cortez wrote:
Just got back from SA, we spent a few days in Glenelg before heading back home, and no it wasn't me who snotted the PA player Saturday night in Glenelg.
What a night sitting in the stand watching that flogging. Perfect conditions, perfect surface and 2.9 to halftime, then fail to score at all in the third quarter. Carlton supporters were laughing it was that bad. Me? I had my head in my hands.
There were quite a few Carlton supporters sitting near us, most were gone by half way through the last quarter. I've sat through some awful thrashings over the years and never left a game early, I came close this time though. The only Carlton supporters in our area till the end was my wife and I, and another couple sitting stony faced near by.
Of the teams that made up the AFL at the start of this century we are by far the worst performed. I've tried to be patient, but I just don't know any more. The fumbling, the foot skills (whether field kicking or shooting for goal) which would shame a country footy team, year in year out nothing much seems to change. It's the hope which kills you, every once in a while like against Essendon** you think progress is being made then backwards we go again.
I'm 66 years old, followed Carlton all my life and will till I die, but I don't think I've ever been so disheartened. Walking away from the ground Friday night my wife asked me if I was alright, she was seriously worried about me. She'd never seen me so quite during or after a game, never seen me so down. I've been saying we are on the right track, that in a couple of years we'll have a good side, 3/4 years and we'll be challenging for a flag, now I really don't know. Ah well, give me a week or so and I guess I'll front up again, right now I wonder if I'll live to see another flag though.
It's the kids I feel most sorry for, at least I've seen success. There were a couple of family groups near us with little kids decked out in navy blue, the poor kids just couldn't understand why we were so bad, a couple looked near to tears. You wonder how much longer they'll continue to support Carlton.
I'm 67 in August.
I think being there would have made it worse, listening to the Port supporters giving it to us as well.
I watched it stoney faced in Mexico at 5:00 in the morning as I have been doing ever since the pirate streams came available and now using the AFL stream.
I used to get emotional and want to throw stuff at the screen years ago but now I have developed a sort of emotional isolation. I keep telling myself we will be OK and this time I think we will. Remember that a few years ago GWS was getting flogged by 100 points a week but they had youth and high picks.
Well we have youth and high picks and players who were high picks before we traded them in. They WILL form the basis of the recovery. They won't all be there when it happens and neither will some of the current senior players for whatever reason but we need to be patient.
Our problem is that we know mortality is creeping up on us. My dad was over the moon when we won in 1995. He didn't think he'd ever see another flag.
That's how I feel at the moment.
I'l be watching stoney faced this weekend as usual...
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