Port wants us to wear an alternative strip next week.

[Dr Alf Andrews]

Last night Eddie was interviewing Mark Williams after the match between Port and Essendon. Mark Willliams asked Eddie what jumpers Collingwood would be wearing next week. Eddie insisted we'd be wearing black and white, as usual.

They then had a pretty heated argument over it, with Mark Williams arguing that we should change our strip for this match, like Port did last year when they wore the all-teal.

Eddie stuck to his guns, saying quite firmly that Collingwood doesn't change it's jumper.

But is this strictly true?

If you look at footage from the 1960s you'll notice that the Collingwood jumper looked completely different to the one the players wear now. The whole design has been changed ... many times ... in response to the dictates of fashion and corporate concerns.

The most stunning addition in recent years has been the red emirates logo, which sticks out like a horse's d'ouvre on the black and white jumper.

Next week we play Port ... at Port's home ground. The Port-Collingwood jumper clash is one of the worst in football ... right up there with Essendon-Melbourne. It should not be up to Port to change their strip for their home game. It's really up to us. But Eddie won't budge ... and I don't suppose there'll be too many people on Nick's who will agree with what I'm about to say ...

In recognition of the Collingwood TRADITION that we've forged in the last few years with Emirates as our sponsor, I believe Collingwood should wear an ALL-RED strip next week in Adelaide.



I'm quite serious about this ... except the bit about the Emirates "tradition" ... that was a joke

But the time has come to bite the bullet for the sake of the game as a spectacle.

The time has come to stop crapping on about "tradition". I'm not going to defend Eddie on this one. If Eddie is so precious about "tradition", then why aren't we wearing the REAL Collingwood jumper ... the black and white stripes with a BLACK number on a WHITE back ... WITHOUT the red sponsor's logo.

Tradition, my eye.

There is no tradition in football these days ... just a lot of spin and hype.

I reckon we should wear an ALL-RED strip next week ... the same colour as our sponsor's logo. We could even have EMIRATES in larger letters than usual and do a deal for some extra dollars.

But, of course ... this won't happen. Eddie won't back down, and a whole lot of our supporters will get quite hysterical about it ... and our players will wear black and white and keep turning the ball over to the opposition and we'll get our arses kicked.

Bugger that.

Instead of constantly crapping on about how we are the biggest and the best ... why don't we actually PROVE it ... by doing something positive to improve football as a spectacle. Why should clubs like St.Kilda and Port Adelaide be the only ones with the commonsense to wear a genuine alternative strip when it's needed. All we're doing by clinging so stubbornly to what we mistakenly call "tradition" is to show the world what a bunch of hide-bound morons we are.

Why not earn some genuine respect in the football world? Why not show that we are relevant to football NOW? For the sake of common bloody sense ... wear ALL-RED next week. Wear it with pride ... and wear it with arrogance. And give Port Adelaide the mother of all hidings on THEIR home ground.

This is one area where the AFL has to get fair dinkum and really force the issue. What a 10th rate mickey mouse competition this is. We screw tradition left, right and centre every day of the week. And then, when there's actually a valid reason to do something innovative, we squawk about how we're abandonning tradition.

The only tradition we'll be upholding if we wear our normal strip next week will be the tradition of stupidity that has been entrenched in this game ever since it was invented.

Right.

Now excuse me while I dig my bomb shelter.

Fire away, comrades.

[Wearmouth]

I think that you have been diving in the medicine cabinet Doc. OK lets change our strip to white with black stripes instead of black with white stripes. LOL

We have an advantage over these pussies in moronville. They have all been mentally scared for many years by our sister club the Port Adelaide Magpies. They destroyed the hearts and minds of many of the other SANFL teams players and supporters. Now we are doing the same when we travel to moron stadium. Lets not give them any opportunity to wake from this BLACK AND WHITE nightmare they are in.

Let them forever and always equate Black and White with fear and terror.

So Doc with all due repects and in the words of one Stone Cold Steve Austin "HELL NO!"

[Proud Pies]

ohhhhh Alf, lets bite the bullet and get rid of the Magpie logo as well....just so Port can be the Magpies next week too! And while we're on it, if Port win wearing Black and White witht he Magpie logo....let's take the 4 points because well....it'll be us we're playing!

Like %#@$#%n hell we should change!

Yes over the years our jumper has changed but we've still retained the black and white stripe and NOT got rid of that. For over 100 years we've been the team with the black and white stripe, Port are the new players here, their 'official' colours are Black, White and that funny AQUA colour. Let them change and wear AQUA AND WHITE. I can't see any confusion there.

[BJ]

While I don't necessarily agree with Alf on the guernsey colour, I actually agree about how precious 'mr tradition' eddie is. What is the big deal about changing our jumper for a game. I remember once in the early-mid 80's we actually wore a white training strip with a yakka logo because we were playing Swan Districts in an escort cup game, now that was pre-season, but we did it then, so the tradition was broken!
And the "spirit" away strip, what's the deal with that? Never seen any footage of Murray Weideman or Bobby Rose wearing that one!!

[ramjet21]

im not keen on changing it but i think it will happen at some point and it may aswell be now. as for an all red strip for the port game as alf suggests - i choked as i read it but im coming around. as much as a traditionalist as i am, alf is right that the guernseys have actually changed over the years as it is - we may as well go the whole hog and get some sponsorship out of it.
william's argument is that Man U, arsenal etc have all been prepared to change strips every couple of years but thats all to do with revenue - new geurnseys means a shitload of cash coming in from supporters buying the new strip. not sure if collingwood should go to that extreme but for a one off game (maybe also geelong games), we should try something different. red is a good start. as long as we win, i dont care if they play in pink g-strings. just means i'll have to only listen to the games on radio rather than watch.

[Cam]

its teal dude, like the Windows 95 default desktop.

when it gets right down to it though, how many times does a jumper clash affect a passage of play? once, twice? scoop out of the pack to the wrong player a couple of times? should be all about voices anyways.

if we swap this time, why can't they wear their port magpies jumper every time they play us except for when its in melbourne? they want their jumper back.

red? i think not. they have the other colour on their jumper, why not make it a black or white lightning blot with teal on BOTH sides.

[fan4collingwood]

Collingwood have been in the VFL/AFL way before Port Power came in.
Collingwood have always had the black and whote stripes. Port had a choice of colours. They want ours. Fremantle picked new colours..Port should have as well.

Very interesting to read about Port Adelaide joining the AFL.....and then a new club joining the SANFL at the same time.

I don't think that Collingwood and Port clash at all in the colours of the jumpers.

[Proud Pies]

[boss351]

hello Collingwood fans, yes Im a Port supporter and have signed up to have my view, dont get nasty and flame me just let me have my point and i will go quietly

The issue with Port wanting Collingwood to change your jumper for away games is valid, Eddie keeps saying that Collingwood will never change there jumper but you have, ever since Malthouse has ben coach Collingwood has not worn the traditional full white jumper with black stripes instead wearing a predominantly black jumper with white stripes and now it clashes with Ports mostly black jumper

I as a Port supporter have no problem if Collingwood revert back to there traditional White jumper with black stripes when they play Port in Adelaide as we have played many times in the AFL and even inter club games with those jumpers and never clashed, ofcourse when Port travel to Melbourne we should also come up with a alternate strip, so to say Collingwood will never change for tradition is wrong, did Tony Shaw,Peter Daicos, Peter Moore, Bob Rose wear the current Collingwood jumper?? NO, so it suits to change tradition then, can some one please post pics of Collingwoods current jumper front and back and the pre Malthouse jumper front and back, no one is asking Colligwood to give up the black and white for the year or the Magpie name, so if you have feeling for yor "sister club" the Port Adelaide football club is that club and we are in the AFL now, the club in the SANFL is a new club Port Adelaide "Magpies" Football club and wears our old jumper, were asking to give up the jumper or revert to old white jumper for one game a year and you dont like it, well now you know how Port feel having to change there jumper and logo, see you all next friday night, cheers


PS maybe Collingwood should honour the bet Alan Mcallister made when Port entered the AFL that if Port ever finish higher on the ladder then Collingwood in the first 3 years, Collingwood would give up the Magpie logo and black and white , lol, hehehe dont worry we wont hold you to it

[magpie24]

Agreed Alf,Mate we could play in our jocks as long as we WIN i couldnt give two hoots!

If we lose we could always blame the jumper instead of the umpires

[Proud Pies]

[Proud Pies]

look, i don't mind Collingwood wearing our old jumper of white and black stripes. In fact, I prefer that to the newer model that we wear, but we should still be in our white and black or black and white stripes. If they change the jumpers for that one game, won't all the Collingwood supporters look silly over there...they'll look like they are supporting the other team. And how about the players, used to black and white stripes, won't know who to kick to.....although some already have that problem.

just my thoughts

[Swanny21]

Hi Guys,

Just my two cents, but the use of the English premier league as an example is irrelevant. They have 20 teams in 4 divisions, that's 80 teams. Bottom 3 of the Premier league drop to make way for the top 3 sides of division 1, hence the change "every" year of "each" clubs away strip. No comparison can be made IMHO, of a standalone 16 team comp.

Swanny

p.s. Alf, with all due respect, tradition for me is what keeps our game distinct from others. It's not Collingwood, Essendon or Carlton who are pushing this wheelbarrow but those for whom tradition means nothing. The above 3 teams could sustain a viable competion between themselves based on tradition, and I would reckon their yearly gate-takings would be more than the rest of the rabble combined.

Boy I hate this competition:(

[Rowdy26]

totally agree proud pies. I dont care if we wear black and white stripes, or white and black, as long as we are wearing those colours and they are the most totally dominant colours on the guernsey with no other. I agree with alf that the emirates logo stands out like nothing before on our guernsey which i am not thrilled about, however that's another unfortunate example of just what money can do.

Port were fully aware that we wore black and white when they came into the competition. This was a big story back then and they should have sorted it out then by choosing a strip that would never clash when they played us.

Imagine the rediculousness of attending a game in port dressed in the oppostion colours while your own team runs around in red (or any other colour) guernsey. We are the Magpies, black and white, simple as that. These are the colours that thousands of kids and adults alike wear proudly each week and have done so for many generations before. These are the colours that give us shivers watching the boys run out onto the ground in. Watching the opposition run out in them while we are assigned to some watered down version of the rainbow is not what I'd like to see. If magpies in the wild start sprouting red feathers, then i may have to reconsider my stance, but until they do the Collingwood Magpies are Black and White.

People come and people go, our colours remain true forever.

[Lockyer24]

I have no problem wearing white shorts with the predominantly white jumper (as worn last in 2000) for clashes like this.

However all this could have been avoided if the AFL didnt allow Port to have such similar colours and guernsey when they entered the competition.

Stick to your guns Eddie.