Ghost of '85
Debutant
We know the battle ahead will be hard for we face those amazing Saints, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of thousands of voices with a common goal.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the days to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this great club false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is The Western Bulldogs, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we have no money, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Western Bulldogs have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
Yes we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of the Footscray Football Club.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by Sutton and Whitten as they blazed a trail toward the ’54 flag through the darkest of nights.
Yes we can.
It was sung by Bulldog supporters in 1989 as they fought to keep their club from merging.
Yes we can.
It was never clearer than when “The Miracle of the West” started to take shape and all around us said the Dog’s are battlers they can’t have a facility like that….David Smorgan said-
Yes we can.
And this year, this defining year, it’s never been clearer that same message has never been more meaningful.
Yes we Can.
And so Friday night, as we take on the Saints; that the hopes of the little boy who goes to a school in Footscray are the same as the dreams of the of men and women of all ages of all walks of life from all parts of this great land; we will remember that there is something happening out west; that we are not the down trodden battlers the media suggests, we are no fairytale; that we are the fastest, hardest running, most skillful team in the AFL. This won’t come easy, but kick by kick, bruising tackle by bruising tackle, contested ball by contested ball, calloused had over calloused hand; we are one footy Club; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in The Western Bulldogs history with three words that will ring from Coast to coast; from stand to stand, –
Yes. We. Can.
Go dogs!
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the days to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this great club false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is The Western Bulldogs, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we have no money, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Western Bulldogs have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
Yes we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of the Footscray Football Club.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by Sutton and Whitten as they blazed a trail toward the ’54 flag through the darkest of nights.
Yes we can.
It was sung by Bulldog supporters in 1989 as they fought to keep their club from merging.
Yes we can.
It was never clearer than when “The Miracle of the West” started to take shape and all around us said the Dog’s are battlers they can’t have a facility like that….David Smorgan said-
Yes we can.
And this year, this defining year, it’s never been clearer that same message has never been more meaningful.
Yes we Can.
And so Friday night, as we take on the Saints; that the hopes of the little boy who goes to a school in Footscray are the same as the dreams of the of men and women of all ages of all walks of life from all parts of this great land; we will remember that there is something happening out west; that we are not the down trodden battlers the media suggests, we are no fairytale; that we are the fastest, hardest running, most skillful team in the AFL. This won’t come easy, but kick by kick, bruising tackle by bruising tackle, contested ball by contested ball, calloused had over calloused hand; we are one footy Club; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in The Western Bulldogs history with three words that will ring from Coast to coast; from stand to stand, –
Yes. We. Can.
Go dogs!
