It's time to move on.

[David]

There has been some truly moronic stuff posted in general discussion over the past few days: "The players don't care"; "2 premierships in 50 years, we don't have a winning culture yada yada"; "Dale Thomas plays for himself"; "players x, y and z are rubbish"; etc, etc.

Guess what. Losses happen. Bad losses happen. "But," you argue, "should we accept a bad loss?"

Well, what else are you going to do - organize a protest outside the Lexus Centre? Lead a midnight lynch mob on Mick Malthouse? Stop showing up to games?

Fact is, we have a good team. We have a very good coach. Off-field, we have nothing to worry about. Even given all that, losses will still happen. It's a part of life, and even the most successful football team can't win every week.

Yes, it's been a long time since we won a premiership. I know that as much as any of you - I turned 2 the day after our 1990 premiership win, so I don't even have that as a distant memory. When I started following Collingwood earnestly, the Tony Shaw years were just beginning... I didn't even see a finals campaign until 2002. Those of you who lived through the 60s, 70s and 80s would have endured even more heartbreak.

But isn't that what supporting an AFL team is all about? You support them during the bad times as well as the good times. On average, each team is only going to win a premiership once every 16 years... so the average AFL supporter is going to have to endure 15 years of missed opportunities for that one year of premiership success. And not all teams are even that lucky. How do you think Saints fans feel with only one flag from 112 years of competition? Sure we like to bag them out, but what about Richmond supporters? Do you sometimes wonder why anyone follows the Tigers? 2 finals campaigns from 25 years, and a revolving door of sacked coaches and bottom of the ladder finishes. Perhaps we could learn something from Richmond supporters - the very mention of the word football must make them miserable, and yet, there they are supporting their team week in, week out (even if they are spitting and tearing up their memberships while they do so ).

So, what do we do when we're faced with frustrating losses, and missed opportunities? What else can we do, other than look to next week, and hope for a victory? And, while there's still a mathematical chance, hope for that premiership that we compete for year in, year out. That premiership (in this case, the 2008 flag) is still within our grasp. We are much more than just a mathematical chance. Yes, it'll be a struggle, and yes, we may well not get there. That's how it goes. All we can hope for is that we have a team that has talent and competitiveness, an intelligent and inspiring coach, and tens of thousands of screaming Collingwood supporters attending matches cheering our team on, even when all is lost. The first two factors are already there, but out of our control... yet we can very much control the last.

So, stop bagging players who may have underperformed. Stop using empty, meaningless phrases like 'winning culture'. Stop attempting ridiculous feats of psychoanalysis from your armchair. Just support. And, you never know, in the end that might be the edge that gives us that long-awaited premiership.

[jack_spain]

Well said David. You're right. Time to move on to the next drama at our great club.

[John Wren]

[stui magpie]

Well said David.

[Piesnchess]

I hear what you are saying David,and you put it very well,you make good points.BUT,that loss to North was an absolute shocker,a kick right in our guts,and it takes time to come to terms with such a bad,bad day.But,onto next week,we have the erratic bombers,which is a toughie,they will come out hard,and we must be ready for them.I hope all the critics tip essendon,we do much better as underdogs.Go Pies!!

[John Wren]

the loss against hawthorn was much, much worse in my book.

[melliot]

yer, disapointed by the loss, but don't think its the end of it all. Thought the blues losses were the worst. North are pretty good on their day (just like us), so no embaresment IMO.

Threads like "trade Cloke" arn't worth reading past the 1st page. IMO shows little knowlage of Football (not that I'm a guru, but why trade a key star CHF, who is rated by everyone who counts. Glad their not managing the club).

baby and bath water come to mind so often. We have a youngish team with simlar ages to the blues. but we're NOW mixing it with the best. At least enjoy that fact.

[Kingswood]

I'd like one more day at least, of this nonsense.

It's bloody entertaining

[John Wren]

[Alec. J. Hidell]

I think it gets worse as we go deeper into the year.

Surely most people could claim to be under the influence of mind altering drugs, because no straight person would think like that.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

Top post, David. Unfortunately, it will fall on many deaf ears. I've heard the line "one Premiership in 50 years" that many times I'm surprised no one's written a song about it. Surely Shannon Noll's looking for a new top 10 hit?

[jack_spain]

[jack_spain]

[hardluck77]

rocca ben reidsent and tell how you think

[John Wren]