Can't follow the Hird mentality, so is it possible to really love football without barracking for a team?

In recent times, with talk of James Hird returning to Essendon despite his less than 50 per cent win record over four seasons (2011-2015) which included a 12 month suspension with regard to the club’s PED debacle in 2011 and 2012, I have contemplated barracking for another AFL team or simply becoming a neutral AFL supporter.

It is a view I have held for years every time I hear some numbskull suggest that the return of Hird is needed to revitalise the club.

But I have to be honest. I don’t really care. I have never been a diehard Essendon supporter, in line with the fanaticism of the true dedicated fans.

I have never worn the colours of my team at any game, although I do have an Essendon shirt somewhere which was bought for me, and I have never lost sleep over whether Essendon wins or loses.

And if Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is right about the fans energy and passion during a match keeping him going, then I am a complete failure because I rarely attend an AFL game these days.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

In line with a 2009 American perspective, however, I do share the view that a true fan is someone who supports their team through “thick and thin, good calls and bad calls, good plays and terrible plays”, albeit I will not be accepting a Hird return.

While a 2020 UK perspective states football is a game “that brings people together and makes them closer”, I don’t think that was ever the case for me apart from having fun with mates when going to VFL games in my teens.

As an adult attending AFL matches occasionally in recent decades, I am often irritated by supporters (and friends) bagging their team for supposedly not trying as if they could do any better.

Like many young kids, you attach yourself to a team for a number of reasons, maybe family, location, or simply because you like the name or colours.

I chose Essendon as youngster because, as a ward of the state, I looked up to the older boy who barracked for the Dons, much to the annoyance of the other older kid, who was one of the tough guys of the East Preston area.

At the time, Essendon was hardly a successful team. In the five years I regularly went to the VFL most weeks (1974-1978), Essendon finished 8th, 8th, 10th, 9th and 10th.

Since the early 1980s I have only attended a few Essendon games each season at best, but have nearly always watched their games on television thanks to Foxtel and Kayo.

The truth is I have never needed just one team to enjoy football, albeit my strong attachment to Essendon has lasted to this day.

Having never attended an Essendon grand final win, my biggest VFL/AFL thrill was being at the MCG in the first round of the 2000 finals when Essendon beating the 1999 premiers North Melbourne by 20 goals.

In the mid-1970s, however, sick of watching Essendon lose at a time when few mates even supported the same club, I also got caught up in the hype of North Melbourne under Barassi with his foreign legion of stars from other clubs.

I loved watching North play with Malcolm Blight amongst my favourite players, along with Essendon stars from Simon Madden to Tim Watson.

While it was most fun to go to the football with mates, I also enjoyed going to games alone.

In time, I went to more big games at the MCG and Waverly where I was always guaranteed a seat, although I also regularly went to the big Essendon games at Windy Hill, especially against Collingwood who played at the closest VFL venue (Victoria Park) on the same train line. But I love football, not just AFL.

I followed rugby league from the late 1970s, at a time when most Melbournians gave the sport little attention.

I recall the 1977 grand final when St George drew with my team Parramatta 9-9, as did North Melbourne and Collingwood in the 1977 VFL grand final which I attended with a few future Collingwood players.

North and St George would easily win the replays matches.

I marvelled at Mark Ella on television, famous for his dazzling runs which helped bring success to the Australian rugby union team, captured best by the 1984 tour of Britain and Ireland when Australia achieved the Grand Slam by defeating the Home Nations in four consecutive Tests with Ella scoring a try in each.

I enjoyed attending a few South Melbourne National Soccer League matches with some university mates of Greek heritage, albeit I have always observed that sport’s struggle to develop a popular national league to this day in terms of attendances.

In fact, the best football atmosphere I ever experienced were at two soccer matches.

One match was Australia’s final 1985 World Cup final qualifier against Scotland at Olympic Park where a packed and noisy stadium of around 20,000 saw a hard fought 0-0 draw which eliminated Australia after Scotland’s previous 2-0 win at Hampden Park.

The second, before an MCG crowd of 98,000, was the 1997 World Cup qualifier against Iran when Australia scored the first two goals and the crowd erupted each time like I have never heard before or since, only for a few of us to experience a sickening feeling as Iran levelled 2-2 and knocked Australia out.

I always go to the rugby league when in Sydney, and was a regular attendee of Melbourne Storm when they played at Olympic Park.

I look forward to attending the new Sydney football stadium to watch a rugby league or soccer game later this year.

No matter the l code, I simply love the gladiatorial nature of when a player directs their mind, body and teamwork to direct a ball towards a scoring situation.

It must be an incredible feeling to be involved in a club committed to a common goal from players to officials, especially when they achieve success.

What Collingwood achieved in 2022 after finishing 17th in 2021 is an incredible performance which surely ranks as one of its best recent seasons, regardless of where they finish in the finals.

While Essendon fans lament that club’s ongoing demise, Collingwood rebounded in 2022 despite the adversity of accusations of racism and the salary cap debacle.

I am captivated by the history and aura of famous British soccer clubs, from Manchester United to the famous London clubs, along with the great Glasgow rivalry between Rangers and Celtic whose matches with each other I always watch.

While a few NFL teams may move from American city to city, even that huge money league intrigues me greatly, along with its many superstar players over the years in terms of incredible power and speed.

Like the NRL, watching an NFL running back break the line to run the field to score, or a wide receiver make an incredible catch, are magical moments.

My life would be quite boring without my regular dose of the many football codes, even if I don’t have a team beyond Essendon in the AFL and Melbourne Storm in the NRL.

While I also love many other individual sports, especially athletics, swimming and cycling, they are sports you can only watch occasionally as they peak for their major championship goals, whereas the football codes provide lengthy competitions over many months where teams have to perform every week to qualify for end of season goals.

Fortunately, living in Australia, with many fans appreciating the many different football codes, television provides adequate coverage of the famous football leagues around the world.

In 2022, like many others on The Roar, I have embraced one of the most competitive of all VFL/AFL seasons with only one game between second to sixth going into the finals.

As usual, I have my favourite teams to watch beyond the plight of Essendon, a view which may change from year to year in line with different player lists and the style of play.

I would like to see a Collingwood, Melbourne or Western Bulldogs premiership win in 2022, but who knows?

I also enjoy having a bet on key football games, particularly when a team is well over the odds in a competitive match, albeit a Geelong premiership victory this year will not cover all of my outlays for the flag after a few good years primarily backing the Demons and Tigers.

In the end, in this era of drafts and salary caps where many players and coaching staff will go from club to club to get the best money deal, what your favourite club does is beyond the fan’s control.

I can only hope that Essendon picks the right personnel capable of delivering a more successful playing future.
In the end, I say good luck to Essendon.

But I will simply continue to enjoy the football, whether AFL or any of the other football codes I have long enjoyed, even if I do not have a favourite team should Hird come back to Essendon.