Such is Life- Ben Cousins doco

[Keys]

and yet where was all of this through 05/06/07? He said himself he was a drug addict, but highly functioning, through those times. He recounts going on benders, and regular use as a reward for training, through those times. You may be right in the effects it has on most people, but by his own accounts he was functioning as an elite level athlete at the same time he was using.

If you were paying attention you might have noticed that he used drugs as a reward for training hard in blocks up to a month.

So it was train hard, then take drugs not the other way round you dimwitted little nimrod

A bit more sincerity and cuz willing to admit a few more things would be a good start. This has just been a "how good is cuzzy" wankfest.

I got the sense that for a long time, even when everything was turning to shit in 2007, that ben didn't think he had a problem and to an extent he was right in tat it wasn't affecting his footy.

At the end of it he hurt his family the most and he doesn't really owe an apology to anyone else

 

[Ochre]

At the end of it he hurt his family the most and he doesn't really owe an apology to anyone else

He hurt our footy club, not as much as his family, but he still hurt us badly.

 

[Eagle87]

He hurt our footy club, not as much as his family, but he still hurt us badly.

And?

He was also the main reason we were watchable through the Ken Judge era and without him we don't win in 2006.

He cocked up royally but he was a net positive over the 10 years he was at our club. Or are you some sort of kid who didnt watch footy until 2004?

What do you want him to do to appease you for the "hurt" he caused "us"?

 

[Ochre]

He was also the main reason we were watchable through the Ken Judge era and without him we don't win in 2006.

with him all year, we win 2007

He cocked up royally but he was a net positive over the 10 years he was at our club. Or are you some sort of kid who didnt watch footy until 2004?

so it'd be OK if Glass and Cox cocked up royally next year, as they'd still have a new postive result on our club?

 

[Keys]

He hurt our footy club, not as much as his family, but he still hurt us badly.

That he did

But he also led us to a flag and our admin had ample opportunity to do act earlier than they did. We'll never know how things would have panned out if they paid more attention to the alarm bells at the time.

With the benefit of hindsight he should never have played in 2007

 

[Patron]

He's got a LONG LONG LONG way to come back yet.

A (supposedly) good bloke (also a drug addict) with a family is dead.

There are dealers that he knows about that are out there now damaging other families.

Hard questions of the AwFL and West Coast still need to be asked and answered with some sackings.

what is it with freo supporters and our board hows johnson going? we havnt had any problems for a few years so i'd look at your club if i were u

 

[Eagle87]

with him all year, we win 2007

Well, maybe, but we were missing Cousins, Judd and Kerr when we were knocked out ... in a prelim ...

I would argue that a fit Kerr and a fit Judd might have been enough in 2007. Regardless, is there a point in there?

We won a flag in large part due to Cuzz... You want to ask about 12 other teams whether they would trade a guaranteed flag for a maybe?

so it'd be OK if Glass and Cox cocked up royally next year, as they'd still have a new postive result on our club?

I presume you meant "net" rather than "new"?

What sort of clown makes such basic typo's?

In answer to your question, they could both spend the entire year in drug-fuelled gay sex romps and it wouldnt have much effect. We will be bog ordinary in 2011.

But yes, Cox & Glass have runs on the board which certainly mean they can be forgiven a major **** up late in their career. Cousins had more runs on the board than both those guys have combined.

You dont remember Cuzz from 1996 to 2003 do you?

 

[Patron]

Seriously dont get how people could think that mass drugs can be performance enhancing
cuz used drugs as a motivational tool much in the same way as people use chocolate or cigarettes or a drink after work
it was a release and a reward
people go for runs and run harder if they think it means they can have a piece of chocolate afterwards when chocolate aint help them run further it makes it harder
people work harder knowing that in a few hours they get to go home and have a drink
how can smoking make you a better athlete? or any other drugs including alchohol they are known to have negative effects on the body the mind
try having a week bender and then training or trying to play a game of footy you aint gonna do any better you will do worse

 

[Ochre]

I would argue that a fit Kerr and a fit Judd might have been enough in 2007. Regardless, is there a point in there?

we would have had a fit Judd had we been able to rest him

I presume you meant "net" rather than "new"?

What sort of clown makes such basic typo's?

theres a difference between making a typo, and making a typo when you're calling someone thick

But yes, Cox & Glass have runs on the board which certainly mean they can be forgiven a major **** up late in their career. Cousins had more runs on the board than both those guys have combined.

so a good player should have a free reign off field?

thats what got us into this ****ing mess

btw Im, 17 so only really started following footy in around 02-04

 

[Makka]

Although it was interesting to watch I don't really give a toss that he didn't tell us 'enough' as people keep saying, or didn't answer 'all the questions'. He's a troubled soul and needs to move on, as I thought most of us had. He'd be an absolute idiot if he coughed up names of suppliers, especially after the doco. I'm sure he'd be a really popular bloke then.

 

[Daics35Marvel]

Just in case anyone believed the bleach thing.

Thought it was worth requoting this, as it's pretty dangerous having kids thinking that they can potentially drink bleach to pass a drug test. I mentioned the bleach story to my wife last night while watching the Cousins doco. She works in the ER at a local hospital and said it's the stupidest thing she's ever heard. She treated a kid recently who tried drinking bleach and ended up burning the entire lining of her stomach and intenstines and almost died.

 

[arfadunger]

My personal opinion is that the documentary was average. It was interesting, as an Eagles supporter, and if the aim was to get people talking about drugs then it's acheived that. I don't know whether watching the documentary would really deter kids from taking drugs though.

However, having Bryan Cousins in the studio, and watching him talk about the issues and what he went through was riveting. Whenever anyone talks about drug they seem to have their own agenda to push. Bryan cousins didn't, he just told it how it was, and that was that. Really powerful stuff.

 

[Marlin01]

Yeah, poor Bryan Cousins aged about 20 years in the last 5 years. Genuinely top bloke, who didn't deserve to have this happen to his family.

 

[88mph]

One thing is certain, Cuz has had a lot of work done on his teeth.

But seriously, that was pretty much a Cuz love fest. Where is the footage of him coming down, or tearing the room apart looking for drugs? There was no 'rock bottom' moment.

Sure he might be an 'addict' but this did not come across as clear as did the guy who was selfish/spoilt.

I dont think this is really going to deter kids, it just says 'be careful if you are taking drugs, it might cause a couple of problems but it wont ruin your life'

 

[Eagle87]

we would have had a fit Judd had we been able to rest him

You really believe that? So its your view that Judd's injury simply needed rest and Cuzz being out for about 5 more weeks after Judd did it was the reaosn we couldn't rest him? The surgery Judd had was entirely unnecessary if he had instead just rested? All Cuzz's fault?

NFI....

theres a difference between making a typo, and making a typo when you're calling someone thick

Good point. Some typo's are clearly more important than others. You get what a typo is? A typing error? Only a prize clown would attach any significance to the specifics of the typo....

But then only a clown would rate Wilkes....

so a good player should have a free reign off field?

thats what got us into this ****ing mess

Is that what I said? Can you actually read? Critical thinking anywhere in your kit bag? Or are you just really "cool" at picking up typo's?

You have focused, continuously (in various threads), on Cousins as a negative for our club. I simply pointed out that, on balance, his positive contribution to our club outweighs the negative. I then pointed out that a major **** up from the 2 blokes named would also not override their positive contribution. As a fan, I could forgive them a **** up and still rate them as overall positive contributors to the club.

I did not say that they should go unpunished. Like Cousins, they would have to lie in a bed they had made and suffer accordingly. But they would still have made an overall positive contribution to our club.

This isn't all that complex.

btw Im, 17 so only really started following footy in around 02-04

And it shows.

But hey, in your mind you know everything and thats all that matters.

 

[Mattman93]

I presume you meant "net" rather than "new"?

What sort of clown makes such basic typo's?

That is serious gold.

 

[Embley]

However, having Bryan Cousins in the studio, and watching him talk about the issues and what he went through was riveting. Whenever anyone talks about drug they seem to have their own agenda to push. Bryan cousins didn't, he just told it how it was, and that was that. Really powerful stuff.

Agree...the highlight of the doco and the discussions before/afterwards was Bryan.

 

[bali-dog]

i enjoy watching cousins the onfield champion footballer as much as anyone..
but i drew the line after his last couple of games with the eagles - the 'such is life' incident etc..i realised this was a man out of control..overwhelmed by his own ego and self importance in a small isolated city, underworld figures fawning over him,showing he'd sell his soul to scum for an ego massage..it was all too tacky and tragic really...

great footballer..did a lot of good for our club re membership,team spirit etc etc over the years..then became a spoilt prat and got away with way too much,was protected to some extent,and ended up nearly destroying our club..
where we are,and why we are now-nearly everything points back to those last couple of years with cousins behaviour..he's ripped this club apart, and i have no empathy for him whatsoever..there are many many addicts of all descriptions out there who are doing it much harder than cousins,without all the special attention and support he attracts..i'm absolutely over this guy..and he steps out into numerous business offers around melbourne post richmond.

and to prove a point...his leaving richmond wasnt about the club..it was all about Bens career-it was about business,money and correct timing, as was the release of this crass self promoting exercise falsely called a 'documentary'..has anyone questioned whether he profits from this 'doco'???
who made the doco? was it made independently,or was it organised by Ben Inc. The rights are sold to the TV company etc..and where does the money go..isnt he indirectly and cynically profiting from his drug related past(regardless of the spin he puts on it)..how f#cked is that? are the profits going towards a drug rehab related charity organisation? i dont think so..

he doesnt need drug rehab, he needs life rehab - a lifechanging sortie in afghanistan,or Darfur,or some other hellhole seething with human misery - to put his silly life and ego into perspective..what he needed was a good ol fashioned dust up on the footy field-get the stuffing knocked out of him, thats what he needed more often..the goldenboy who pissed it all away, thats what he is to me.
(but he can come back and coach our midfield for a long time as repayment to the club -post melbourne business ventures of course!)
(just my humble opinion of course)

 

[Kernel Sanders]

A couple of points, but don't judge me on my comments as I was moved by the Documentary:

The whole rehab / time off process up North camping on the beach.

Easier said then done for Average Joe trying to kick the habit. Average Joe's family doesn't have money to spend on specialists or the addict to spend months up North trying to find their inner soul. Average Joe still has to keep their job, paying the bills, whilst battling the addiction.

If I could draw an analogy, it's like Oprah on her dieting specials. Yeah that's great Oprah, you have money to employ dieticians, personal trainers, heck a full time kinder that's going to kick you out of bed in the morning. How does your story relate to the common man?

Time at WCE - WCE came across as quite selfish. I'd imagine if they had their time again, they would of banished him for a year to sort himself out, rather than delisting, so late in the piece.

Richmond - quite devastating, as WCE supporters, that he is finishing up there.

Cameras - Great Documentary, but I question why the camera's are recording while he's recovering & trying to get refracted. A "normal" person would be just trying to beat the addiction and not worrying about making a buck, making a documentary.

Anderson - deflection central. Sheena, "but alarm bells must have been ringing in 02-03 onwards, why didn't you step in?". Anderson, "our testing commenced 05". Sheehan, "but you knew he was going off the rails before then".

 

[dantheman06]

I was fairly disappointed with part 2. I wanted to hear from his eagles team mates, talking about falling out & the fracture ge caused from another player point of view. Also why did he take drugs in the first place? That wasn't touched on. Bryan cousins is a champion though..

I wouldn't watch it again..

 

[mcuzzy]

Is it true the DVD will be released with an extra 2 hours of unshown footage?

 

[GO EAGLES]

The following is my un-educated view on the Cousins.
Apparently Sam Newman said that he belived Cuzz is just a naughty little boy and not a drug addict.



The question of whether he is a drug addict or not, I believe was answered when he said he couldn't find inner peace.

I believe that Cousins had a particular inner muscle twitch a mental/muscular thing which will go away with old age.

This twitch enabled him to do the most amazing things in his first year which he recaptured in 2005-2006. COuld be the competition for freakisheness he had with Kerr and Judd.
Did he show that he was the greatest player ever on his 2006 form.


In his first year HE did things like when a number of players were on the ground in a contest and he would get up faster like nothing seen before.
This I thought made him look unstoppable for ever.

I believe the drugs dragged him back to mortality.

Because if he had continued like that he would have toyed with everyone. Nothing worse for an oppositon than when players are sprawled on the ground and one has the ability to get up real quick and burst off.

Some players with absolute natural freskishness I have seen were Carey, G. Ablett SNR, Mathew Richardson (knee injury brouhgt him back to mortal ) and Cousins.

This twitch would not go away when not playing football.

This I believe is why he could easily not get involved with drugs during game time as the adrenalin of a game would enable for him to feel at ease with the twitch and he would be at peace. I will take drugs later
ITs just his state of mind with this twitch thing when away from football was a concern.

Therefore addiciton as opposed to dabbling is definatley often a genetic thing, where some are more susceptible to get addicted to it due to some inner mental muscular workings which the sufferer cannot understand. The drugs then smash the brain and body up

 

[TurleyBurley]

i enjoy watching cousins the onfield champion footballer as much as anyone..
but i drew the line after his last couple of games with the eagles - the 'such is life' incident etc..i realised this was a man out of control..overwhelmed by his own ego and self importance in a small isolated city, underworld figures fawning over him,showing he'd sell his soul to scum for an ego massage..it was all too tacky and tragic really...

great footballer..did a lot of good for our club re membership,team spirit etc etc over the years..then became a spoilt prat and got away with way too much,was protected to some extent,and ended up nearly destroying our club..
where we are,and why we are now-nearly everything points back to those last couple of years with cousins behaviour..he's ripped this club apart, and i have no empathy for him whatsoever..there are many many addicts of all descriptions out there who are doing it much harder than cousins,without all the special attention and support he attracts..i'm absolutely over this guy..and he steps out into numerous business offers around melbourne post richmond.

and to prove a point...his leaving richmond wasnt about the club..it was all about Bens career-it was about business,money and correct timing, as was the release of this crass self promoting exercise falsely called a 'documentary'..has anyone questioned whether he profits from this 'doco'???
who made the doco? was it made independently,or was it organised by Ben Inc. The rights are sold to the TV company etc..and where does the money go..isnt he indirectly and cynically profiting from his drug related past(regardless of the spin he puts on it)..how f#cked is that? are the profits going towards a drug rehab related charity organisation? i dont think so..

he doesnt need drug rehab, he needs life rehab - a lifechanging sortie in afghanistan,or Darfur,or some other hellhole seething with human misery - to put his silly life and ego into perspective..what he needed was a good ol fashioned dust up on the footy field-get the stuffing knocked out of him, thats what he needed more often..the goldenboy who pissed it all away, thats what he is to me.
(but he can come back and coach our midfield for a long time as repayment to the club -post melbourne business ventures of course!)
(just my humble opinion of course)

Great post.

Loads of folks round here tend to love Ben for his involvement / importance to the 06 flag and 05 near miss. But then forget his role in what's become of the club. Like you Dog, I hold Cousins responsible to some extent for where the club is now.

One of the things that makes the guy interesting is that he knows that he's not all good nor all bad, and if you want him, you've got to accept the package, and the associated risks.

The doco didn't deal enough with his impact on the team. It was just Ben in a bubble. When really he had a pretty adverse effect on a lot of things, and not just his family. But you'd never know that.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

The doco didn't deal enough with his impact on the team. It was just Ben in a bubble. When really he had a pretty adverse effect on a lot of things, and not just his family. But you'd never know that.

I must admit I was a little surprised to see the discussion on the '07 team. Agreed it would have been great to explore that even more - perhaps with the likes of Judd/Selwood etc discussing it.

Doesn't mean I don't still love the bloke or the club though.

I'm a believer in your reap what you sow - and both parties have made some poor decisions over the journey and are paying for it now.

 

[bali-dog]

thanks TurlBurl...expected to be shot down in flames -might still happen?

i dont hate the guy (gave me hours of footy joy)..am over him,just wish he'd disappear, he still keeps dragging us back into that mire..

and now chad the fletcher...the media sharpen up their knives again...but i guess when we are back in a winning way, the great joy is that the journos will have nothing on us (hopefully?) next time around..they can all eat humble pie - as can cuzz if+when he comes back to coach the midfield, he can eat a lot of humble pie, every day,for a long time hopefully..too much humble pie will never be enough for him.