very interesting thread this one. i guess i have been infected with the plague to a degree also. but its always through the week that i am thinking geez it'd be great to have picks 1 & 3. come game day at the G or the dome, all i can think about is winning the game. i celebrate like mad when we kick a goal, or just some decent play.... such as a kick hitting a target (hardly worthy of cheering, but i have found myself doing it

) i get upset with the horrendous turn overs, i sit in amazement as we invent a new way to completely flower it up. and most of all i leave in anguish as to why everything has gone so badly.
i think there the plague is more like a back-up. if we win the game we're ecstatic. if we lose... well at least we're that little bit closer to the prized #1 pick in the draft.
then you start wondering why it is that we are so desperate to have pick #1. is it because we had it but never got to use it, so now we don't know why we want it, we just want it???? what if we mess it up? nick del santo went at pick 13 or so. is there a case that clubs can get blinded by the hype of the top pick? who knows. but pick 1 isn't always the best player. pavlich wasn't pick 1. judd wasn't pick 1. luke ball wasn't pick 1. kosi wasn't pick 1. wells wasn't pick 1. hird wasn't pick 1. the list is endless. now consider some of the #1 picks. goddard? travis johnstone? josh fraser? havign #1 doesn't necessarily guarentee you an out and out champion. but having said that it's a pretty good start to getting one.
regardless of the result against hawthorn we are still going to have 2 of the top 4 picks, and i know that i for one will be there on saturday, cheering, supporting and looking for a victory. i know i'll be pissed off if we lose.