CFC inclusiveness and the role of the true believers.

[droversdog65]

Not sure if this deserves it's own thread but it's a subject near and dear to my heart.

Of late there has been some talk both within the club and outside it of how well the club connects with us - the true believers.

I've been retired now a few years and my mobility is a bit restricted due to increasing problems from a couple of back injuries picked up over the years so I miss my Pie fixes and follow avidly all the scraps of news and half news of our boys and beloved club.

Having a fully open training session and a family day together is a fantastic initiative I believe and something I hope the club follow through more fully with. In bygone years the supporters were always acknowleged as the backbone of any club but recently the corporate and sponsorship demands placed on the club have seen supporters, if not alienated then perhaps made to feel slightly less important so anything to bring the supporters back to the club has to be a great thing IMVHO.

It may be an unfashionable idea but I believe the players of old were helped in their motivation by the undeniable evidence of total support from the true believers watching their work during the week and then turning up for the game in full voice.

Sadly I can do neither anymore as 5 minutes standing still is enough to have me reaching for painkillers. But for those of you with full mobility I believe the single biggest way we can contribute is what we do best, when you can get to those training sessions. It's bloody hard work and I'm sure our boys would be given a lift seeing us there supporting their efforts with our presence and interest in their endeavours.

[Hiss]

You joined this site recently! Hmmmmm.

[droversdog65]

Annnndddd that is relevant . . . . how????????????

[Hiss]

Relevant you ask? We have to keep an eye out for Carlton plants who have attempted to hijack this site that's all. Your posts will be monitored for loyalty and commitment to the Club values that's all.

[Bob Sugar]

Grabs popcorn.

[Redlight]

[Wokko]

If only HAL had joined Hiss in here it could've made for an epic first thread.

[HAL]

I think I do.

[droversdog65]

Not to worry hiss, it is every Carlscum supporter's god given right to live in envy of their betters . . . which includes just about everyone I can think of - even including bloody Zig and Zag lol.

Don't worry about their pathetic tiny breast beating, as a club they have been avidly collecting every Collingwood cast off they can get their hands on for years and years and as supporters they are naturally drawn to the light of our magnificence as is the moth to the flame.

And as moths let them flutteringly orbit our magnificence until their tiny hearts burst and they fall into the flame of their own jealousy

[Albert Parker]

Hi Drovers

I must say that I attended training on Friday and enjoyed the weather and watching the boys go through their paces.

But I do wonder about the 'open training' classification and whether there is much if any difference to most of their sessions. I attended 2-3 last pre-season and the access for autographs for my son is much better when the club is not declaring the session as a 'special' one. Only 10% of the attendees, but most of the players on the track and much easier to have a kick of the footy on the sidelines while keeping an eye on proceedings.

AP

[droversdog65]

Thanks for that insight Albert, I suppose it's a sad insight into present times that 'professionalism' , 'political correctness', 'inclusiveness' and player 'accessability' are terms that are deemed necassary.

If you get the chance watch a film called 'They're a weird mob' - about a young Italian journo immigrant to Australia in the early 60's finding work as a brikkie and finding his place in the community. He got the usual 'dago' , '[snip] bastard' greetings but it was understood that if it was accompanied by an extended hand there was no 'oppression' or 'derision' intended.

It was simply the Australian idiom - not so now.

Sadly professionalism and political correctness as well as the incessant frivolous lawsuits have combined to seperate many of us. Thankfully we don't live in the U.S or Europe where their sporting heroes are secluded from practically any contact with the public.

That pr1ck that had a go at Steffi Graf years ago sparked a security consciousness that has become part of sports fans lives.

[Neil Appleby]

The Open Training Session on Friday differed from Monday's session only in respect of the players being told to go over and meet the supporters after the session had finished. This was a marketing exercise no doubt, as a quick look into the Collingwood Shop after training testifies; they made a packet selling Collingwood Christmas goods. Fair enough I suppose. The training sessions so far this pre-season have been pretty much the same on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

With the Community Centre construction going on, the supporters at training can't meet players unless it's an Open Training Session and there are no chances for kids to get autographs or for photographers to get 'up close.'

Speaking of up close, what's happened to Brian of Mulgrave and his trusty zoom lens?

[Bob Sugar]

[droversdog65]

Fair enough comment mate, not to worry there's room for everyone

[Bob Sugar]