Competition "What If" Wednesdays - Time Traveller Sneezes Edition: Week 22 - Footscray to the SANFL - 1981

[cannavo]

Welcome to ...

Marty McFly has done himself a mischief and has altered the course of Aussie footy in ways you can't imagine!
Get ready to dive into alternate futures!​

What is “What If” Wednesdays?
"What if" Wednesdays was a competition comprised of real-life football team proposals, merger propositions, former teams and a few hypotheticals brought to life by the FJGD community (eg. If the Melbourne-Hawthorn merger went ahead, if University/Fitzroy/Bris Bears stuck around, if Gold Coasts nickname were the Lifesavers etc.) it became this boards longest running competition (8/9/14 – 29/5/19). It has been revived under a meme cultured spin-off! Time traveller sneezes memes are all about butterfly effects on various things caused by a time traveller altering the past by means of a simple sneeze.


What’s new this time around?
This time or these times around, we will be flung into various timelines where our universes former teams, mergers, relocation proposals never existed or had its outcome altered slightly or severely! The list below is comprised of alternate timelines and the butterfly effect caused by our cheeky time traveller. Your job is to envision this outcome! Each comp will run for 1 week and the poll will run for 3 days. The winner picks the next team from the list below or can use their one-time self-imposed idea where they put forward an idea not listed below.

There are some routes you can go by if you're stuck:

• The chosen team has entered their designated competition in the current year (unless specified) along with the current teams OR
• You may design kits at any point in time unless strictly specified OR
• Accompany your kits with a backstory on how the team came to be to help better envision the outcome
• Use Google to search the history and stories behind what is being altered

Bare minimum for an entry is:

• A home kit with the front of the jumper showing
  (Back, shorts, socks are optional)
• OPTIONAL Away kit (Home with white shorts is acceptable)
• OPTIONAL 3rd kit
  • Clash kit
  • Heritage kit
  • Other kit
• OPTIONAL Club Logo (Highly Encouraged!)

Let’s see what has happened this time

Our Timeline: Footscray stay in the VFL
Altered Timeline: Footscray switch leagues to the SANFL​

Basic Rules (Read Carefully):

1. Kits and Logo must be in 1 picture (Makes polls easier to fit everything in)
2. The kits can consist of just a Jumper (Shorts and socks are encouraged to give a full identity effect)
3. Minimum 1 kit and there's no limit to how many kits you can include after that
   eg. Home and Away and/or Clash and/or Heritage and/or Others
   1. Designing a Home and away/clash kit is highly encouraged for that authentic feel and to develop that alternate universe experience
4. Attempt to stay close to the altered timeline
5. Directly copying current football team kits/logos are not allowed
6. Creating a logo is encouraged but you may take inspiration from and/or alter any existing sports logo to drive home your design.
7. Maximum 2 entries per person
8. Any questions at all, please ask!

Specific Category Rules:

League Transfers Rules:

1. The entering team may need to alter their kit and/or logo to not directly copy or closely bear a resemblance to any of the teams in that league
2. Attempt to create a slight variant of the entering club to better visualise that alternative timeline look, whether it’s the addition of a colour or 2, a redesign or a name change

Alternate timeline categories
Bold - Completed with poll results

Mergers

• Melbourne - St Kilda merger (1995)
• Tasmania - Fitzroy Merger
• Sydney - Fitzroy Merger
• Gold Coast Suns seek merger with Sharks to stay alive
• Fitzroy - Brisbane (Fitzroy Bears)
• Tasmania agree to merger with North Melbourne

Relocations

• Saints relocate to NZ
• Essendon relocate to NT to become Alice Springs
• Hawthorn relocate to Canberra
• Fitzroy relocate to Canberra
• Fitzroy relocate to Brisbane in the 80s (Prior to the Bears existing)
• South Melbourne relocate to Tasmania
• South Melbourne relocate to Canberra
• Fitzroy complete move to North Sydney - 1980
• Footscray relocate to Queensland - 1981

League transfers

• West Coast Eagles to the SANFL
• Brisbane Bears to the SANFL
• Fitzroy to the SANFL - 1981
• Footscray to the SANFL - 1981
• Adelaide Uni to the SANFL - 1991 (cannot use only black and white)
• Collingwood to the SANFL - 1997
• East Perth to the VFL - 1980
• Norwood to the AFL
• Launceston to the AFL
• Essendon to the WAFL

New Teams

• Port Adelaide crows join the AFL - 1991
• Papua New Guinea enter the AFL
• Mount Gambier join the SANFL
• Limestone Coast join the SANFL
• Sydney enter as a separate team (Bloods stay in Vic)
• Darwin join the AFL - 1991
• Public Service Football Club join the VFL
• Gold Coast fold, new North Queensland team take their place - 2030
• NZ enter 90's State of Origin
• Broome become the 2nd WA AFL team
• Gold Coast hijack Brisbane Bears VFL entry - 1986

Colour Corner

• West Coast Eagles VFL kits altered due to Williamstown sharing the same colours
• GWS keep their 'Team GWS' colours
• Port Adelaide retain their Magenta
• Adelaide's hurried concept
  (Adelaide board hastily attain clothes from local sport store and use the 5 colours to design their new AFL team)

Specials

• Hawthorn release Ochre jumper - 2000
• Skittle's sponsor Essendon and release special guernsey
• Heidelberg Warriors align with Collingwood for 1 season - 1996
• Melbourne remain as The Fuchsias
• Melbourne remain as The Invincible Whites
• Collingwood remain as Britannia

 

[Mac Ropod]

 

[cannavo]

View attachment 2063637

Making them clash with CD, Based.

 

[KBLT]

This one is tough

 

[Mac Ropod]

Making them clash with CD, Based.

Oops!

 

[cannavo]

Oops!

Oh you didn't have to change the jumper because of that, I was just joking about the 'zero f***s given' approach given it straight up clashes with fellow Bulldogs CD, hence me saying "Based". AFAIK, clash solutions weren't a thing in the 80's so you can enter with whatever version you please, or even both given everyone can enter a maximum of 2 entries

 

[cannavo]

Various factors including low funds, poorly maintained home ground and the possibility of relocating to Queensland, lead to the unforeseen league change of one of Victoria's longest standing football teams, The Footscray Bulldogs. They reached out to the SANFL after failing to come up with enough for their VFL license fee. The league switch would pave the way of making the sport truly national. The SANFL made it clear that there can't be 2 teams called the Bulldogs, with that in mind, Footscray reverted to one of their original club monikers dating back to the 1880s, The Imperials, in reference to the death of French prince, Napoleon. In a way, bringing back a moniker that was linked to someone's death was seen as killing the old Footscray Bulldogs and their bad luck. To help differentiate between themselves and Central District, the classic 2 band design was brought back with the addition of gold that enveloped the hoops. Since their first encounter, a rivalry with Central District had started, and the matchup was colloquially known as "The Dog Fight". Club president at the time, Charlie Sutton fuelled the rivalry by reminding CD that their first ever kits were donated by Footscray

 

[troybe]

When does this What if close for entries?

 

[KBLT]

At first, the idea of transferring the Footscray Football Club was just an idea brought up at a particularly fiery meeting of the club board in 1979. The club's financial woes were worsening, and the VFL gave them one year to fix them, or face expulsion from the league. Despite their best efforts, it was evident that the club were not going to be able to dig themselves out in time for the VFL's deadline. So, in mid 1980, the club met with the SANFL and WAFL. After a short back and forth, the SANFL presented the better deal in Footscray's eyes. Only one catch; they couldn't keep the Bulldogs moniker. Facing no alternative, the club decided to choose a new moniker that would honour their stories, if not overly successful history. Very early on in the club's history, there was a short lived period in which the went by the Prince Imperial Football Club, out of respect for the late Napoleon Bonaparte. Drawing from that part of their past and it's French inspiration, in 1981, the Footscray Royales entered the SANFL.

 

[terrybull]

View attachment 2064591

At first, the idea of transferring the Footscray Football Club was just an idea brought up at a particularly fiery meeting of the club board in 1979. The club's financial woes were worsening, and the VFL gave them one year to fix them, or face expulsion from the league. Despite their best efforts, it was evident that the club were not going to be able to dig themselves out in time for the VFL's deadline. So, in mid 1980, the club met with the SANFL and WAFL. After a short back and forth, the SANFL presented the better deal in Footscray's eyes. Only one catch; they couldn't keep the Bulldogs moniker. Facing no alternative, the club decided to choose a new moniker that would honour their stories, if not overly successful history. Very early on in the club's history, there was a short lived period in which the went by the Prince Imperial Football Club, out of respect for the late Napoleon Bonaparte. Drawing from that part of their past and it's French inspiration, in 1981, the Fitzroy Royales entered the SANFL.

Fitzroy Royals?

 

[KBLT]

Fitzroy Royals?

God damn it, I double checked too. Dunno why the words always get mixed up in my head.

 

[terrybull]

God damn it, I double checked too. Dunno why the words always get mixed up in my head.

Fitzroy, Footscray, Fremantle…. Used to be so many F’s

 

[cannavo]

When does this What if close for entries?

All comps run for a week, this started Saturday 27/7 so entries will close Saturday 3/8

 

[just_kick_it]

All comps run for a week, this started Saturday 27/7 so entries will close Saturday 3/8

Ive got something in the works just need a little bit of time to present it. are you able to hold off on the poll?

 

[just_kick_it]

In the late 70s Footscray approached the SANFL to see if they could join. The VFL had become a one team competition in the decade previous with St. Kilda dominating everyone. The SANFL called a meeting with a representative from each club being invited to discuss the addition of Footscray. Central District FC had the final say due to the clash that would be created by Footscray. Mr. Russell, the Central District President, was surprisingly accommodating, his only rules for Footscray were that they had to change their moniker, and their current guernsey design (which did not clash with Central Districts at the time) and the Footscray Tricolours were born. Looking to establish early dominance in their new competition, Footscray went back in time to 1898 and 1899 when they won back to back VFA Premierships for inspiration.

 

[cannavo]

Ive got something in the works just need a little bit of time to present it. are you able to hold off on the poll?

I'll continue to hold it off till I return from the 'G in case someone else has one in the works

 

[KBLT]

View attachment 2067404
In the late 70s Footscray approached the SANFL to see if they could join. The VFL had become a one team competition in the decade previous with St. Kilda dominating everyone. The SANFL called a meeting with a representative from each club being invited to discuss the addition of Footscray. Central District FC had the final say due to the clash that would be created by Footscray. Mr. Russell, the Central District President, was surprisingly accommodating, his only rules for Footscray were that they had to change their moniker, and their current guernsey design (which did not clash with Central Districts at the time) and the Footscray Tricolours were born. Looking to establish early dominance in their new competition, Footscray went back in time to 1898 and 1899 when they won back to back VFA Premierships for inspiration.

Subtly telling CD; "We're three times the club you are," with that kit.