RIP Lou. Always enjoyed watching him on the Sunday Footy Show when I was growing up.
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Universal Love Lou Richards passes away (all tributes to the legend)
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I'm too young ...
(I don't get to say that much anymore!)
... to have seen Lou play, but my formative years overlapped when he was at the peek of his journalistic powers.
It was funny back then, because the fact that he was a Collingwood man seemed to a young kid as significant a detail as we might observe today that Mark Robinson is an Essendon supporter, or Mike Sheehan is a Melbourne supporter or Caroline Wilson is a Richmond supporter ...
... and it was only when I got older that it started unwinding that he actually had been a player, and later that he hadn't been just any player but he'd been a captain ...
(that was an Era when Channel 9 had only employed Australian ex-Captains to commentate the cricket - Kerry gave us nothing but the best!)
... and then later it registered that he'd played 250 games. As a young kid, 250 games is a pretty abstract concept. And then lastly it dawned on me the preciousness of him having been a Premiership captain. Again, to a kid, the concept of a Premiership wasn't as grand as it seems to an adult. Collingwood had played in 5 Grand Finals (6 if you add the drawn one) by the time I was 12, and although we hadn't won any of them, they didn't seem that difficult to win. Back then they actually weren't - there were only twelve teams in the comp, and a bunch of them were rubbish so they didn't count, and there was no equalisation to make the rubbish teams any good.
All through that period Lou (mostly) kept his dignity. And when he lost it, he lost it doing something fun and silly like cleaning the Bourke Street mall with a toothbrush because he lost a bet
He epitomised the lovable larrikin.
Of course we didn't have footy forums back then, and now that we do, footy's journo's cop a fair whacking on them. Robbo this ... Caroline that ... Newman blah blah blah. If we had footy forums back in Lou's day, I just couldn't imagine anybody from that era would have posted an unkind word about him. No matter who they supported. He transcended and was loved and admired across the AFL in a way that very few folks, let alone Collingwood folks, would have ever done before or since.
It would not escape the notice of any avid Collingwood supporter of my generation or older, the symbolism and context of Lou's passing around the 125 year celebrations. The 125 year celebrations were what they were - the club commemorating a milestone with noble intent. The contrast with Lou's passing was stark. With Lou's passing the gravity has shifted at Collingwood.
Speaking of Newman... not his biggest fan but his tribute on TFS tonight will surely be must-watch tele. Must-watch, as in, I'll wait for it to get posted online so I don't have to sit through the rest of the show
Anzacday
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- #203
Do what I'm doing; record it and fast forward through the crap, (won't leave much).Speaking of Newman... not his biggest fan but his tribute on TFS tonight will surely be must-watch tele. Must-watch, as in, I'll wait for it to get posted online so I don't have to sit through the rest of the show
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- #204
I normally don't buy the Footy Record but will definitely be buying this one ....... 'A salute to the great Lou Richards'.
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Many thanks.I normally don't buy the Footy Record but will definitely be buying this one ....... 'A salute to the great Lou Richards'.
Great cover too
Well done showing us on here
As a kid growing up in the late 1970s, reading The Sun on Saturday became a ritual. I would read Lou's tips and always wanted to see FOOTSCRAY printed in capitals because it meant we were one of the teams Lou had picked to win that day.
I can recall the first round of 1981 when the Sun introduced a computer to provide tips for the first time, and it went head to head with Lou. Lou instantly dubbed the machine "Tinhead".
I can remember once on World of Sport when there was a game being played in Sydney later that day. Lou was interviewing a young player who was in Sydney for the match. Lou was in the Melbourne studios conducting the interview, which was visible via a split screen. When the interview was over, Lou told the player about the usual World of Sport goodies he was about to receive, which were all piled in front of Lou on the desk. Lou then pushed the goodies to one side, after which we saw the goodies being gently pushed in front of the player in the Sydney studio. As the player received them, he said, "Thanks Lou. You've got a long arm."
I can recall the first round of 1981 when the Sun introduced a computer to provide tips for the first time, and it went head to head with Lou. Lou instantly dubbed the machine "Tinhead".
I can remember once on World of Sport when there was a game being played in Sydney later that day. Lou was interviewing a young player who was in Sydney for the match. Lou was in the Melbourne studios conducting the interview, which was visible via a split screen. When the interview was over, Lou told the player about the usual World of Sport goodies he was about to receive, which were all piled in front of Lou on the desk. Lou then pushed the goodies to one side, after which we saw the goodies being gently pushed in front of the player in the Sydney studio. As the player received them, he said, "Thanks Lou. You've got a long arm."
So....what will we "supporters" be doing to remember Louie?
Black armbands against the Hawks? Minute's silence? I've already made plans to shut the shop for the funeral.
Lou deserves the biggest guard of honour since Pants died.
Black armbands against the Hawks? Minute's silence? I've already made plans to shut the shop for the funeral.
Lou deserves the biggest guard of honour since Pants died.
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Ed on the Footy Show doing there Lou Richards Celebration
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Well done Footy Show..........enjoyed that tribute.
You're a legend Lou.
All teams wearing arm bands this week in your honour! Respect!
You're a legend Lou.
All teams wearing arm bands this week in your honour! Respect!
76woodenspooners
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It was very well done!
I laughed at the bit when he told mark Johnson to F off
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aside from the show's intro where Rebecca said, "we will be paying tribute to the great Lou Williams, I mean Richards."
that was the moment I left the room.
76woodenspooners
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Thankfully she didn't say much after that
Ch7 doing a Lou tribute at 11:30 tonight.
Hosted by Bruce.
Hosted by Bruce.
jmac70
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Channel 9 tribute was great. Really enjoyed listening to TJ in particular.
76woodenspooners
Brownlow Medallist
That's DeGoey's birthday too.
76woodenspooners
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Funeral was today.
There's a bunch of eulogies on the CFC website.
Ron Joseph's was a hoot, and summed up very well the unique public person that Lou was
http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/2017-05-17/richards-funeral-josephs-speech
There's a bunch of eulogies on the CFC website.
Ron Joseph's was a hoot, and summed up very well the unique public person that Lou was
http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/2017-05-17/richards-funeral-josephs-speech
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