How much hurt are you feeling right now?

[Cats Pyjamas]

As a supporter who has felt a lot of pain over the years, yesterday hurt me more than any other game ever has. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it was the fact we were overwhelming favourites. Deep down I probably thought we just had to turn up to win and was in complete shock when it became obvious that we weren't going to.

Yesterday was the first time I had ever left a game early. I usually hate those supporters who do that but I just couldn't handle it any more. I sat through the first half becoming more and more agitated that we weren't converting our dominance around the ground into goals. When Hawthorn piled on all those goals in the 3rd quarter, the big group of Hawks fans around me got louder and louder.

I sat there in silence, shellshocked with my stomach churning. I prayed for a miracle in the last quarter but when the margin got to six goals at around the 15 minute mark I felt physically ill and couldn't watch any longer. I ran to the car and drove the 8km home at about 100km an hour. I just had to get out of there.

I turned the radio on as I was parking the car at home just in time to hear the final siren and found out the margin. I haven't had the TV or radio on since because I just don't want to know about it.

Now I have to turn up to work tomorrow and cop an almighty bagging from everyone. What will annoy me most won't be what I cop from the Hawks supporters, they deserve to be happy. It's the idiots whose teams didn't make the grand final who will take great delight in getting a rare opportunity to kick a Geelong fan while he's down. Oh well, hopefully I'll be over it in a few days. Bring on 2009.

 

[LonnyCat]

The sun still came up this morning and work beckons tomorrow, sure to get heaps from colleagues but at least we made the GF. Looking forward to round 1 next year.

 

[SriLankanCat]

im gutted...but last years flag will suffice me...

i hate hawthorn, nothing worse than losing to the Hawks in a grand final

i hope we play them again next year...

this isnt as bad as sydney in 2005

 

[Cheshire Cat]

This game really defined our club - and it really was a proper reflection of our club - under-achievers. The handbags are back.

Only Geelong could lose only 1 game for the season and lose the GF. Its ****ing embarrassing. The time for being proud that I support this club has lasted a whole ONE season.

Worst thing is deep down I 'm sure many of you KNEW this would happen. This club can't be trusted to do anything right. Its an absolute miracle we were able to win a flag last year given our pathetic culture.

 

[vinum coupe]

Early in the 3rd quarter I was shattered. I knew we had blown all our chances.

I was fine after the game.

But I'm hollow today. Should come good in a week or so.

 

[noclashjumpers]

The hardest part for me, is that it's not as simple as 'oh well we'll be better next season' .... because we couldn't be any better! Even if we win by 10 goals+ for 22 rounds next year, I'll still feel sick in the stomach.

Where my head is at right now, this is the most shattering GF loss full stop.

 

[vinum coupe]

Thought I'd hop online and read all the papers / bigfooty for a good dose of reality in the hope that I'd come good sooner.

It aint working

Man is everyone laying into us or what? Incredible really. And saddening

 

[krisholio14]

I just wish this sick feeling would go away. And it's not coz of a hangover either. Good lord I wish it was though

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I just wish this sick feeling would go away. And it's not coz of a hangover either. Good lord I wish it was though

I've got that sick feeling AND I'm hungover.

Basically.....I'm praying for a comet like the one that took out the dinosaurs.

 

[KissStephanie]

Lucky for you, you still have a great team and can look forward to redeeming yourself next year.

How can any team redeem themselves from letting a premiership slip away in this fashion? Even if Geelong win next years premiership, it can't make up for letting this one go of course. They have won 42 of their last 44 matches before yesterday, and they only lost once during the season. If anybody was to look at the stats of the match without knowing the score, then everybody would assume that Geelong had won the Grand Final.

Geelong had more possessions, more centre clearances, more scoring shots, and they kept Franklin, Roughead and Mitchell quiet. It's quite amazing, and my commiserations go to all involved at Geelong. Hawthorn were spirited, their pressure was terrific, and they made the most of their chances, and congratulations to them for that. When was the last time that such a dominant team was unable to get up in the Grand Final?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

How can any team redeem themselves from letting a premiership slip away in this fashion? Even if Geelong win next years premiership, it can't make up for letting this one go of course. They have won 42 of their last 44 matches before yesterday, and they only lost once during the season. If anybody was to look at the stats of the match without knowing the score, then everybody would assume that Geelong had won the Grand Final.

Geelong had more possessions, more centre clearances, more scoring shots, and they kept Franklin, Roughead and Mitchell quiet. It's quite amazing, and my commiserations go to all involved at Geelong. Hawthorn were spirited, their pressure was terrific, and they made the most of their chances, and congratulations to them for that. When was the last time that such a dominant team was unable to get up in the Grand Final?

Despite our pathetic culture we still havent lost a GF after being 44 points up at half time.

Collingwood wrote the book on missed opportunities. We're the subscribers

Every team is one premiership away from redemption. If we win it next year I'll forgive them, the media will a bit too.

 

[KissStephanie]

Despite our pathetic culture we still havent lost a GF after being 44 points up at half time.

That was before my time thankfully, and it might be the last time that the more dominant team lost the Grand Final. Collingwood were not as dominant during the 1970 seaon as Geelong was this season though, but it was definitely the Grand Final that Collingwood let slip.

Collingwood wrote the book on missed opportunities. We're the subscribers

Both Collingwood and Geelong went into a number of Grand Finals as the next best and were playing very good teams.

Every team is one premiership away from redemption. If we win it next year I'll forgive them, the media will a bit too.

I believe that if West Coast beat Sydney in 2005, then they would have gone back-to-back in 2006. Their premiership in 2006 didn't make up for their loss in 2005 because they still let that one slip when they were favourites to win it.

 

[vinum coupe]

Just had 2 beers whilst watching the latest rambo release. Feeling much better

 

[CF]

I am like a zombie today.....a shell of a human but the sun came up and life goes on. I'd hate to think how the Lads are today. I bet they wish the earth would just open up and swallow them. God this bloody awful,.

 

[vinum coupe]

I am like a zombie today.....a shell of a human but the sun came up and life goes on. I'd hate to think how the Lads are today. I bet they wish the earth would just open up and swallow them. God this bloody awful,.

It's also what makes supporting a team great.
My 5 year old still can't understand what happened yesterday.

"but dad, why aren't we the best anymore?"

It saddens me but it is good for her in a way. The enjoyment of winning will only increase for her.

And so it will be for all young generation cats who didn't got through the 90's

 

[Catsace]

Did a days work today, and feel no better. Surreal is the feeling of playing so well all year, yet unrewarded. Surreal that Hawthorn, those mongrels who have tormented us for 30 years, have again been the side to deprive us of a richly deserved flag after our great season. They really do have an effect on our club, they have an aura which creates indecision, inaccuracy and seems to be the Kryptonite that takes the power out of our game style.

As another poster said, it's not like we can honestly say...Let's go out next year and thrash them, let's do better. I am certain as the day tomorrow is Monday, that Geelong will never exceed a year of 23 wins again. All us Cats fans have now witnessed our best ever year in terms of wins. Our whole season was decided by about 45 minutes of wasteful footy, and about 10 minutes of inability to stop the Hawk crumbers/smalls (fatties) in Williams, Rioli and Dew. That burst in the 3rd quarter was like what P.Matera did to us in 1992. And in the last quarter, we couldn't get the last goal when we got to within a plausible 15 points behind.

Mentally the players must be shattered. Of course they wanted to win, and they know how hard they have worked, and how empty a loss is. All us fans wear our hearts on our sleeves, but the players will hurt like nothing on earth. Gary Jr, who bleeds blue and white, bleeds for the club his father played for, tried his guts out. And he has no brownlow, no Norm Smith, no premiership medallion. mentally, can he seriously be told...Let's do better next year! He was awesome this year, as was just about all the side.

After some time to drown the sorrows, hopefully the group can focus on 2009. And the focus is simply to get top 4. It is unlikely any interstate side will do much to make a top-4 spot, Adelaide are just good-ordinary, Sydney are all bar gone, Brisbane have the two big forwards but not much else bar Black and Power, the Eagles are terrible, and Freo underachieve more than us! Port, well they aren't much chop either. Maybe we need to play it Brisbane style in 2002-03. They won 16-17 games or so, but did what needed to be done in September, notably the last Saturday in September. Perhaps we should drop a game or two here and there....try a 'plan b' type of style, i don't know. It just hurts so much that all our efforts were undone in one game, by our mortal enemy Hawthorn. Of all the finals losses i've endured since 1978, this one hurts by far the most. 2005 was not a patch on this. Never before could we have genuinely said 'We've been the nest side all year'. This year we were, like few others ever before. All to no avail.

We will go down in history as the only side in the Page/McIntyre era to lose as few as two games, yet be flagless. Undoubtedly we will be forever the only side to be 21-1 and do same. What joy it was to play a season like that, what focus it took to achieve that, and what cruelty for it to be denied us in the big one. I will be like a zombie for quite a while, and i don't even drink. I feel so sorry for the players, the club, all of us as fans...and the town of Geelong. In a twist of a saying by Winston Churchill, never has so many been denied so cruelly by so few, and never has so much effort been expended for so little reward.

Rant over....Go Catters!!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

As I've said,

I sort of expected this to happen.

We are Geelong - arrogant pea-hearts from Corio Bay - a 2nd rate club.

 

[rizzo]

Shattered. Words can't describe what I am feeling.

 

[PoidaCat]

LOL.

You'll all be ok in a few weeks.

Time will help you all heal.

You'd think you've all been diagnosed with cancer.

Nothing we say will change the fact that Hawthorn won the flag.

The players should be the ones that are really upset as they had control over deciding whether we win the flag...The supporters like us didn't.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

LOL.

You'll all be ok in a few weeks.

Time will help you all heal.

You'd think you've all been diagnosed with cancer.

Nothing we say will change the fact that Hawthorn won the flag.

The players should be the ones that are really upset as they had control over deciding whether we win the flag...The supporters like us didn't.

It obviously doesnt mean much to you. Go ahead pretend it doesnt matter, keep that all-important Bay 13 cred in tact. A real supporter would be shattered.

 

[Herbs]

I was surrounded by Hawthorn supporters for all of yesterday (and a Collingwood ****wit who jumped on their bandwagon bigtime-I'd never sing another club's song) and it was all too much for me, I had to step outside once I realised I put a hole in the wall. I've never had to do that before.

 

[McCrabb for PM]

Pretty crushed.

Lived through '89, '92', '94, '95 and the only consolation in those years was that we were never really the favourite in any of those Grannies and apart from the first half of the '92 GF, never was able to seriously threaten for the flag. However this year, WE were the favourites, WE were the best team all year, yet failed at the final hurdle. Hard to take.

Its funny, while sitting through the 2nd Q with a good mate of mine (Hawks man) all i could think of was "Dont do a Nth M in '98". But the more we missed absolute sitters after dominating play, and the more they scored arsey goals from limited opportunities (cue, Campbell Brown, Ellis etc) it just felt like it was not meant to be our day. My mate was scared shitless to be honest, everytime we screwed up he breathed a sigh of relief as he was waiting for the inevitable onslaught which never eventuated. Choking is a strong word, but in effect, thats what we did; while the Hawks were clinical in capitalising on their opportunuties.

We'll bounce back, and while the bandwagoners jump off, the true believers will stick by the Mighty Catters through the thick and the thin, knowing that the defeat will only embolden us onwards to bigger and better things in '09 and beyond.

 

[PoidaCat]

It obviously doesnt mean much to you. Go ahead pretend it doesnt matter, keep that all-important Bay 13 cred in tact. A real supporter would be shattered.

Grow up... It's just a game. Of course I'm shattered... I'm not going to be depressed about it for the next few days though. There is nothing I could've done to change the result on the weekend.

Don't let your inability to deal with the loss make you attack me because you're upset.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Grow up... It's just a game. Of course I'm shattered... I'm not going to be depressed about it for the next few days though. There is nothing I could've done to change the result on the weekend.

Don't let your inability to deal with the loss make you attack me because you're upset.

Sorry mate. I just hate when people get on here and say "LOL, its just a game, get over it"

What a cop out.

I do not buy memberships, attend games, post here just for something to do. I love this club. Its a massive part of mine (and many people's) life. So for people's to come on here with such a half-hearted attitude to what is clearly devastating to everyone truly involved with the club, is ignorant.

If you're not depressed over it, good for you. I'm jealous. Because I can tell you I am, even if it is 'just a game'.

 

[rocker_oz33]

l took shitty and pissed off to a new level yesterday the train ride home was the longest ever.l even had nightmares last night about the game,I've lived though the other granny defeats this one is the worst.l am feeling little better just in disbelieve right now