i was in love. I knew Carlton were my destiny...
Now you people have to put up with me...

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I wouldn't have it any other way, ya crazy bastard

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

Yeah...but I have to put out the spot fires!

Blame my uncle....!!!

Its just destiny Mrs Cazz.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I was with my family visiting my Nanna and Pop and there was a game of football on the TV which I'm since led to believe was the '79 Grand Final.
Somebody (possibly my uncle who I idolised) asked me which team I was barracking for so I was forced to make a snap decision. "The ones in black" I can remember saying and I remember being informed that they were in fact wearing very dark blue.
Obviously the team I picked won and it turned out that my uncle was also a Blues fan which made it feel all the more like it was supposed to be.

As a post script to this, when Fev came to Carlton he became an instant favourite of mine because he shares my uncle's christian name (albeit spelled slightly differently), and his arrival was not long after my uncle took his own life. Much like my uncle Brendon, Fev is enigmatic and appears to be misunderstood at times, but has a heart of gold and is fantastic with kids. It's amazing how intertwined something like your footy club can become with your life, even for someone like myself who has been to less than a dozen live Carlton games.

While my conversion to a Blues supporter is a rather boring one, I will just say that Ive had a 40 year love affair with Carlton.

Right now, this is at a low point in terms of Carlton's performance, but not at all in terms of my love for and faith in my club.

Take a chance and call me crazy if you want to, but I swear to you that I have had vivid Carlton dreams that come to me from time to time.

I dont know how or why these things happen, but I only wish that they would happen more frequently.

There was one in the weeks prior to the 1999 prelim, where I dreamt that we were going to be in a GF.

There was another that related to the year in which I got married, which I dreamt was a Carlton premiership year - 1995.

But the most vivid of these was in relation to our current plight. A wild midnight roller coaster ride through times of financial crisis, wooden spoons, rebuilding efforts, remergence with an entirely new young team - and then....football glory....

I have a great deal of faith that although some details might not come to pass, the basic theme of it will indeed happen..

There was a player's name in that mad dream - running from the flank and goaling in a very competitive and vigorous new Carlton team full of pace and run, they are still learning their craft, but making clear progress.. The name of that player was 'Power'.

This is why Ive been most interested in the contractual circumstances of Luke Power and Ive also been very interested in possible trades involving players and / or draft picks that might be possible between Brisbane and Carlton.. What might Carlton have that Brisbane would want????

But as Ive said, It may not matter a whit whether we snare Luke Power or not, in my experience with these things, missing such a detail does not necessarily invalidate the broader objective or outcome.

That broader objective of course was at the end of that dream, which resulted in Carlton winning a 17th flag, from a low spot in the final eight during a year in which we were not expected to achieve much except build and develop a very very young team.

After a hot and cold season, in which we were back as a possible finals contender, but nothing more than that, we just happened to come good and peak at the right end of the football year.

That season is one that is a remarkably even one, not very much at all seperating top from bottom.

I think that this will happen and it may well happen during the next cycle of young players that we bring into our club - that is after a poor 2005 and I think quite possibly, a poor 2006.

Keep the faith, nuture it as you are doing right now and I believe that although things look bad at the moment and may also look bad in 2006, our club will come back in a way which affirms all of those truly wonderful reasons expressed in this thread as to why we all love Carlton.

In many ways I think that rather than bringing us back to the level of all the other clubs, our current plight might well do the opposite and exalt Carlton, plainly revealing our greatness to all.

Hold fast dear friends, because after our time of suffering, there will come a glorious reward...

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My Blue Heaven

I supported the Blues when I first came to Australia in 1988 because of my uncle. He supported Carlton because when he came to Australia in the early 70's he worked in a factory where everyone went for Collingwood except one old Italian man who got picked on, uncle felt sorry for him and chose Carlton.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Pssssssssst its not Luke Power in your dream its Marc Murphy

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

In many ways Id prefer Murphy to Power as the player in that 'dream team'.

For me, I had this mad experience, it seems all a bit unreal, but it happened.

There seems to be not a whole lot to hold on to right now, except a bunch of kids and a dream, but maybe thats all we need....

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My Blue Heaven

Blueman, I shall forever read your posts and take what you say is gospel.

PErhaps it is Max Power you are thinking of?!?!

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

All I know is that there was a player called 'Power' in carlton jumper streaming in from the right hand flank and goaling.

I first thought that maybe we would somehow get Sam Power, but this didnt seem right at all.

Didnt think it would be at all possible to get Luke Power, but the fact that the club apparently offered him $600K and the captaincy couple of years ago was interesting.

Then he re signed, so I thought it was all wrong.

Now I see that he is uncontracted again and we are rock bottom with the distinct possibility of picks 1 and 3 and also a clear possibility of snaring Marc Murphy - who might perhaps decide against F/S at the Lions.

Then again, as you say, Max Power might be a pickup for us that fulfills this.

It all doesnt matter much, but if we happen to have a player by the name of Power, or a name similar to this, like Dowler, then I will feel like something interesting may end up happening to that team....

BTW, as I have stated before, and will continue to state in the future, it could well be that the coach of this new team when it is successful isnt Pagan, but another new young coach in his first year at the club.

The flag happens during the time of a bad war. Everyone is in some way affected by this war.

Everyone said that we didnt really win much because we won during war time, and we hadnt really had a come back from our crisis of the past years, this actually cut a fair bit of ice with me at the time, but when I contemplate this alternate reality, I now conclude that all this gossipy talk is driven by jealousy. Fact is that we won and we won fair and square.

I distinctly remember feeling that although the younger coach got to hold the premiership cup aloft, there was this eery and strange feeling that the older coach was the real one who put the building blocks in place for this flag and that the glory should in large measure be his....

Thereafter, Carlton was as it has been for much of its history - therabouts - crisis over....

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My Blue Heaven

Why I love Carlton?

Coz I'm Blue
Aba Dee Aba Dah Aba Dee etc( what ever was that song the club used to Play?)

I love Carlton because I exist and so do they.

Imagine if I'd loved Fitzroy or South Melbourne.
I'd have nothing now!

Wife
Children
Worldly Possessions

and I still get excited enough to scream everytime we kick a goal, everytime we don't get a free

I bleed everytime they lose but still front up the next week

Why do I love them?

Coz I do!!!

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Stay tuned We're in for a BUMPY ride

A new guy called Power ..... well OK I can go with that
A new first year coach ...... yeah OK that could be true

..... thing is I'm not too keen about this war. It wouldn't be the "TV rights" war between 9 and the 7 / 10 consortium ????

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"IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE, YOU'RE PREPARED TO FAIL" - Mark Spitz

A man named Power.... sounds like Andrew Walker

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Love Cricket? Love me