I promised a summation of my first time at Kardinia Park so here goes.
Got the train to South Geelong station and I was quite surprised at the amount of Doggies supporters who were at the ground. There was an older lady on the train sitting across from me and she had this old Geelong schoolbag that must have been 30 years old. It was one of those bags that had the Big V and the old Cats emblem from the late 70's early 80's.
The wife and I made our way to the Doug Wade stand but we had to walk through the Hickey Stand to get there and during the walk I saw an older Cats fan in the standing section with his little wooden foot stool that he obviously stands on to watch the game. I pointed this out to the missus and we were both impressed. It looked like it was handmade and had seen many days out watching the Cats.
I have to say that I enjoyed sitting in the D.W. Stand, the long wooden seats with the numbers on them reminded me of going to the footy in the country years ago.
I sat with a group of Doggies supporters and we were obviously outnumbered by the Cats fans and the game got underway.
I was impressed by the friendliness of the Cats fans, most around us said Gday and chatted a bit which was nice. Lots of families and kids with grandparents etc who had obviously been members for many years so I thought that there was a good vibe which I really enjoyed.
Unfortunately there were about a half dozen Doggies fans near by who were absolute tools, as the TISM song says 'You're only 5 yards from a F___wit' and on this occasion they were in red, white and blue.
When we were 10 points up at one stage they were standing up and yelling abuse at Matthew Scarlett, saying he was a dud etc and I remember thinking that it was very early to get cocky and that Scarlett is an absolute gun who I would love to be in our backline.
They were quite embarressing to be honest and they were very, very quiet for the entire second half, so at least that was one positive to come after the main break for me.
During halftime a lot of people got out their thermos and cakes etc and that is something that you dont really see too much in the sterile, corporate, concrete monster that is Telstra Dome.
One of the highlights for me was the scoreboard to the side of the DW Stand. I got great enjoyment watching the scores get changed by hand which again brought back many good country footy memories.
I was amazed at how much noise you guys make, especially the cheersquad in the breaks. I can imagine that it must be pretty intimidating environment for opposition players out in the middle when you guys get going.
We all know how the game unfolded and Geelong were very worthy winners. I had a chat with a Geelong fan afterwards and I told him that you guys have back to back written all over you. It was great to have a chat with an opposition supporter after the game, he was telling me about Grand Final day last year and I have to admit I did feel a twinge of envy, but hopefully our day in the Sun will roll around. He actually congratulated me on the way that the Doggies played in they didnt come out and try to hurt players with cheap shots etc the way that Fremantle did, he was very upset at Solomon's actions and also other Freo players and we both agreed that Solomon in particular is a Dog.
I felt that the Cats fans around me were very gracious in victory and all in all I had a very enjoyable day at a great suburban ground.
After the game I had a couple of sneaky pots at the Clarendon and then headed into town for a feed and a sook.
I hope you dont make too many changes when you do the 30 million dollars worth of renovations because what you have is a unique reminder of what is great about football: atmosphere, families, the elements and a lot of noise!
Well done guys, if we can't break out own drought this year (which I am not very confident about after Saturday), I hope you guys go back to back. Thanks for a great day and I shall certainly be back to The Cattery and hopefully we will put in a better show next time.
PS- Please murder Hawthorn as this will make me feel much better and many of their supporters are arrogant tools.
Got the train to South Geelong station and I was quite surprised at the amount of Doggies supporters who were at the ground. There was an older lady on the train sitting across from me and she had this old Geelong schoolbag that must have been 30 years old. It was one of those bags that had the Big V and the old Cats emblem from the late 70's early 80's.
The wife and I made our way to the Doug Wade stand but we had to walk through the Hickey Stand to get there and during the walk I saw an older Cats fan in the standing section with his little wooden foot stool that he obviously stands on to watch the game. I pointed this out to the missus and we were both impressed. It looked like it was handmade and had seen many days out watching the Cats.
I have to say that I enjoyed sitting in the D.W. Stand, the long wooden seats with the numbers on them reminded me of going to the footy in the country years ago.
I sat with a group of Doggies supporters and we were obviously outnumbered by the Cats fans and the game got underway.
I was impressed by the friendliness of the Cats fans, most around us said Gday and chatted a bit which was nice. Lots of families and kids with grandparents etc who had obviously been members for many years so I thought that there was a good vibe which I really enjoyed.
Unfortunately there were about a half dozen Doggies fans near by who were absolute tools, as the TISM song says 'You're only 5 yards from a F___wit' and on this occasion they were in red, white and blue.
When we were 10 points up at one stage they were standing up and yelling abuse at Matthew Scarlett, saying he was a dud etc and I remember thinking that it was very early to get cocky and that Scarlett is an absolute gun who I would love to be in our backline.
They were quite embarressing to be honest and they were very, very quiet for the entire second half, so at least that was one positive to come after the main break for me.
During halftime a lot of people got out their thermos and cakes etc and that is something that you dont really see too much in the sterile, corporate, concrete monster that is Telstra Dome.
One of the highlights for me was the scoreboard to the side of the DW Stand. I got great enjoyment watching the scores get changed by hand which again brought back many good country footy memories.
I was amazed at how much noise you guys make, especially the cheersquad in the breaks. I can imagine that it must be pretty intimidating environment for opposition players out in the middle when you guys get going.
We all know how the game unfolded and Geelong were very worthy winners. I had a chat with a Geelong fan afterwards and I told him that you guys have back to back written all over you. It was great to have a chat with an opposition supporter after the game, he was telling me about Grand Final day last year and I have to admit I did feel a twinge of envy, but hopefully our day in the Sun will roll around. He actually congratulated me on the way that the Doggies played in they didnt come out and try to hurt players with cheap shots etc the way that Fremantle did, he was very upset at Solomon's actions and also other Freo players and we both agreed that Solomon in particular is a Dog.
I felt that the Cats fans around me were very gracious in victory and all in all I had a very enjoyable day at a great suburban ground.
After the game I had a couple of sneaky pots at the Clarendon and then headed into town for a feed and a sook.
I hope you dont make too many changes when you do the 30 million dollars worth of renovations because what you have is a unique reminder of what is great about football: atmosphere, families, the elements and a lot of noise!
Well done guys, if we can't break out own drought this year (which I am not very confident about after Saturday), I hope you guys go back to back. Thanks for a great day and I shall certainly be back to The Cattery and hopefully we will put in a better show next time.
PS- Please murder Hawthorn as this will make me feel much better and many of their supporters are arrogant tools.
