stubba wrote:
I have confidence in Swannie. My concern is I don't see that unqualified passion among the playing group for the navy blue jumper. I think this is a coaching issue. I watched the Crows-Geelong game last night and I was really impressed with the way the young crows players committed themselves to getting to the ball first and the bonding they have with Neil Craig. They present themselves as a unit rather than a group of individuals.
I think the lack of passion directly corralates with the "professionalisim" of the game.
We now have a draft where a kid could go anywhere, so the dream of a youngster playing for the club that he loves (Except Father Son) is dead, strike one for the passion of the jumper.
We now have these kids that are well paid full time professional employees of the club, the words players and clubs are just about redundant and could almost be replaced with Employer and Employee, strike two for the passion of the Jumper.
We also have a situation where due to financial pressures that are placed upon clubs that has led to the demise of the under 19 and the reserves, which dilutes the history and club feel around a club, couple that with the cold hard fact that there is no loyalty in footy any more, a club is just likely to get rid of a player on the trade table and the player has no knoweledge of the event untill it happens, "everyone is tradeable" strike
three for the passion of the Jumper.
Football is no longer the game I grew up with, it now has no principles or morals, we aren't fans we are consumers, footy is now an entertainment business and the operators of that business (AFL) can not afford to have long periods of a single dominant side as it damages the brand and costs money, the game I grew up with is gone and will never come back, my beloved football club will never be the overwhelming dominating force that it was, all I want is it to be competetive,