nightcrawler wrote:
I watched the first half with my son tonight. He is five. His mother passed away from cancer six months ago. You don’t need to get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to kick a sack of leather around a park to have a blessed life. You just need to make it through without having to explain to a child that their mother is dying.
He loves the Blues. The song is one of first sounds he heard. I sang it to him in the delivery suite when the midwives took my wife to the bathroom. He stopped crying. We still sing it every night at bed time. When my wife was in hospital interstate for treatment, and we were both away for weeks at a time, he taught it to his grandfather (a league man) and made him sing it at bedtime instead.
This year is the first year that he has actually watched football. So he doesn’t really know the Blues of course, and is as interested in the fixture on my smartphone as he is in the game. He just loves them because I do. But he doesn’t understand why we keep losing when we are team that never lets you down.
He started Auskick last week. His club are the Giants. The Giants are second, he gets that much. He likes the Bulldogs too because their mascot looks fierce and such details are important to five year olds.
I know how this story ends because it is the story of why my father supports Collingwood and I do not. We are losing the next generation, like we lost the one before that. That’s not the tragedy though. The tragedy is, I’m not sure I can remember why I would want him to stay. He has been let down enough.
What a moving post.
My family just had a read of this. We wondered if it was the Drummoyne Giants you were referring to.
It gives us an insight what footy means to people. The good and the bad of footy...and what Carltonians are feeling regardless of heir age. Cutting pain.
I, like many Bluebaggers are blessed to have grown up with the Blues since 68. I got my kids connected to the Blues. I feel responsible for their disappointment and the tears they shed. Sadly, they will never experience the golden era I did. Carlton though is a great connection between me and my boys.
Lucky my kids are welded on and now understand the game has highs and lows. I did tell them the low period is just over and this is the year of our reincarnation. My kids are 7 and 11. I don't know how you can explain the lows to your 5 yo let alone patience. I'm sure they know failure when they see it.
I can see how Carlton has lost a generation of supporters and am afraid they are on their way to lose the next without a doubt.
All the best night crawler.