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The legal stoush between the Brisbane Lions and the remnants of the Fitzroy Football Club over the new logo is a fight worth having, as far as old Roys are concerned.
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.
Yes, the Lions were previously Gorillas and the red was historically maroon (should never have changed), but all the Roys of 1996 vintage have is memories and they remain priceless.
Fitzroy was a reluctant bride, of course.
Then president Dyson Hore-Lacey negotiated an agreement with North Melbourne that most supporters reluctantly endorsed. It made sense for two inner Melbourne clubs with small supporter bases to come together.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, Fitzroy’s demise coincided with a North Melbourne premiership year. The other Melbourne clubs, particularly Richmond, feared the proposed merger would create a superpower and it was vetoed.
In stepped Brisbane and the rest is history, complete with a superpower triple premiership run.
The merger agreement with the Bears included a clause to retain the Fitzroy Lion logo in perpetuity and for the new club to play at least six games a year in Melbourne.
The AFL draw for 2005 had only five Lions games in Melbourne. The Lions negotiated with Fitzroy’s continuing entity in Melbourne to play one of the Victorian matches wearing a Fitzroy jumper to offset the loss of a game.
That has since been a feature of Lions matches in Victoria and one that’s much appreciated by Fitzroy people.
According to a report on the Fairfax website (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/court-battle-over-brisbane-lions-logo-20100303-phz3.html) during a costs application in the Supreme Court, counsel for Brisbane, Rodney Garratt QC, said a historic club with a dwindling supporter base should not be allowed to control the activities of an ongoing organisation.
Their argument seems to be that the Lions is a new club, forget about the past.
They clearly don’t understand what it means to be a Fitzroy person or a Victorian supporter of the Lions.
The club is more than a football team; it is a spiritual being that pervades the lives of those who embrace it. The spirit is manifest in the jumper, the logo and the song.
From a Fitzroy perspective it’s a battle worth fighting. Can Brisbane people honestly say the same?
What do they gain by changing the historic Lion to a “Paddlepop” version?
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