On the same day that Essendon’s reputation plummeted to catastrophic depths, its membership jumped.
In total, 627 members signed on the dotted line throughout the day, pledging their support to the crisis-ridden club for what will be a long 2016 season.
For three years the fans have been there, watching as their club and their players endured the scorn of others. Rightly, or wrongly, they have heard their players booed, seen their brave team booted from the finals, watched as draft picks have been taken away and argued with opposition fans who have labelled their players ‘cheats’ and ‘scum.’
They have shifted uneasily in their seats as they’ve read newspaper articles condemning coaches and administrators, turned to FM stations to avoid listening to furious AM talkback callers and switched off the TV on more than one occasion to avoid another round table discussion of their club in crisis.
But, most painfully, they’ve watched the young men at the centre of the storm each weekend with an increasingly heavy heart.
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They’ve seen their players defy the odds to qualify for finals two years in a row when their lives were tormented by accusations of being drug cheats. They enjoyed a brief period of rejuvenation following the AFL Tribunal’s ‘not guilty’ verdict, but when the WADA appeal came, they saw their players slowly disintegrate from the brave warriors they were, slowly losing confidence and then losing the passion to play.
They’ve hoped and prayed and sent each other text messages, asking fellow fans if they’ve heard any news about the CAS decision. And then they’ve pulled over on the side of the road when they learnt their players had been declared guilty and would miss the entire season.
But, they will keep going to the footy. They’ll do this because that’s what supporters do. That doesn’t mean they’re not brokenhearted, angry, gutted, devastated, disappointed, sad and annoyed. And it doesn’t mean they don’t feel at least some of those emotions towards their club.
It just means they love the Essendon Football Club.
Essendon is not just the pharmacologically experimental environment of late 2011 to early 2012. Nor just the club of lawsuits and tribunal hearings they’ve embarked on since.
They are the club of the red sash from Windy Hill. Of Albert Thurgood, John Coleman, Dick Reynolds and Bill Hutchison.
Of Kevin Sheedy, windsocks and jacket waves. Of five Danihers, two Fletchers, and a couple of Watsons. They are the club of Michael Long on the wing and of ‘Lucas to Lloyd for a goal.’
They are the club of back to back flags in ’84/’85, of the Baby Bombers and that (almost) perfect season in 2000. They are one half the Anzac Day clash and the Windy Hill brawl.
They are the winner of 16 premierships.
Essendon is a great club. A strong club. A club with a rich history and a future beyond the tumultuous last three years.
The Bombers have given their fans joy throughout their long history and a club that now needs supporters more than ever before.
The fans have been there all along, through thick and thin, through the best seasons and the worst.
And they will be there again this year too.
Stu
Guest
Brilliant article Sam. As a Bombers fan, I think you have captured the conflicting emotion many of us are feeling right now. I am frustrated and angry and disappointed at many people and parties... including my own club. But this is also the club that has given me so much joy as a fan. I have been lucky enough to see my club win 4 premierships in my lifetime. Plus a number of memorable H&A wins that have stirred the soul - some of which have been in the last couple of years. When I got my 25 year members pin from the club last year - it was a moment of great pride... matched only by how shattered and shocked I was on Tuesday morning. But part of being fan is sticking with your club through thick and thin. Through the long losing seasons and the 150 point thrashings, the grand final losses, the prelim final heartbreaks... its is the knowledge that you have sat through these and supported your club through these that make the success so much more enjoyable when it comes around. In the initial aftermath of the announcement and some of the vitriolic, angry and uniformed commentary and scorn that predictably came from a minority of oppositions fans wanting to dance on Essendon's grave... I have been heartened by the fact that most reasonable supporters see this for the tragedy that it is and are simply grateful it is not their club going through it all And while in the first 24 hours after the announcement, I thought of giving up following footy all together, I am more resolved than ever to turn up this year and support the club and the young players that will be carrying on the Bomber tradition and will hopefully be the bedrock of the next generation of Bombers success. Out of the ashes of this disaster, we will build again stronger and better And while we may not win many (or any) games this year.... imagine how good it will be if and when we do.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Thank you for those kind words WG.
WhereIsGene
Guest
Essendon* are a "great" club you say? Why? Because they won a bunch of Premierships back in the Model T Ford days or because they have lots of supporters? Great at cheating perhaps, since the club's been guilty of salary cap abuse (which is why their last flag carries an *) and now the biggest scandal in Australian team sport history. Great at being unimaginatively arrogant and utterly unwilling to accept responsibility for its' current predicament, yes. ....and now, great at losing. Watching Essendon* collect this year's wooden spoon will be a fitting tribute to the so called "greatness" of this club which has failed dismally this century.
Kasey
Guest
As a Crows fan I absolutely feel sorry for the fans of Essendon. not the players and certainly not James Hird. All professional athletes are ultimately responsible for what goes into their body. the 13 year old girls on the Olympic gymnastics team understand this. So many people out there are caught up with making excuses for these players but I fail to see how it is unreasonable to expect grown men who've been educated by ASADA to know the same. I was the authorised drug tester at my previous employer. before every single test I conducted I asked my colleagues to list any and all medications including supplements they were taking. I've never worked for ASADA but I guarantee they'll have asked a similar question before every in-competition test an AFL player participates in. The fact (its in the report - yes I read it)that no player at Essendon thought to mention prior to a test these supplements the club had them taking demonstrates to me that on some base level they 'knew' what they were doing was giving them an unfair advantage and should be kept hidden. Hence "guilty" and no sympathy from me. Unfortunately, the 2016 AFL season is now even more compromised than a regular season usually is (by the fixture mainly). The clubs that play Essendon twice (GCS, Geelong, Carlton, St. Kilda and Richmond) are possibly going to rack up easy wins and percentage. Will this curse of Stephen Dank ever go away? feels like its been around forever:(
Gyfox
Guest
I am sitting here in Brisbane airport & just complimented a guy on wearing his Essendon cap. Turns out it was a Holden cap!