Brisbane players leave the field after a loss in during the AFL NAB Cup Round 01 match between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions at Manuka Oval.
The Brisbane Lions’ decision to remove the Fitzroy lion from its home and away jumpers – and replace it with the much-criticized “Paddle Pop lion” – is remarkable considering just how desperate some clubs are to have a secondary supporter base in another part of the country.
Hawthorn’s relationship with Tasmania has seen a number of clubs re-think their interstate strategies. Port Adelaide are now chasing something similar in the Northern Territory. North Melbourne last year requested a home game be played in Perth.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire famously offered up the Pies’ away games to be played on the Gold Coast after the Kangaroos rejected a move north.
Heck, even the Lions themselves figured out there’s a benefit to having another market to tap in to just a couple of years ago. They started to embrace their heritage at Melbourne away games by wearing Fitzroy jumpers. The gesture was applauded by Fitzroy and non-Fitzroy fans alike.
So what has happened since? Why, all of the sudden, is that portion of their supporter base considered disposable?
Because with the way the club are acting, that seems to be how they feel about their Melbourne-based fans.
How else could you explain why the Fitzroy jumpers in Melbourne games will be no more, replaced by another unfortunate re-do? Or how the Lions’ barrister Rodney Garratt QC described Fitzroy as a club with a “shrinking if not vanishing supporter base” that sort to meddle in the business of a current AFL club?
Fitzroy was forced into an unfortunate position at the time of the merger with the Brisbane Bears, but they have every right to stand up to the big boys in this instance.
As mjg rightly pointed out in his Roar of the Crowd piece last week, “Symbols and heritage may not matter as much to a new club, but tell Collingwood to change their black and white stripes and you’ll have some idea of how Fitzroy people regard the jumper.”
It’s worth more than to be discarded in the name of building a club’s brand or, somehow, boosting membership numbers.
What makes this whole mess even more remarkable is even when you take Fitzroy out of it, things still struggle to stack up.
The old Lions jumper was the one in which three consecutive premierships were won. It instantly strikes fear into the hearts of any Collingwood supporter, and indeed fans of many other rival clubs.
More importantly, it was respected by the football community. Can you honestly say that about the new jumper? Really?
It’s one thing to change the club logo. Clubs like Geelong, Hawthorn and Adelaide have done exactly that in the past few years and no one gave it too much of a thought (no matter how awful the new Crows one is). But it is another thing entirely to mess with the jumper.
Geelong still have their hoops, Hawthorn still have their stripes, Adelaide still have their tricolour design. But Brisbane no longer have their lion. Or the lion that carried so much significance to so many people, at least.
That, for Brisbane fans, for Fitzroy fans, for fans of the game in general, is a shame.
Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio
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Jeff Dowsing said | March 9th 2010 @ 7:29am | Report comment
It’s not about the sense, it’s about the dollars.
At the end of the day, Brisbane couldn’t give a rat’s tossbag about Fitzroy, despite some token attempts to prove otherwise.
Al said | March 9th 2010 @ 8:31am | Report comment
Not true, Brisbane do give a rat’s tossbag about Fitzroy when potential father-son picks like Johnathon Brown and Marc Murphy come along. I bet they wont be turning their backs on their Fitzroy “heritage” if Paul Roos’ son for example is available in up coming drafts.
Brisbane are what the MK Dons are in English football, a wholly artificial construct designed purely to make money at the expense of an established and traditional supporter base but only worse, as the governing body here literally bought that team success in the early part of the 90s. The current day Lions and the AFL are a disgrace and with the establishment of two new foreign and artificial entities, the future of clubs in Victoria is looking very Fitzroy like. Gold Coast Kangaroos and GWS Demons anyone?
Al said | March 9th 2010 @ 8:32am | Report comment
That should have read, early part of the 00′s.
Tom said | March 9th 2010 @ 10:45am | Report comment
Its getting harder and harder to support the Brisbane Lions.
How did I go from following a foundation Melbourne team from the suburb I grew up in to a marketing ploy on the other side of the country?
B.C. Queenslander. said | March 9th 2010 @ 11:10am | Report comment
The fact is that they are still the Lions, sure the jumper design has changed, as it did in 1939, 1957 and 1996. I don’t particularly like the new design, maybe it will grow, but at least there is still a club that Fitzroy supporters can support that has some link to the past.
Brisbane should be careful though not to alienate this small but important supporter base, one would think that for Melbourne games they could still stick with the favoured strip of old Fitzroy fans.
The Fitzroy fans will be there on Grand Final day later this year though, when the Lions carve up whichever timid team dares confront them on what will be another glorious day in the history of Brisbane/Fitzroy Lions F.C. You read it here first!
Forgetmenot said | March 9th 2010 @ 11:19am | Report comment
They need to maintain their primary home first and foremost.
I believe the jumper was changed to appeal more the youth market in Brisbane, and to update the Lions aging image.
Al said | March 9th 2010 @ 11:29am | Report comment
Ok, then they should abandon any link with Fitzroy absolutlely, that is abandon any potential father-son selections and refund any ex-Fitzroy members the money that they have spent over the past 13 years supporting them.
I’m just glad that the Fitzroy people I knew started supporting North from 1997 and not this AFL “franchise”.
Jonathan said | March 11th 2010 @ 6:05pm | Report comment
Re appealing to the youth market; how does the new design appeal more to the youth market than the old one?
I can’t imagine that they did any research to that end.
Brisbane have been screwing up jumpers for years now. Can anyone remember that disastrous urine stained white change guernsey? They should stop meddling and stop getting spooked by falling attendance/membership figures.
Forgetmenot said | March 9th 2010 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Fitzroy is the clubs past and present, and their present in the future as well. They will always maintain a link with Fitzroy.
However Brisbane is their future, and they cannot cling too much to their past.
They merely updated the Lion with a better more modern design to reflect a club moving with the times and not clinging to its past.
Ben said | March 9th 2010 @ 11:54am | Report comment
It really is a terrible jumper and hard to know who it appeals to!
James said | March 9th 2010 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
The logo dominates the shirt too much.
Richard said | March 9th 2010 @ 12:31pm | Report comment
That new logo looks more like the GM-Holden lion to me. Maybe they should change their name too. They can be the Brisbane Toranas.
Al said | March 9th 2010 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Looks like the paddle pop lion.
http://www.lovemarks.com/media/image/paddle-pop_lg_html.jpg
Wayno said | March 9th 2010 @ 12:44pm | Report comment
Just out of interest, does any one have any idea how many paid up melbourne based members the lions have?
B.C Queenslander said | March 9th 2010 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
According to Wikipidia 6,700 out of 26,300, so just over 25%.
Certainly worth keeping and trying to build upon.
If they use a jumper that Fitzroy fans are happy with and can relate to for all Melb games, maybe with the exception of finals, that would have to be a better solution than alienating them.
Jeff Dowsing said | March 9th 2010 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
BL want to cap the Melb membership because when Melb based supporters go to games they have to subsidise the Melb home club.
That indicates their mindset. Welcome the old Fitzroy supporters when and how it suits them.
Sven man said | March 9th 2010 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
The one undeniable thing about the new jersey is…it looks horrible. Even though I’m not a supporter, I’d love to see the Lions do well, however I’d be embarassed if I saw that jumper being worn on grand final day.
B.C Queenslander said | March 9th 2010 @ 5:29pm | Report comment
Got to wonder how many fans will fork out their hard earned for a jumper with a “tame” looking lion on it, usually the mascot/logo is made to look agressive, kids might love it though.