Hawks captain Sam Mitchell tries to slip the tackle of Eagle Sam Butler during the AFL Round 13 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Hawthorn Hawks at Subiaco. Slattery Images
It’s a hard life being a die-hard fan. The disappointments far outweigh the triumphs, even though any fan will tell you on the day of victory that it was all worth it. Still, it all got too much for one Hawthorn fan on Saturday night.
Perhaps with the final hopes of a Hawk dynasty disappearing down the drain, the fan tipped the remains of his beer over captain Sam Mitchell as the players went down the race at half time.
It was a gesture many a Hawk fan had probably considered in the past weeks as their side had recently turned in a host of performances hardly befitting a reigning premier.
But the truly surprising thing was how Mitchell reacted. Speaking of the incident this week, the Hawks leader made it clear that the behaviour was far from welcome.
But refreshingly, Mitchell expressed a great deal of empathy for his club’s supporters.
“It’s pretty disappointing when that sort of thing happens, but people love going to the footy and that’s their release,” Mitchell said.
“They go to work all day, every day, and they want to front up on a Saturday night or Saturday afternoon and watch their team play and they’re passionate about it. We love that about our fans and I can understand what they go through.
“If you’re going to listen to the fans when everything is going well and they’re patting you on the back, then you better be willing to listen to it when things aren’t going that well. They’ve got their right to say whatever they like.”
It was a statement worthy of a champion captain.
Mitchell, of course, took the long way to the AFL after being overlooked as a teenager.
Perhaps working his way up through the VFL has kept the star onballer grounded. But it’s a mindset that few of his fellow elite sportsmen would share.
It’s hard to imagine many of the more pampered English Premier League football stars coming out with Mitchell’s last quote, nor would some of the insular Australian cricketers.
There’d be many AFL players who wouldn’t agree with Mitchell’s sentiment, either.
One former AFL player once said the problem with the game nowadays is that players did not have scope to work part time, and could therefore no longer identify with the average supporter.
It is a simplification, but there’s a real element of truth to that statement.
With the media scrutiny on sport nowadays, players can argue with some relevancy that they fully deserve their high wages. But – as Mitchell demonstrated – players can still be highly paid and grounded.
In his summation of the incident, Mitchell showed the perfect combination of criticism, tact and chagrin.
Sure, he rightly voiced his disappointment. But he also understands that without those fanatical supporters, there would be club and no competition.
It’s something which all elite sportsmen should take note.
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