Greetings fellow TCers. Hope life is treating you all well.
On the eve of our serendipitous foray into the finals series, I thought I'd stop by and see how the
TalkingCarlton folk are doing. It's been nearly four years since I have been online, and it's good to
see a lot of the prominent posters from the past are still lurking online.
In order to catch up on those missed years, please allow me to reflect over those missing years -
2009/2010
juddjuddjuddjudjuddjudd
How good does it feel to be in the finals again? (2009, vs Brisbane)
Farewell Fevola... why did they throw that Henderson dud into the trade?!
More upsetting, farewell Wiggins
A young lad called Kane Lucas get his first game, remember thinking "He's going to be a star"
Finals two years in a row! Watch the Blues lose to the Swans in an Aussie pub in Thailand
Judd wins the Brownlow the year Swan should have (2010)
2011
Get to see the Blues win a tight one against the Gold Coast Suns in their first ever game (Round 2, 2011)
Brock McLean simply has to go... too slow and injured to play football!
Watch the Blues take it right up to the Eagles in the Semi, only going down by 3 points (2011)
Watch the Saints lose to Sydney straight afterwards - seeing Milne upset makes me feel slightly better.
Swan wins the Brownlow the year Judd should have (2011)
We say goodbye to the biggest outside player I have ever seen in Navy Blue... Ryan Houlihan
2012
3 and zip after Round 3 in 2012, surely they are wrong with the premiership favouritism?!
They were wrong with the premiership favouritism... the Bombers brought us back to Earth, and now we know why
(I'll give you a clue, it starts with an A and finishes with a 9604)
Where is the Plan B Ratts?!
Gold Coast knocks us out of the finals race, and Ratts out of the coaching seat (Round 22, 2012)
In the off season we plant a player into an opposition club with orders to disrupt their efforts on-field.
That players name? Jordan Russell. Sucked in Collingwood.
Welcome Mr Malthouse, we've been expecting you (since before Round 22 - despite you proclaiming otherwise)
2013
We lose Round 1 to the Tigers. For a while I wonder if I have stepped into an alternate universe.
Three losses in a row, followed by winning 5 of our next 6 games. Pretty much spells out the nature of the season.
I come to the realization that one Judd doesn't not a team make.
Essendons penchant for exotic supplementation and a 1 point win over Port gifts us a finals berth.
So here we are on the cusp on another finals campaign. Screw the debate over whether we are deserving of the spot or
not - due to our salary cap breaches Essendon* was able to secure Keplar Bradley with their 6th pick in the 2003 draft...
...ok, bad example.
Either way, we've made it. While it is clear that we won't go very deep into the finals, at least we have one more
match to watch in 2013.
Good to see the absence of the problems I saw in this forum when I disappeared years ago, I do miss the community, the
forum footy matches, and the friendships I've made. TalkingCarlton is also directly responsible for me hooking up with two
girls (not at the same time) whom I'd met at functions, and one awkward moment when I discovered that a doctor that
me an embarrassing medical procedure happened to be a regular poster here.
Ahh, the memories. Synbad is still as prickly as ever, Gavroman is still a &#^$. Some things change, and some things stay the
same. It is good to know though that if I ever need to look for a core group of fanatical Carlton supporters - that I know where
to find them.
It's good to be home.