AFL Rd 10 2023 Post Game Prognostications Carlton vs Collingwood

[PaulP]

I'm not sure about that part.
For some supporters the Carlton football club is a large part of their life from their earliest memories until the day they die.
They'll perform 'lucky' rituals on match days, cry after losses, name their pets and children for favourite players, struggle to go to work on Mondays after a loss and tip over the water cooler if someone says the wrong thing.
The club song will be played at their funeral and they'll be buried in their polos, jumpers and scarfs.
(But that's just me) ;D

Players and coaches are just employees.
Many supported or played for other sides before they came to Carlton, some will play for other teams when they leave.
Some will eventually become rusted on.
They'll be the face of Carlton, they'll treasure the memories and turn up to flag reunions, but in a lot of cases the bonds they form will be for other team-mates rather than the club.
They'll hurt in losses for that reason, not for the love of a jumper.
Some will have very short careers.
Their feelings for the club will be transient.
They'll laugh with the opposition after games, while the fans cry in the stands.

The behaviours in your first paragraph have a lot in common with organised religion - that's the first thing I thought of. The second thing is that if the right (or should I say the wrong) circumstances are all in play at the same time, Mr Snapper becomes Mr Snapped, and loses his nut completely, and does something drastic like those South American soccer fans. There's no invisible bubble that protects AFL from soccer. Tribal identity markers are very real (not necessarily based on ethnicity), the same passions are aroused, the same behaviours reinforced and expected.

And I disagree with your last point. Players and coaches at Carlton give significantly more time (physical, mental, emotional) than any fan, even if it's by necessity. Most players that move on are either retired, traded, or delisted. A small number of course move because they want to. And most coaches only leave because they get sacked. Fans focus on whinging and whining and making sure the world knows how much the club hurts them. Players and coaches focus on making themselves and their team mates better. Try rocking up to work and having 50, 60, 70, 80,000 fans telling you you're a piece of cr@p, you're only in it for the money, you don't deserve your pay cheque etc., and see how you like it

Players and coaches are professional, and they have to play the game. Of course they will talk about how great their new club is. They can hardly say otherwise.