My last Fitzroy Memory

[eagleskickass]

wow, i dont remember that last game VERY well, just that it was a day i knew meant a lot to a lot of people. Reading over the responses to this thread is almost enough to make someone cry, yet alone when it actually happened. I dont think anyone but a fitzroy fan can fully understand the feeling of losing their side though.

 

[Mobbs]

In a way I think those folks who, after generations, can no longer meet payments and have their financier's foreclose on their farm ... they might have a bit of an idea.

 

[8 Ace]

Glad this thread has been picked up again - thanks to all.

Was living in Perth at the time of the last game, some old mates came over from Melb for the event (Veally, Doosk, Mick. Nige were you there? Can't remember). All very sad, Marty Warry played well (4 goals I think) shame they hadn't given him more ground time previously, he looked promising.

Enjoyed the heritage round on the weekend, great to see so many Roys supporters at the G wearing the old colours. Saw some leper outside the ground wearing the old moroon Brisbane Bears jumper carrying a huge banner which read "Brisbane Is Not Fitzroy". Well mate, should be so ****in' lucky......

 

[Hilly72]

Yes, I picked it up in the quick find list, was reading through it and saw the peice about the "Liverpool Kiss".

I had lived in Darwin until 1990 and hadn't ever been to a AFL/VFL game, so was stoked to see the Roys live finally, went to as many games as possible with mates and then my father in law to be. I went back to playing in 95, but once the news broke in 96 i was shattered, luckily the side I played with was rubbish and was able to go to the G for the Richmond game.... I mate and I went, both Roy Boys and 24, and we were shattered, couldnt get on the G quick enough and didn't want to leave....

The trip to the FFC hotel was a tough one, my wife (to be) was driving, we played the theme song all the way there, while taking on some anaesthetic, the Dockers did a great job as did the pub, watching the old games after, singing the song with so many others will live with me forever.

I will say now that because of this, when an old club (small country town) asked me back because they were struggling for numbers, I left a premiership team that had lost 4 games in 3 years because I knew how the people of the town would feel...

And now I am sitting in my office in Taiwan as depressed as hell knowing the next game I get to see will be the GF...

GO YOU MIGHTY LIONS the Roys and Brissie....

 

[Mobbs]

Originally posted by Hilly72
I will say now that because of this, when an old club (small country town) asked me back because they were struggling for numbers, I left a premiership team that had lost 4 games in 3 years because I knew how the people of the town would feel...

Whereabouts?

 

[Hilly72]

Birregurra, on the Cape Otway Rd, in between Colac and Lorne. In the old Fitzroy Zone....played footy against Timmy Pekin's brother, and a few other Fitzroy names.

 

[Mobbs]

Originally posted by Hilly72
Birregurra, on the Cape Otway Rd, in between Colac and Lorne. In the old Fitzroy Zone....played footy against Timmy Pekin's brother, and a few other Fitzroy names.

AHhh ... ex-brother in law played for South Colac.

 

[skilts]

I have written elsewhere on these boards about my appreciation of how proudly Freo. did us on that last day. We played ****, but at least we were consistent. That sheila who sang 'Auld Lang's Syne' reduces me to tears to this day. Once again, thanks to Freo. Thank Christ it was a real football club, rather than some odious, artificial concoction from the West.

The game against Richmond was, to me, a farce and so unreal. It wasn't our last game, and I found the crocodile tears to be a bit previous. At the end of the game the Collingwood and the Carlton supporter with whom I attended started bawling their eyes out. I couldn't believe it.

I said, "Let's go." They said, "We want to pay tribute to Fitzroy." I said, "For ****'s sake, it's another 150 point loss. How much pain do you want me to go through?"

During the 1996 finals series, I barracked for Brisbane, as I have since.

Sentimentality and lack of reality killed Fitzroy, from about 1962 onwards.

 

[Mobbs]

Originally posted by skilts
I have written elsewhere on these boards about my appreciation of how proudly Freo. did us on that last day. We played ****, but at least we were consistent. That sheila who sang 'Auld Lang's Syne' reduces me to tears to this day. Once again, thanks to Freo. Thank Christ it was a real football club, rather than some odious, artificial concoction from the West.

The game against Richmond was, to me, a farce and so unreal. It wasn't our last game, and I found the crocodile tears to be a bit previous. At the end of the game the Collingwood and the Carlton supporter with whom I attended started bawling their eyes out. I couldn't believe it.

I said, "Let's go." They said, "We want to pay tribute to Fitzroy." I said, "For ****'s sake, it's another 150 point loss. How much pain do you want me to go through?"

During the 1996 finals series, I barracked for Brisbane, as I have since.

Sentimentality and lack of reality killed Fitzroy, from about 1962 onwards.

This is a really interesting reaction, especially the bit I coloured. Firstly, it clashes with the average temperament of most Roys fans, or at least most that speak up. It certainly clashes with mine.

But upon reading and re-rereading it, I can't help but think that skilts may have been more on the money than most, including myself. Its got me asking myself : why did I want to subject myself to that.

I stood there all day and sang the song, cheered, cried, unbelievably and memorably got abused when the song-singing died at one stage by a couple of (rare) Richmond fans who were crying and then angry at us for quieting at one stage!.

I never thought "my God, do I have to do this to myself, too?

Mind you, the reserves win was gleeful!

 

[Paul D]

Originally posted by skilts
I said, "Let's go." They said, "We want to pay tribute to Fitzroy." I said, "For ****'s sake, it's another 150 point loss. How much pain do you want me to go through?"

During the 1996 finals series, I barracked for Brisbane, as I have since.

I'm in the same boat as Skilts on this. What made it worse was that it was against Richmond, who had an administration which had torn the guts out of Fitzroy for the previous 3 or 4 years. And the last thing I wanted was Richmond supporters feeling sorry for me and my fellow Ftizroy supporters.

I also started supporting the Bears from the '96 finals series onwards.

 

[Mobbs]

Originally posted by Paul D
And the last thing I wanted was Richmond supporters feeling sorry for me and my fellow Ftizroy supporters.

That's why it was so interesting to get that reaction from these couple of Tigers fans. They weren't sympathetic, they were actually angry at us, and upset that we had shown signs of fading as supporters.

Weird, impossible to know how to take it.

 

[Slax]

Although my memories of the last few rounds are blurry (not sure if alcohol then or effects it has had now) the feeling is not the same with Brisbane. This maybe the sanitisation of the game by the AFL, no more tinnies, can't stand in the outer properly, no local grounds and no swearing but AFL is losing it's luster for me.

Fitzroy was traditional footy for me. Standing in the outer no matter what watching your team with mates and enjoying it. Winning wasn't what it was about (couldn't of been anyway) it was being there having fun and being a bit of a yobbo.

 

[Hilly72]

Originally posted by Mobbenfuhrer
AHhh ... ex-brother in law played for South Colac.

How long ago? Who?

 

[Mobbs]

Originally posted by Hilly72
How long ago? Who?

Ah, about late 1980s, at a guess, surname Milbourne, worked at Preston Motors and also doing the odd laundry run to Apollo Bay/Lorne for Egans.

 

[lioness]

Originally posted by Slax
Although my memories of the last few rounds are blurry (not sure if alcohol then or effects it has had now) the feeling is not the same with Brisbane. This maybe the sanitisation of the game by the AFL, no more tinnies, can't stand in the outer properly, no local grounds and no swearing but AFL is losing it's luster for me.

Fitzroy was traditional footy for me. Standing in the outer no matter what watching your team with mates and enjoying it. Winning wasn't what it was about (couldn't of been anyway) it was being there having fun and being a bit of a yobbo.

Well for me, I wasn't so much of a yobbo (or maybe I was and just didn't know it) but I fully understand what you're saying.

For me, winning never mattered either. Even if my Roys got absolutely flogged on the weekend it didn't matter, I still wore my scarf with just as much pride and passion as if we'd won a premiership!!!!!! I loved the club, I loved the players and most of all, I loved the supporters. Fitzroy supporters are the best lot of fans I have ever had the pleasure to be surrounded by. Absolutely no crap about them, and I remember even from the very first match I attended, I had heaps of people who just wandered up for a chat and made sure i was ok, I come from an Essendon-supporting family and most of my friends just flatly refused to come to Fitzroy matches so I would mostly go along alone. It's something that always made me really bloody proud to be part of it, and the fact that week after week, we'd be outnumbered badly by the opposition fans, yet make just as much noise!!!!!!! The results never bothered me, I never felt ashamed in those last few years of the clubs' existence, not once.

All I know is it will NEVER make sense to me why the AFL had to do what they did to us. They can try and justify it any way they want to, but nothing will ever change the fact that football changed forever the minute they announced the merger, and it will never ever be the same. There IS no more tradition. There's no heart and soul. You can't just take something away that's been there for over a century and expect things to be the same.

I'm not one for living in the past, and I have moved on to a certain extent with the Brisbane Lions, but all you have to do is show me the old jumper and I am probably 200 times more passionate. I think the thing that makes me saddest of all though is that future generations will probably know of Fitzroy, but they'll never be able to fully understand anymore just how grand our little club was. They'll look at the results and never really know how we could be bloody proud of our boys anyways. My children will see the Reds, and any other team the FFC may have in the future, in any division. It's not what I imagined for them, but it's all I can do. And that's a bitter pill as well really.

Apologies for rambling a bit too much.

 

[Hilly72]

Originally posted by Mobbenfuhrer
Ah, about late 1980s, at a guess, surname Milbourne, worked at Preston Motors and also doing the odd laundry run to Apollo Bay/Lorne for Egans.

OK, a couple of years before I got down there.

 

[Hollypig]

I watched the game out of curiosity, not being a VFL supporter, just out of a morbid interest I s`pose.
Was 36 years old at the time, & bawled my eyes out, saddest thing I`d near seen. My then 4yo (now a Fitzroy player) asked the wife ' why`s Dad crying' She could`nt work out why, funny, neither could I.
Now strangely enough, my team has won 1 game this year, was actually bankrupt for a couple of hours, & have lost a high court appeal. Barring a miracle, things look grim. I`m only hoping that, if we fall over, we get a chance to see a final game.

Loved your recollection of watching footy in the outer Slax, that`s how we watch the footy now.

 

[KnaveyBlue]

...

I miss Fitzroy

 

[Mobbs]

Re: ...

Originally posted by KnaveyBlue
I miss Fitzroy

I, and I'm sure all Roys fans here, appreciate your sentiment, Knavey. But nevermind, all we have been has taken shelter in the hardiest minds, where we can cheekily smoulder.

But, on another note, fair enough you miss Fitzroy, but there was no need to go all out and assume our position on the ladder into the bargain!

 

[flagfor05]

I'm a crazy Geelong fan, and also a crazy about footy, so I can still remember a little of Fitzroys last game, although I was only 6 years old! I can remember seeing them walk off in tears and not really understanding how big a deal it would've been for the Roys faithful.

One of our school footy coaches played against Fitzroy in their last Melbourne game, for Richmond, and he was telling me how big it really was and how emotional it was. For footy once Matty Primus had a chat to us about what it was like in those final days at Fitzroy. Things like not even being able to train on a full ground were things they had to deal with.

 

[BB gun]

fitzroy losing to freo. Despite my team winning, i couldn't help but feel sad for fitzroy