05-04-2017, 04:30 AM
(05-04-2017, 04:01 AM)malo link Wrote:Gee, with respect, I don't get this at all. If you start removing the big club rivalries.....what actually gets a supporter really passionate ? I have no emotion about beating teams like Gold Coast...or GWS, it's a job that has to be done to be successful that's for sure, but I don't & will never feel the same about beating them as opposed to beating Collingwood, or Essendon, or Richmond .....or Hawthorn (hopefully one day !). If there's no difference to the supporters, why does the AFL bother scheduling in blockbuster games between sides such as Us & Collingwood/Essendon, Hawthorn & Geelong & the like ?
This is exactly my point. If you're a supporter who buys into this, go ahead, knock yourself out. Rhys-Jones' comments were, to my mind, clearly intended as a rev up to the players, to give extra for the arch enemy. If they're giving this for the Pies and Ess, what are they giving when they play everyone else ?
For the supporters - fine.
For the players - iffy at best.
I celebrate every win on the merits of the game, not the opposition's colours. I would much more enjoy a win against any non rival club where we display such superior football skill, where you can really see players, coaches etc. who are at the top of their game, slicing the opposition to ribbons with meticulous and ridiculous ease, as opposed to some hackneyed, half arsed, limping over the line win over the baddies du jour.