As a Sydney Swans fan, I’m actually struggling to come to terms with this new paradigm. I’d always quite liked being affiliated with everyone’s second-favourite team, and I enjoyed the fact that so many opposition supporters quite liked my team.
It made me feel loved, because I am extremely irrational.
But now, we’ve entered a new age: the age of Buddy. And the Swans have gone from “everyone’s second-favourite team” to “worse than Nazis”. Now Sydney lose a game to the so-called Greater Western Sydney Giants, and the whole world is gloating.
And I just don’t know what to think.
It’s not that I don’t want Buddy in my team – obviously any fan would be happy to have such a prominent t-shirt entrepreneur on their side. But it gives one pause when, with Round 1 not even finished because it’s a split round for some reason, everyone is already talking about his terrible influence on the team and the culture and the very city itself.
Can Sydney survive Buddy? Bear in mind his contract runs for nine years. This means that if, as most experts agree, the first game of a player’s career with a club is a certain indicator of how the rest of his career will go, we are in for nine years of missed shots at goal, ill-tempered scuffles and rumours about how terrible he is for younger players.
Not to mention the fact that if this trend continues, Sydney will lose to the Giants every week for the next nine years, which is a dreadful prospect and could get very boring.
I think that now is probably a good time to weigh up the pros and cons of the Buddy deal and decide whether it’s worth continuing with the experiment, or whether we – by which I mean the city of Sydney and all who love her – should cut our losses, pay out the nine years of the contract, and move on sadder and wiser, but also free.
First, the pros:
1. He is a supreme athlete with amazing capacity for outrunning and out-manoeuvring his opponents, faster than anyone of his size and bigger than anyone of his speed.
2. He can kick goals every now and then.
3. He’s grown a nice beard recently.
4. If you kick a ball at him, he’ll probably catch it.
5. He has a winning smile.
6. His dance moves are phenomenal for such a big man.
Pretty impressive!
But then there are also cons:
1. Being a supreme athlete can sometimes make you look like a bit of a show-off, which could cause other players to sulk.
2. Sometimes when he tries to kick goals he doesn’t.
3. Beards probably won’t still be in fashion in nine years.
4. I dunno, there’s just something about him that seems kind of ‘off’, don’t you think?.
5. Look at him out there, the smug bastard. Look at his stupid big face.
6. By the end of his contract his knees may well have literally fallen off.
7. Seriously, he’s being paid a LOT of money. Way too much. Are they INSANE?
8. Seriously. Dude.
So as you can see, there are certainly more cons than pros.
But does this mean the Buddy deal is a bad deal? What if Sydney wins the next three premierships? Will it be a good deal then?
What if Sydney wins the next three wooden spoons? What if Sydney wins the next three premierships, but in all three Buddy is on the sideline with osteitis pubis?
And what if they win the next three wooden spoons but Buddy wins the Brownlow and the Coleman medals in all three years?
And why don’t players seem to get osteitis pubis anymore? Did they find a cure for it? Or were all those guys who had it just faking?
It’s impossible to answer these questions with any kind of reliability. After just one game in Swans colours, the only thing we can say with any certainty is that Lance Franklin is a bad player and the GWS Giants are unbeatable.
But I choose not to give up hope.
I think of the tale of Dustin Fletcher, who has forged a successful career lasting more than two decades despite the fact that when he was born he was, technically, a spider. I think of Robert Harvey, who won two Brownlows despite having no legs. I think of Shane Crawford, and I don’t know why.
For all these reasons and more, I think that Buddy can defy the odds. And I think he probably won’t.
But maybe he will!
So have faith, Swannies. If Round 1 2014 has taught us anything, it’s that almost everyone involved in the AFL in any way should just shut up.
Mark
Guest
the swans are everyone's second team? really? the swans negative football made me hate them years ago.
jeff
Guest
Damn good comment. Not a Swans fan... But I love the great game of Rules. And I want to see it succeed in every state. I copped grief when my bluebaggers were the first top 8 side to be rolled by the Suns. I was gutted, it ended out finals chances that year. But then I though how good is this for the greatest game on the planet? Swans season will not be judged on a round one loss. Giants careers will now bloom for that one win. Bring on the rivalry and teams that have a few genuine gun Forwards. Heck I would have any of the 4 that these two teams have (Patton, JEremy Cameron , Trippett and Buddy) and anyone that says they wouldn't is from Adelaide or Hawthorn and still bitter!
Bill
Guest
Enough of Buddy Franklin. Lets move on he has moved on so why cant every one else. ENOUGH
Penster
Guest
You are aware that Buddy Franklin is a human being and not a machine? Ask the Swans hierarchy that brokered the deal what they asked for in return.
langou
Roar Guru
Great article Ben You have summed up my thoughts on the hyperbole surrounding Buddy.
Penster
Guest
Buddy was getting more at Hawthorn than he's currently getting as his contract is back ended at the Swans. They're playing the futures market there, hoping the salary cap is significantly higher in years to come and that Buddy would already have earned his keep in a premiership or 2 and a bundle of new members and merchandise.
Michael huston
Guest
All i can hope for is that Longmire was thinking of the future. With players like Shaw, O'Keefe and Roberts-Thompson all near retirement, their defensive style is slowly transitioning into a much more attacking style similar to Hawthorns (a few tall targets with quicker, smaller forwards around them). As for the other player nearing the end of his career, Adam Goodes, Franklin could very well be a similar player as Goodes, if not quite as great. Think about how instrumental a player like Goodes can be: he doesn't need to kick a bag of goals, and he doesn't need to get a bag of possessions. Look back to Sydney's match against Collingwood last year, Goodes was by far best on ground and was influential in his team winning. The way he presents himself, moves the ball forward, applies pressure despite his size... its all very similar to Buddy. To answer the question of how to measure whether the deal is a success or a failure, i will say this: if Sydney can have a player even in the same category as Goodes out on the field, then it will be a success. Goodes was vital to our success in many important games, even the 2012 GF before he hurt his leg. As for their results last weekend, think about this: Tippett hasn't gotten much opportunity to play with Reid. Reid hasn't gotten much opportunity to work with Buddy. Goodes hasn't had much opportunity to work with Tippett. Tippett hasn't had much opportunity to work with Buddy. Buddy hasn't even had much opportunity to play with ANY of Sydneys players. This is not the team everyone predicted to be a top 3 certainty. Everyone said "Goodes, Tippett and Buddy in the same forward line will be unstoppable" but the team that played against GWS wasn't what the experts raved on about. Of course the forward line hasn't gelled with each other, let alone the whole team. It's been said by dozens of Swans fans over the last week, but this sentence cannot be emphasized enough: GIVE IT TIME.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Tippett doesn't need room. He is the typical stand, lead, mark, kick forward. Franklin at SCG kicking at boundary line only needs about 40-45m (not 50m kick on '50m' arc). Goodes doesn't run as much as he used to and has played at SCG for ages. He'll do fine.
Radelaide
Guest
As far as osteitis pubis goes I think they've just gone back to calling it a groin strain.
Brian
Guest
The deal is bad because they overpaid. Buddy never been ableto kick or br a road scholar and he never will. His game was based on amazing speed and agility that no other key position player has ever had. As he ages the agility disappeares and swans are left with a useful but not great player. Still quick for his size but not lightning and still he cant kick.
Richard
Guest
Ben, best you take the advice you offered in your last line of the column. Cheers
Michael huston
Guest
Looking at the Swans list of 2012 and 2013, there could have easily been premierships awaiting. They had the perfect balance of youth and experience, as well as the perfect balance of defensive play and attacking play. Who knows, they may have won the flag in 2013 were it not for their injuries. I have to wonder, regardless of Franklin wanting to play for Sydney, and regardless of the extra money in their salary cap, why Longmire and the Swans staff would ruin a good thing they already had going. They should have left the team as it was, fought for those premierships, and then - once Goodes, O'Keefe, Roberts-Thompson etc retired - looked at a plan B for winning a premiership: a star recruit. Instead, they've changed a lot of the list and the style of play, no doubt. Where we relied on pace and agility in the 2012 flag, we're now putting all our eggs in two big forwards baskets. It's not so much that it's Franklin and his supposed ego. It's more just the fact that it's two big forwards that are obvious forward targets therefore making our game predictable. I don't want to see the ball being wasted because a players kicked it to Franklin or Tippett and they've been out-numbered by opposition. This will be a real test for the Swans coaching staff to re-assemble this different-looking line-up into a flag-winning team.
Axle an the guru
Guest
I think the biggest problem Sydney will have is the room factor at the SCG. Franklin, Tippett an Goodes all need room to strut there stuff. As far as the COLA is concerned, its just a big rort anyway, as if these footballers need that with the money they are getting payed. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Col in paradise
Guest
One game..bit ealy..Swans lost not due to buddy but in the mid fielld and backline in the last quarter....kick them in the butt...give buddy some time....
Ted
Guest
You're not a Bloods fan Olivia. I call your bluff!
Ted
Guest
Clark at Melbourne is on 800K. Hasn't played for two years. Bottom of the ladder. Judd has been on $1M at Carlton. No p'ships. No finals other than by default. He doesn't play every week. Cloke is on $1M plus. He won't win another flag at Collingwood. They're done. This is nothing new to the Swans. We had Lockett on big bucks & Barry Hall on big bucks compared to our other players. The fact remains that we have signed nearly 5,000 more members for this time of year than any other year. So thus far it has begun paying dividends off field. As for on field. Well let's revisit this in 8 weeks time. Give the bloke a chance.
AdamS
Roar Guru
No matter the massive hole he has put in the Swans budget, no matter what influence he will have on club younglings, no matter if the combined pull of having Buddy, Sonny, Clarkey and Izzy all based in Sydney causes a gravitational shift in the earths core......at least you don't have to live with the fact that you traded away his draft pick for Richard Tambling...........
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Only Jack, Tippett, Goodes? That's like the equivalent of for Essendon considering their win, Goddard, Jobe and Chapman or for Hawks Roughead, Hodge and Hale. Big names to lose. Not saying its why we lost but they are significant players to have lost. In saying that, Franklin will do fine. Many clubs survive having a big name player like him within their club. Look at Hawks. Geelong weren't all 'no dickheads' either and created a long dynasty. People should wait to judge.
Olivia
Guest
Fair call @Smith. I do get very mother hen protective over mt beloved Swans and can let my passions run away with me. You have no idea how much I hope you are right because I don't want to BE right about this. Please accept my apologies and please be right in your assessment
Olivia
Guest
@Smith, really good and sensible comment which counterbalances the blathering a of a fiery, red headed (let's be honest; grey headed these days) old dear like me. I think Franklin's recruitment was both unnecessary for us and a bad fit for us. The bad fit is financial but I fear more the psychosocial impact it will have within the ongoing development of our strong internal culture. That culture and the esteem in the industry with which it is held is a priceless thing and I am convinced it won us the 2012 flag every bit as much as did individual pieces of courage and brilliance. If Franklin's recruitment damages that, no amount of match winning of his own boot games will make up for it