Great Club Spirit

[SriLankanCat]

As much as i have always been proud to be a Cat fan, i was always envious of the spirit at other clubs...North with the shinboner spirit and the fact the players sacrificed a lot for the club, Swans with the Bloods spirit etc.

I am really happy to see a great spirit at the Cats. ANd its great that the fans are a hugeee part of that.

I always reckon Geelong fans have as much passion and spirit as the Richmond, Collignwood and so on fans...Always loyal and always support the club.

I reckon a huge part of this spirit has to do with the players in the current leadership group. Tom Harley, Ling etc. are great club men and I think their influence cannot be underestimated. Of course Frank Costa, Brian Cook and Bomber have a great relationship which has been terrific and has helped things. I also remember a few years ago the Cats made a special effort to get past players back into the club, our assistant coaches include past players and i think the club has been successful in doing all this. Its great that our past greats who for so long were alienated have been welcomed back to the fold.

The club has been great in engaging the fans. Pf course at the end of the day the fans are the most important when it comes to club spirit. Even the little things like sending free pins to the 2007 members was great.

We still have things to improve but i just wanna say well done to the club on the fantastic spirit we have, we are a club that the fans should be proud off!

 

[Catsace]

Excellent post Sri Lankan Cat! It's amazing to think that the journey that started in 1999 when Frank Costa became president, and then Brian Cook and Bomber Thompson came to the club has just about reached everything you could ever dream now of our club. I was looking at the players walk brick i bought in 2001, and recall at that stage how farfetched winning flags seemed with our side, and even becoming a powerful club with regards to supporter numbers and income.

My head still spins a bit when i now can say that i've now experienced 'Premierships' with the plural such a wonderful thing to say. That now Geelong has almost universal recognition of being a GREAT team and a GREAT club. That we can now hear about our players talked about in the same breath as players such as numerous Hawk champion of the 70's and 80's, and Carlton/Richmond sides of the same era, and more latterly the Kangaroos and Eagles of the 90's.

Each Geelong player i am sure has burned a little part of himself into every Cat fan's heart, and the joy of knowing what they have achieved for our club is just amazing. Hard to describe, even now 5 weeks after the game. Just been you-tubing various highlight packages of the big day and watch them all with a smile.

Go Catters.....last year i wrote the 30 years of Hawk torment thread, now we've won two flags there is no more torment anymore. We've proven ourselves one of the best sides of the modern era, and nothing can ever take that away from Geelong...ever. And the ride is far from over, we can still make a huge impact in 2010. Anything else from here is gravy, the 2nd flag for me has just about done it as far as i'm concerned. After over 30 years of never seeing them win a flag, seeing two is just fantastic.

 

[Vdubs]

Excellent post Sri Lankan Cat! It's amazing to think that the journey that started in 1999 when Frank Costa became president, and then Brian Cook and Bomber Thompson came to the club has just about reached everything you could ever dream now of our club. I was looking at the players walk brick i bought in 2001, and recall at that stage how farfetched winning flags seemed with our side, and even becoming a powerful club with regards to supporter numbers and income.

My head still spins a bit when i now can say that i've now experienced 'Premierships' with the plural such a wonderful thing to say. That now Geelong has almost universal recognition of being a GREAT team and a GREAT club. That we can now hear about our players talked about in the same breath as players such as numerous Hawk champion of the 70's and 80's, and Carlton/Richmond sides of the same era, and more latterly the Kangaroos and Eagles of the 90's.

Each Geelong player i am sure has burned a little part of himself into every Cat fan's heart, and the joy of knowing what they have achieved for our club is just amazing. Hard to describe, even now 5 weeks after the game. Just been you-tubing various highlight packages of the big day and watch them all with a smile.

Go Catters.....last year i wrote the 30 years of Hawk torment thread, now we've won two flags there is no more torment anymore. We've proven ourselves one of the best sides of the modern era, and nothing can ever take that away from Geelong...ever. And the ride is far from over, we can still make a huge impact in 2010. Anything else from here is gravy, the 2nd flag for me has just about done it as far as i'm concerned. After over 30 years of never seeing them win a flag, seeing two is just fantastic.

Agree totally with all you say and said last year. That horrid feeling of losing again to Haw in a final has been neutralized this year.
I recall taking my family to a SAVE THE CATS gathering at KP, where there was a former Fitzroy supporter telling us we could go down the same way if we didn't get enough support. I signed up our whole family from that meeting onwards and it's been an amazing journey. Prior to that , only 2 of us have been members regularly.
How we have evolved since those darker days when Colbert walked out and Benny Graham was required at both ends of the ground and we were so broke!
Now, we are the envy of most Victorian based teams, and some interstaters and have 2 flags, the best list, and a great future. And as you say, if we don't win one for a long time, we have at least witnessed the very contrasting and satisying premierships that we can feast on indefinitely.

 

[gabstar]

Agree totally with all you say and said last year. That horrid feeling of losing again to Haw in a final has been neutralized this year.
I recall taking my family to a SAVE THE CATS gathering at KP, where there was a former Fitzroy supporter telling us we could go down the same way if we didn't get enough support. I signed up our whole family from that meeting onwards and it's been an amazing journey. Prior to that , only 2 of us have been members regularly.
How we have evolved since those darker days when Colbert walked out and Benny Graham was required at both ends of the ground and we were so broke!
Now, we are the envy of most Victorian based teams, and some interstaters and have 2 flags, the best list, and a great future. And as you say, if we don't win one for a long time, we have at least witnessed the very contrasting and satisying premierships that we can feast on indefinitely.

Well said VEEDUBS, I like your thinking, great comments

 

[jim boy]

A special mention to Jimmy Bartel on this subject. As some of you may have read in the addy, he is headed off to India for a week with Tim Callan to work on a charitable cause for abandoned children. Jimmy's lead in putting others first and the willingness to put yourself through uncomfortable situations to do that eptimises much of the spirit down Geelong way.

 

[pinion]

not sure i totally agree with this. it's easy to have a great spirit around the club when things are going as well as they are, but we'll see again in a few years when we're slipping down the ladder. it was only 3 years ago that people were calling for the coach's head or the spilling of the board.

 

[SriLankanCat]

not sure i totally agree with this. it's easy to have a great spirit around the club when things are going as well as they are, but we'll see again in a few years when we're slipping down the ladder. it was only 3 years ago that people were calling for the coach's head or the spilling of the board.

Very true, success helps but i am confident that we have something in place now that will hold us in good stead.

We saw the Hawks unravel last year when things got tough i hope the cats dont do the same.

Personally i reckon the spirit at the club got us through 2006, other clubs would have cut people left right and centre. But we stuck to our guns and look what happeend!

 

[True Blue Cat]

In a couple of years when we are not up the top is when we can really measure the spirit of Geelong supporters. Now we have old fans and new fans alike as well as quite a number of bandwagoners. Once we start losing games we will be left with the true Geelong supporters and it is then that we will really see the spirit of our club.

I can't say i remember when Frank Costa was appointed or about all the trouble the cats were in around that time (I was quite young 10 years ago) but with the help of loyal fans the club has managed to build itself up to what it is now. Getting through the dark times to reach success is what it is all about.

 

[Yoda_]

Hi guys

I would like to say that as an outsiders point of view, I have always loved watching the Geelong football club, never biased, never exagerate the facts, never let things get out of hand, just an every day club that the public can relate to.

I have always had the upmost respect for Mark Thompson, and the leadership that he has showed for his tenure has been somewhat inspirational. Through tough times with Steve Johnson, to easy times winning grand finals by record winning margins, life at the Cattery has always given us, the outside world something to share in.

The best thing is, they will never shirk away from talking to the public, they are all so level headed, and after meeting some players a few weeks ago, I personally have the up most respect for your club.

Great discussion guys, and I hope that you can continue on your winning ways, even if it is not at the phoenomenal rate that you have been winning at.

 

[Hinkley29]

not sure i totally agree with this. it's easy to have a great spirit around the club when things are going as well as they are, but we'll see again in a few years when we're slipping down the ladder. it was only 3 years ago that people were calling for the coach's head or the spilling of the board.

I would argue that success only came after we developed the foundations of the club spirit.

The fact that the club stood by Bomba when they did is testament to the fact that they were building something special.

All clubs have bandwagon elements that will drop off when things aren't totally rosy. Geelong is no exception. But I am exceptionally confident that the club is well placed to be in a strong position to ride out the cycles that the current AFL is designed to create. We are certainly in a better position to deal with these cycles than we were in the dark days of the late 90's.

Having said all that, finding the right successors to Costa, Cook and Thompson are an absolute must. If we get those decisions wrong, the whole thing could turn to shite alarmingly quickly.

 

[Cats_Paws]

I loved reading all the posts. Club Spirit that has developed /evolved over 10 years must be cherished and retained for generations to come. I urge Geelong Cats and those at the helm to write selection criteria which every new candidate must meet before being given the responsibility. Even three months of on-the-job training wouldn't be out of place before the finally selecting the candidate. I remember a Bulldog senior player 'Grant' while retiring urged his club to learn from how Cats go about their business. Now that's some complement.

In an earlier post in this thread, an Essendon supporter talks high of our club! I love my Cats and the fact that they win over every football lover. The fact that our boys are involved in charity work on and off the field is a testament to humane outlook and the life beyond footy.

I celebrated 2009 premiership by arranging a BBQ at my home for many friends and non-Cats supporters. I wish if I had a player to show up for few minutes at the BBQ!! I played Cats melody to annoy non-Cats. Well that was the idea after all!

Go the Cats! And 2010 is ours again! We can do it and We shall do it!!!

 

[gabstar]

I loved reading all the posts. Club Spirit that has developed /evolved over 10 years must be cherished and retained for generations to come. I urge Geelong Cats and those at the helm to write selection criteria which every new candidate must meet before being given the responsibility. Even three months of on-the-job training wouldn't be out of place before the finally selecting the candidate. I remember a Bulldog senior player 'Grant' while retiring urged his club to learn from how Cats go about their business. Now that's some complement.

In an earlier post in this thread, an Essendon supporter talks high of our club! I love my Cats and the fact that they win over every football lover. The fact that our boys are involved in charity work on and off the field is a testament to humane outlook and the life beyond footy.

I celebrated 2009 premiership by arranging a BBQ at my home for many friends and non-Cats supporters. I wish if I had a player to show up for few minutes at the BBQ!! I played Cats melody to annoy non-Cats. Well that was the idea after all!

Go the Cats! And 2010 is ours again! We can do it and We shall do it!!!

Well said Cats_Paws, Great post