You can take Fitzroy out of the AFL, but you can’t take it out of the people

I recently attended the Anzac Day game – not the one at the ‘G, but the game down at the Brunswick Street Oval.

That’s the home of the Fitzroy Football Club (incorporating the Fitzroy Reds), who were playing Williamstown CYMS in the Premier B Division of the VAFA.

Brunswick Street Oval was the home ground of the Fitzroy Football Club for 83 seasons from 1884 (when they began in the VFA) until the final VFL game there in 1966.

It has now been their home ground again since 2009, when the Fitzroy Football Club joined the VAFA, after incorporating with the Fitzroy Reds (formerly University Reds), almost 13 years after they played their final AFL game.

It was a beautiful warm day, in the wonderful surroundings of North Fitzroy, with the oval surrounded by a ring of trees and the colour and rustle of autumn leaves, within the precinct of the leafy green Edinburgh Gardens.

(Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)

There was a vibrant crowd – Fitzroy home games drawn in large numbers of the faithful supporters, and Williamstown CYMS also had a healthy number of supporters in attendance.

The football proved to be a great contest, with Fitzroy finally shaking off their resilient opposition to prevail by 25 points, bringing up their first win of the season.

The home crowd was ecstatic when the final siren sounded – and the Fitzroy theme song immediately rang out over the loudspeaker.

“We are the boys from old Fitzroy, we wear the colours maroon and blue…”.

The players came off to a rousing reception and the umpires, fittingly, received a warm applause from surrounding supporters as well.

As the club president David Leydon remarked to me earlier in the game, “Where else would you want to play?”

For anyone who knows the history of Fitzroy, they know the pain and grief the supporters and club experienced in the 1990s, culminating in Fitzroy’s exit from the AFL.

While Fitzroy officially merged with the Brisbane Bears, the Fitzroy Football Club as we knew it would never be the same.

On 25 August 1996, they played their final AFL game in Melbourne, which was described by some as the saddest day in football in 100 years.

(Photo by Getty Images)

I can still vividly recall the following week, listening on the radio to their last AFL game, against Fremantle in Perth, a game they again lost.

At the end there was a live performance of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ playing from the ground, and as I listened on the radio, tears welled up in my eyes.

Many Fitzroy supporters walked away from following AFL after this – some forever, some for a significant period of time.

I spoke to one supporter at the Anzac Day game who didn’t watch an AFL game for four years, before eventually following the Western Bulldogs.

Others chose to follow North Melbourne, who had offered a way for Fitzroy to remain in Melbourne. Some supporters chose to follow the Brisbane Lions. Some still have no association with the AFL.

In that last AFL game, despite being thrashed by Fremantle, Fitzroy actually won the last quarter.

To the end, despite all of the obstacles the team and club faced, they never, ever gave up. Maybe there was some hope after all.

Could the Fitzroy story continue on?

Among all of sadness and grief at that time, there was a remnant of faithful Lions supporters who never gave up and who worked tirelessly to keep the club operational, to ensure that the AFL and the Brisbane Lions kept to the terms of the merger agreement and to salvage and preserve as much as they could of the history and legacy of the club.

This included retaining the club as a legal entity, registering the trademark of the Fitzroy Football Club and winning a legal battle to ensure Brisbane retained the original Lions logo.

In 2008, the tireless work led to the Fitzroy Football Club merging with the Fitzroy Reds, and re-entering a football competition for the first time since 1996.

(Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

When they returned to the field for their first game, over 2000 supporters came out to watch. Bill Atherton, club secretary, has referred to the re-emergence of Fitzroy as a miracle.

Fitzroy was not dead. Indeed, Fitzroy had never died. Instead, out of the ashes, something new and different emerged – something truly amazing.

The recent Anzac Day game did not look like an AFL game – the grandstand is old, most of the crowd stood or sat on grassed areas and there were no dazzling replays on the scoreboard and the players are not paid professionals.

As per the VAFA motto, the players play for the love of the game.

It is not, of course, meant to look like an AFL game. But the game and the whole atmosphere was still something very special.

Indeed, something truly beautiful.

Within the confines of the sporting arena, I sensed an amazing spirit of community and belonging and sense of connection – and a love for this football club that meant, and still means, so much to so many.

As a child of the ’70s and ’80s, I really miss the suburban nature of VFL footy – and I know I am not alone in this.

Following Fitzroy in the VAFA provides an opportunity to still experience some of the magic of footy of days past.

If you have an interest in Australian rules football and you live in or find yourself in Melbourne, consider dropping in to a Fitzroy game at the Brunswick Street Oval. It will be an experience to remember.

Whether or not you follow an AFL team, maybe you could consider adopting Fitzroy as your VAFA club and supporting one of the oldest clubs in the land to continue their legacy.

I am reminded of the song by the Coodabeen Champions: “Deep in our hearts, everyone barracks for Fitzroy…because Fitzroy is the most lovable team we’ve got”. 

After attending this recent game, I think this is still the case!

As I walked across the grass at the end of the game on Anzac Day, with my 19-year-old, who was now sporting a heritage guernsey (maroon and blue jumper with the white FFC), I felt some moisture well up in my eyes. This was an afternoon of pure joy.

For more information on the Fitzroy Football Club, go to their website.

Jonathan Pilbrow is a Fitzroy member based in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.