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Opinion
Being a Carlton supporter is a journey that calls into question every life decision you’ve ever made. It’s a sentiment I shared in a recent Facebook post after witnessing Carlton being bullied by the Sydney Swans on a fateful Friday night.
I could list the posts of a dozen of my friends and the themes are similar. One of despair, heartache, and sadness for this once great club. “We’re the team that never lets you down” has today become we’re the team that always let you down.
My journey began in the living room, the flickering glow of our old Panasonic TV and with some fiddling of the antenna, I watched Brendan Fevola in this strange navy blue kick eight goals against the Eagles. My heart filled with new excitement as I decided that night: I was going to be a Carlton supporter.
What I didn’t know was this club would find new, cruel, state-of-the-art, ways of breaking my heart over and over again. Like the evolution of technology Carlton evolves its methods of heartbreak.
My older cousin, a supporter since the ’90s wooed me with stories about Kouta, Diesel and Sticks. Using his VCR, he put on the 1995 grand final telling the story of how SOS prevented the great Gary Ablett Sr from kicking a goal in the 1995 grand final.
I was mesmerised but in hindsight, I realise I was deceived, but not by my cousin. It was this once great club itself that fooled me, just like it deceived thousands of other Carlton supporters.
The club took me on a journey. What I didn’t know was it was a journey of broken promises. The arrival of the greatest player in the country (Chris Judd) in 2008 after three years down the bottom end of the ladder heralded the first of many false dawns.
Younger Blues supporters would’ve been wooed with tales of Juddy in the manner I was with Kouta, Diesel, and Sticks.
The opposition knew were coming. It took four long years and in Round 3 of 2012 after beating our arch enemy in Collingwood on a cold Friday night at the MCG, Carlton were premiership favourites. The blues have arrived. The Carlton swagger was back.
I remember going to school on the Monday telling anyone who would listen how we would win the flag. I remember being kicked out of class for talking too much. But I did not care for the Blues had finally arrived.
Harry McKay of the Blues celebrates a goal. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Being a bagger is that after experiencing a short high, the lows are never far away. Like any good tv-show, supporting the blues is a rollercoaster of emotions. A rollercoaster that never relents. The 2012 season ended in disappointment breaking the hearts of thousands of us supporters once again. The first of many broken promises.
Whilst I was only in high school, I learnt very quickly high expectations lead to much higher disappointments. Nonetheless I had faith.
We were about to sign the best coach, a premiership coach. A coach that would take us to the promised land. Once again, the Carlton Football Club gave all of us supporters that teasing illusion of hope. Fools we were.
We believed and said, “I am Carlton” and got onboard. That year we beat the Richmond Tigers in an elimination final and to this day remains arguably the best memory for Carlton supporters ten years on.
Commentator Dennis Cometti’s call “Waite to Judd, this will be fitting, this will be fitting” still to this day gives me goosebumps.
Ask any Carlton tragic where they were that day, and they will tell you.
The following year as has become the standard, Mick Malthouse was gone, the club finished last, was granted another number one pick, and the club was ready to embark on a new journey and completely rebuild. The club was to start again from scratch and without shortcuts.
I remember going into my weekend retail job and telling my colleagues it’s fine we lost, “we’re rebuilding”. It’s a terrible feeling talking to fans having pity on your team. “Hey atleast you guys didn’t get beaten by 100 points” or “you scored more than 70 points today”.
I don’t envy fans of North Melbourne, West Coast or Hawthorn fans going through that now. I found this hardship quote that I changed that sums it up “May the hardships you face be gentler than the hardships we blues fans have endured”.
In 2019, the losses became too much, Brendan Bolton who replaced Malthouse was gone, and David Teague was hired. It didn’t take long for the Teague train to derail and two years later Michael Voss was hired.
The first 10 games felt like a dream. Whether it was on slack, on zoom or in the office I reminded everyone the blues are back.
I told everyone around me to tip the blues for they will not lose. Carlton are the real deal. Years of suffering finally paid off.
I flew to Melbourne as often as I could, planning my trip around the Carlton match to watch them tear teams apart. Rewatching the game on Kayo on the train home, jumping on fan cams (the Arsenal Fan TV equivalent for Carlton supporters) and walking with that swagger. That Carlton swagger.
Are Carlton actually improving? (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Like that rollercoaster I mentioned, it didn’t take long for that feeling to leave. It’s like when you suspect your partner is cheating on you, but you don’t have proof. You make excuses. The Blues had injuries, the umpires made poor decisions, they were unlucky to not beat good teams.
By the end of the season, we needed to beat our enemy to play finals. I paid over $1000 for flights the night before out of hope. That joy at three quarter time when Carlton were leading by four goals made it worth it. It was unlosable.
Then the unthinkable happened. They lost. The feeling when the blues lost is akin to when you find out your partner was cheating on you or when you lost someone important to you. A part of you dies.
The most painful aspect, above all else, is that it is hope itself that inflicts the greatest pain.
If you want to know what it means to supporting the blues, listen to this montage of Carlton supporters expressing themselves or this one of a passionate man that has had his heart broken again and again and again.
Nevertheless, being a bagger is about the “monogram on the front is more important than the number on the back.” It’s about being apart of something bigger.
It’s about community. It’s about the Carlton family that is on this journey with you. It’s about the passion, the emotional rollercoaster. It’s about reminding opposition fans about the 16 premierships.
It’s about watching your team at weddings, on your honeymoon or when you’re on the other side of the world. Most of all it’s about teams knowing when they’ve been “playing against the famous old dark blues.”
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.