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MY STATUS AND BACKGROUND AS A FOOTSCRAY FAN
I am a paid up member of Western for this 2005 season. I bought the $525 package that includes social club membership and prime reserved seats at the Doglands and Melbourne Cricket ground. This is only my second year as a member of Western following last year being my first. I was though a Footscray member in 1996. So I am no longer the non-contributor that I was, because last year I ended my self-imposed exile from the red white and blue and became a Western member for the first time in May of that year. I sold the raffle tickets that were posted to me despite saying earlier that I wouldn’t sell them. Well I bought them actually, put down my sister’s name on the tickets. The ticket stubs and fifty dollars were duly taken back to the club. Nothing unique about that really considering that I am not important in the overall scheme of things, being basically a two bit, run of the mill, dill supporter. However I believe I should explain my status as a Footscray fan both from a current and historical perspective.
Those who have read previous editions of this website, may possibly remember my stance of not renewing my 1996 membership. My loathing of the name change has resulted in my indifference to what the club has evolved into. I am a Footscray supporter and have been since 1976 when I first began to gain an understanding of football. I began supporting my team when we were Footscray and our number 7 then was Ray Huppatz. Only two others have worn our number seven since Huppy and most would know the answer to their identity- Doug Hawkins and Scott West.
I mentioned in previous posts my disappointment in those who would not sign up as a financial member due to reasons such as the axing of a player. I wasn’t impressed when Gary Dempsey, Kelvin Templeton, Brad Hardie and Darren Baxter left the club. Nonetheless that would not stop me from buying a membership. I always believed that alternative forms of protest should be taken. Maybe don’t buy a raffle ticket or refuse to sell them when approached to do so. Whatever is your particular form of protest use it, but still sign on.
H
However you should never say never as I found out. Because at the end of 1996, I decided that I was not going to renew my membership. Why should I as a Footscray fan pay money to support the policy, to change the name of my team when I was not given the option to vote for or against that decision? There is always a last straw and changing our name and the method that the name change was implemented drove me away. Couple this with the leaving of our home to play as a renter for another club (Carlton) gave me no option but self-imposed exile.
My membership exile has now ended but not because I have slowly come to accept Western Bulldogs. I despise our change of name as equally, now in 2005 as I did in October 1996. I have been convinced that it is easier to rally against something from within then as an outsider. So therefore if it gives this campaign more substance to be on the inside looking out, rather than being on the outside looking in, well I’ll hop on board and jump inside the metaphorical Trojan horse. Maybe just maybe a vote will be held on this issue perhaps even this year. Best to be prepared, available and eligible to vote.
Though I don’t believe that a vote should be necessary anyway. No vote, referendum or plebiscite occurred in 1996 and so I don’t reckon we need one now to have it changed back. Just do it, a small step, which is basically a cut and paste exercise.
The Western Bulldogs officials do not want this matter raised and are unwilling to have the subject receive the due attention it warrants. Why does the club go out of its way not to mention Footscray anywhere? Have a look at the Western Bulldogs official website (which I have included in FNWB’ links) or any official club publication or merchandise. The only situations where Footscray is mentioned will be when quoting usually either a former player or newspaper article where it is unavoidable for the F word not to be used.
They want this subject swept under the carpet and not debated by any group, whether that organization be supporters, the media, politicians, potential board challengers or community groups. The current board is aware that Footscray would overwhelmingly defeat Western Bulldogs if a vote/ referendum/ plebiscite were to be held. Thus they don’t relish the embarrassment of an election, because it would make them look silly. Fancy being forced through a vote by the members (democracy) to overturn a decision they made that was not voted on (dictatorship) What a wonderful paradox that would be!
MY STATUS AND BACKGROUND AS A FOOTSCRAY FAN
I have knowingly and willingly been a Footscray supporter since 1976, although I was probably always destined to follow them from my day one back in August 1969.
I attended three games of the 1975 season and we won all three, although I cannot remember whom they were against. One was I think against South Melbourne and at their Lakeside Oval. I remember that one of these 3 games was played in pouring rain and I have a sneaking suspicion this may have been the game. If so, I attended our last victory away to South Melbourne. That was to be our most recent away victory against the Swans until 1990 in Sydney when the Swans were Sydney and not South Melbourne. I cannot remember the other two, who we played or what ground the match was played at.
Possibly another one of the three was the round two clash with Fitzroy at home. Footscray won this game having lost our opening round the week before to Melbourne on the cricket ground. This quite likely was the first game I went to as an uninterested 5 Year old.
A hugely significant game this was for football and sport of any code. It should be remembered forever- and I wonder if next year, the 30th anniversary of Footscray’s Neil Sachse, becoming a quadriplegic will receive the coverage this tragedy warrants. Tragedy and disaster are to my knowledge alongside miracle and unbelievable the most overused and misused words in the English language but definitely not in Neil’s case. Maybe we use tragedy so flippantly that we need to find another word to describe what happened to Neil Sachse. This was the biggest disaster in football and so many are unaware of the events of April 1975. Hopefully next years 30th anniversary will remind those of footballs ultimate injury.
The following year saw myself be taken to just the one game. In 1976 that game attended was a defeat at home. I was not familiar with losing having been present at three victories. Hey we always won when I went, that was the deal wasn’t it? In this match as a nearly seven year old in July 1976 I was so upset as we were copping a hiding, but found solace in seeing a blonde haired opposition player being carted from the field injured. I was given a ticking off by one of my teenage cousins for mocking this player by saying ha ha as 6 year olds do. Later I was to learn that Peter Knights was to miss a Brownlow Medal from this injury at the Western Oval. So if you should ever read this Peter, please accept my apologies for making light of your serious injury sustained at my ground 29 years ago.
So it wasn’t till the following year that I was to see us live in the flesh, but I would listen on the radio with great keenness. I remember that 1976 we were involved in many close finishes and we seemed to win the majority of these. The last game against Carlton at their home saw a drawn match ensure our passage through to the finals. My father can remember almost the exact scenario back in 1944. On that day we made the finals on account of a Harry Hickey kick on the siren in a game against Carlton and at their Princes Park home ground (later to be known as Optus Oval).
Yet 2 of these close defeats were against Geelong and the second one was the Elimination Final at Waverley. What a shattering experience this was for a recently turned seven year old in Grade one at primary school. My memories of the game were that we had a handy lead at three quarter time and were kicking with the breeze in the final quarter. Sadly though it was not to be as inexplicably we threw the game away to lose by seven points. I read somewhere in the last year that this match was Sam Newman’s biggest thrill in football in his 300 games as a Geelong player. It was also the afternoon that Larry Donahue booted his 100th goal for the season and one of Geelong’s best players was Brian Cousins- the father of Ben Cousins. It was to be 9 long years before we were to play in the finals again in 1985.
My next trip to the football was against Fitzroy at Waverley in April 1977 as we defeated them by 28 points. Three out of four for me, back on track but the next game I went to was a fortnight later and I discovered a new situation back at home to St Kilda. We didn’t win like the Hawthorn game the previous year, but didn’t lose either. Welcome to drawn games. What I recall vividly from this match was our coach Billy Goggin at three quarter time heading straight for the centre square to have a go at the umpires and the crowd roaring its approval of Goggin’s action. My seven year old mind recalls we were leading by a point before a St Kilda player kicked a behind to tie the scores and there was no more scoring .The St Kilda bloke may have been Elliott? Perhaps if a Saints fan that is older than me reads this, they may be able to provide the correct answer if Elliott was indeed wrong. My other recollection from this match was a freak sudden storm hitting Footscray the suburb. The storm was so intense, that thecrowd standing in front of the John Gent Stand all seemed to rush in great numbers to the shelter of the outer, which had the benefit of a roof. Never since this day have I ever seen both a storm as dramatic at any football match and a crowd relocate elsewhere so rapidly. Our next home match against St Kilda was a year later and you will find a chapter dedicated to that game elsewhere in this website.
I was not the clubs greatest fan and although I was pretty keen, there have been many more dedicated than myself. Some supporters never miss matches anywhere. Should make a special mention to Gary the chap from Portland who I believe has not missed a game since 1974, thirty years! What a stalwart he has been and please consider, that he has been commuting from Portland. All clubs have their ‘never miss a matcher’ fans but what separates a Footscray ‘never miss a matcher’ from a Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong, Melbourne Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Richmond one is that these teams supporters do see success, if not always in Premierships but in Grand Final appearances. Well maybe not Richmond of late, but they have been in 3 Grand Finals since and including 1974 compared to the nil that we have contested. Geelong and Melbourne whilst not winning a Grand Final since 1974 have still reached it. Since 1974 we have taken part in just four measly Preliminary Finals for the result of two close defeats (1985&1997) and two hidings (1992&1998). St Kilda have only played in two Preliminary Finals since 1974 but at least they won the1997 and went on to run out for that years Grand Final. .
Anyhow back to my involvement in following us through the thin and thin. Although certainly not the most passionate or committed, I would like to believe that I was keener than most Bulldogs fans. I attended the vast majority of games between 1977 and 1983 and attended every game of the 1984, 1985 and 1986 season with the exception of the Swans game in Sydney. In 1981 I missed three games for the season (Hawthorn at Princes Park, Geelong at Kardinia Park and St Kilda at Moorabbin) yet was present for the other 19. That was the season we won 2 games and lost 20 most of them absolute beltings. Only once have I seen us play interstate and that was against Brisbane, on the Gold Coast at Carrara when they were known as the Bears in 1992. Standing in the pouring rain for the whole game in weather that was uncannily similar to the West Coast Eagles, Whitten Oval farewell game of 1997. I stood behind the goals contemplating that famous advertisement. ‘Queensland- Beautiful one day, perfect the next’ but I wasn’t worried as we won the match and that was what was important.
Now that we are playing at the Docklands Stadium I feel better as we are no longer helping the Northern Blues in paying off their most recent monstrosity of a Grandstand. Moving to Optus Oval as lodgers, doing our bit to help the landlords reduce their debt on an overpriced white elephant was nearly as loathsome as the name change. Altering our name and home ground for a much worse parking predicament at Carlton sliced two major wounds through my Bulldog heart. If we were still paying rent to the Northern Blues, this website would be about double the size that it is now. I question how much money, would have been raised by the Footscray Fightback, if it known what would soon happen? Would people be as generous if they were to realise that soon we would be called Western and playing at Carlton’s ground? This was to be the fate the Fitzroy Bulldogs would have encountered.
In the ‘Mission’ chapter I describe the uniform we wear now and what I believe we should be playing in. I really dislike our present Guernsey and that chapter will explain in greater detail what we should be wearing both in terms of colour co-ordination and design.
I will still refuse to buy any merchandise that has the Western Bulldogs on it. I have not bought any scarves, beanies, jumpers, shirts, mugs etc from the club shop since 1996. Only videos, books and DVD’s will I purchase and you can’t wear them on your head or around your neck. If we were Footscray though, the Bulldog shop would be doing some trade with me for the first time in eight years.
I have felt strongly about these issues since 1996 no matter what position the team is on the ladder. We are now playing our home matches at the Docklands, which is an impressive stadium (well when not playing home games in Sydney and Darwin). No longer are we doing our bit for the Northern Blues in helping them pay off their Legends Stand so now lets sort out this other fine mess. Whether it was at the time of Tony Liberatore’s ‘goal’ early in the last quarter of the 1997 Preliminary Final or after clinching our fourth wooden spoon since entering the VFL in 1925 he wooden spoon in 2003, I have loathed the changing of our name from Footscray to Western Bulldogs. Now is the moment to change it back.
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