Our era has begun

[Mike]

Yesterday's pain is today's pain and tomorrow's pain, but it will fade until it becomes a discomfort that will help drive us to heights that have been our promise and our dream for such a long time that it seems to have nagged at us forever.

The team that beat us yesterday has been called the greatest aussie-rules team ever to take the field. It's a machine, a team made up of high priced, bemedalled super-stars of the sport. It rolls along and flattens all before it. Arrogant, uncompromising, inflexible and so full of its own self importance that its individuals can't see the parallel to the Disney movie.

Along comes a team steered by a President who is one of the boys, a coach who can see talent where others see handicap, a captain who is arguably one of the greatest exponents of the sport of all time and a ragtag collection of players comprising the old, the new, the discarded, the swapped and the yet to be blooded. This team has passion, energy and although raw, incredible skill. Fast and flexible, this is no machine with its inherent rigidity, this is a fluid force capable of sweeping everything before it. Just watch it build.

I don't believe that Brisbane are anywhere near being the greatest team ever, but I'll tell you something, the team they beat yesterday may well be.

Our era has begun.

[Swanny21]

I agree Mike. We showed them what "real" champions are made of.

[Rekindled Fan]

I've started thinking about next year and I reckon it's going to be hard for us.
Every team (esp the SA ones) will want to beat us.
Those teams who lost members this year will be trying extra hard to win their matches in order to regain followers.
Sheed's will want Essendon up there - they're my biggest concern.

Our boys are going to have to be tougher and more strategic than ever. I believe Mick can do it.

[Black_White]

Next year will be harder than this year.
Port now know what is required to play finals.
Crows will have Carey.
Essenscum will have a full team.
Bears will keep most of the current team, thanks to high paid players taking pay cuts.
Geelong will be taking the steps we took this year.

Of course we already are getting Cloke 2, so that evens it all out!!

GF's are extremely hard to get to, but our boys have shown that a champion team can go into territory that many thought impossible, me included. Next year they will be guided by a man that showed more passion, for a club that he must have hated as a player, than I have ever seen from any coach.
As Mike has stated, the future looks bright.

-Craig

[couragous cloke]

must agree with ya craig but all we need is a good tap ruckman and we should be laughing!!

footy ROX!

[MarkT]

We will improve simply because our list will be older and more experianced. Tarrant, Fraser and N.Davis if he stays should be fit after a rest. We despirately need a class ruckman to top off the list. We have arrived and we will improve.

Mike you are right. An era has dawned.

[Cam]

very well written mike.

guys about cloke 2, don't get too excited about him just yet, wasn't cloke 1 in his second season this year after a year in the 2's?

Hard at it. The Collingwood way.

[ramjet21]

there are no gaurantees next season. we dont automatically qualify for finals let alone another granny. every team starts square again in round 1. but when you consider tarrant, fraser, rocca(although he had a great year anyway), obree, molloy, adkins etc all had pre-season injuries serious enough to effect their entire year, we've done incredibly well. almost all of those players would walk into the starting 22 of most clubs. if we can get them right over summer, september will loom again.



[This message has been edited by ramjet21 (edited 30 September 2002).]

[Brown26]

Teams will want to beat us more? Nah, every teams wants to beat us 100% cause we're Collingwood anyway.

welcome to teh weight of expectation, from the supporters and media.

Will it be good enough to make the granny and lose cause they over ran us at the end with a dodgy free and a stupid goal umpire after a teriffic game?

Probably not.

but have faith. in the boys, in MM, in the club. We can rise to the occasiobn, we all know that, so this IS our time.

We need to take the opportunities when tehy present, and the next five or so years may be our opportunity.

Pies for Premiers 2002, 3, 4, 5, 6....

[WhyPhilWhy?]

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.........

We now have a young team that has tasted equal parts success and failure. If we were Hawthorn or Richmond, then maybe it could all disolve, however I earnestly believe Mick is the man to mould the group into an outfit that perpetually appears in finals.

And as Saturday showed, the youngest team in the competition is already only just a bit more than a kick from beating "the best team of all time."

Go pies - I couldn't be prouder.....

"I am disrespectful to scum! Can you see I am serious!"

[This message has been edited by WhyPhilWhy? (edited 30 September 2002).]

[AnthonyC]

I agree this IS the dawn of a new era. Of course next year will be harder, but we have a great side and now everyone knows it. Just keep your chins up (don't give the opposition anything) and don't forget that this year cannot be counted as a waste at this point in time. Only after what transpires next year will that be known. This year was the apprenticeship, the boys will now TRULY believe that they can match it with anybody.


Go Pies!

[Murray]

I think we will be in or around the GF for at least the next 5 to 8 years with the young team we have, similar to what MM did with the wet toast and what Sheedy did with the bummers.
Graig, I agree with you it will not be a given, but then again anything worth fighting for will always be hard work.

DARE TO STRUGGLE - DARE TO WIN

[Harrysz]

Well written Mike. Inspiring stuff. Thanks.

[cobood]

Thanks Mike, needed that......

BE LOUD...BE PROUD
(September.... we ARE there)

[Clemo]

Mike - your words of wisdom have realy hit the spot. Umm how many days til round 1 2003 ?

_____________________
Collingwood Forever !
clemo@magpies.net
http://members.dodo.net.au/~clemo