I live far away, so it takes a couple of days to get access to a game...
So I watch them at home, alone... with no-one in the country who likes or has even heard of the sport...
This time I watched after having heard the result, so it wasn't with the regular anticipation, yet I watched...

I saw a magnificent performance from Stevo... brought his own ball with him and used it well every time... might be out next week with leather poisoning...

I saw Bryce... he is going to be a deadset champion... he showed glimpses... that handball over the top to Jarrad Waite and an open goal was magnificent...

I saw Cameron Cloke... we all thought we should have gone for another... the press said DP wanted another... we didn't and he was brilliant that night... his tap ruckwork was sensational...

I saw a team fight back from 5 odd goals down and win as opposed to collapse and give up as they would have done last year or the year before or the year before etc...

I saw Fisher... he is tough to match up... a 6'3" crumber... a marking option... who you going to put on him???

I saw us win without Fev playing well, in fact he wasn't even really OK... and we still won... I hope he gets his knee right...

I saw all these things knowing that we had won... yet the strangest thing happened... When the da da da da da started playing I had a single tear welling up in my eye... It was pride for the boys... the kids...

In 1995 I was 20... almost every player on our list was older than me... now I watch these kids at 31 almost 32 and realise, I am older than these boys... The team has only 1 or 2 older than me... and I am proud of the fight they showed... I am proud of the improvement and I am proud of the way that we ran out the game...

Come on you Blues! And come on everyone get on board! We are going to be very good in coming years!

_________________
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet
Woody Allen

I hear ya big T.

I very rarely get sent games due to the technological incompetence of my friends and family back home, but I get up early every time Carlton plays and put the headphones on so not to wake my family and listen to the blues.

For the past few years I wondered why I bothered, but this year I think that we're a different team. I don't mind losing if the players give their all and learn from their mistakes (well actually I do, but at least I can forgive that).

I am nervous with anticipation now. I feel like this is a new era of the CFC but am scared to really believe it.

On Sunday morning I was listening to the game and hearing the SEN boys describe Gibb's handball that you mentioned brought a huge smile to my face. It was an involuntary reaction and I had to try to stop myself from getting carried away as the game was still to be won and we weren't over the line yet, but it was uncontrolable.

I think that I am still gunshy from the last time we won the NAB, and even winning in round 1 is no certainty that we'll be better off than what we were last season as we opened with a win over Melbourne.

If we get over Geelong this week, the smile will be bigger still and if we get over Port I reckon we might just make it past Pratt's expectations of a 10th place finish.

It is going to be baby steps and I can feel that I am getting confidence in the team again, because they are exuding confidence in themselves.

Go Blues!

PS: If anyone wants to burn games for me onto a DVD I will gladly provide the material, postage and a bit of cash for your effort.

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"our guest is dressed by hand-me-downs, hair designed by pillow"

Great posts guys, all the signs are there that great times are ahead and that we will all be rewarded for our patience and loyalty during the darkest of days.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

Check your pm's for a way to get the games

_________________
*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

snif

Makes me a very proud new Blues supporter!

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[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

boys,

Love your work!

I had the great joy of attending the twilight game.

I assure you we are different this year. The journey has begun, and we will give plenty of teams a shake this year. You'll be singing the old lilly of laguna more this year than last (even if it is with the headphones on).

Go baggers!

_________________
"Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

I am at home in Melbourne and have been at the last two games... I was there for our games against the Dogs and the Power... After the Dogs game I felt so emotional... I hadn't seen us win in the flesh for 6 years, as I have been away... And I saw kids with their dads cheering... These kids have seen Carlton win 3 or 4 times in their life... And when I tell them that when I was their age we used to win everything, they don't really believe me...

I love when we win, and sadly I must go back to Japan on Thursday and I can't see us win any more games, but I am sure we will frighten a lot more teams this year and we will give it a fair shake for the rest of the season... I am proud of our boys, and I look forward to listening to more games from the O/S base...

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What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet
Woody Allen

Right. I'm putting in a call to immigration. You are not going ANYWHERE Mr T.

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Congratulations CK95

Hi BT,
I am coming back to Melbourne myself and will get to see the Melbourne game, I hope I am as luck as you!

_________________
"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

It is really funny reading this thread because I'm currently sitting in Kobe Japan and reading voraciously through all the gossip. I know how Taff and BigT feel.

Since I've been in Japan we haven't lost a game!!!!! I'll swap jobs with you BigT. I'll do all the high finance with the bank and you can play piano in the brothel. I'd happily not see another game if we didn't lose another game.

One question for you two - How the hell can you work with these Japanese keyboards with the space bar the size of a normal key!!!!!

P.S. I went to the Sumo tournament in Tokyo but it's not the same although it did bring back memories of Mark Maclure running into Mick Nolan!

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If you'd given me the choice of going out and beating four men and smashing a goal in from thirty yards against Liverpool
or going to bed with Miss World, it would have been a difficult choice. Luckily, I had both. - George Best

BH my mates over here assume I am a good luck charm and won't let me leave either... I have some good luck charms that I have been taking with me and I am leaving them here for my mates to continue taking to the games...

_________________
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet
Woody Allen

KS sounds good to me mate... I would love to keep going to see us win week after week... The space bar is smaller, but it is easy to get used to and no that is not a euphemism...

The sumo is sweet, hey? Especially when the grand champion loses like he did this time...

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What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet
Woody Allen

I used to grab the vid from aussietorrents when I lived in tokyo last year, had some nice fast internet speeds. Think u can see the abc asia pacific broadcast games if u can stomach expat bars.

I'm returning in a couple of months, let's get the tokyo blues together to try to catch one of the final few games.

Sayonara!

Just found this thread. I enjoy listening on the net and 'chatting' on TC at the same time. It's almost like being at home listening on the radio with a few mates in the room. I've never met Taff, Dog, P12 or even that dizzy 2122 chick but it makes Oz seem a lot closer than it is. The world is a small place. I am heading back in mid August and hope to see a win. Have to convince my son not to have his birthday bash in Perth on a weekend we are playing in Melb.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

TC is such a great link with Carlton and like minded tragics! Being a radio person from way back streaming audio is great. I downloaded the torrent of Saturday's game but the quality sadly was poor, heaps of stop, start. Still it was better than nothing. Luckliy we get Australia Network on cable into our home so I get to watch a few games over the weekend. Looking forward to watching Friday's game even though it is a delayed telecast. I also haven't met many TC'ers only Dannyboy, Jars and Orangewhip (quality not quantity?) but looking forward to catching up with a heap of them at the Melbourne game.

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.