Saving Port Adelaide - For and Against

[Dogwatcher]

By ROB McLEAN

SADLY, to many the debate over the future of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the SANFL is of little interest.
A team that once ruled over the SANFL with an iron fist, which was the most feared and hated opponent in the competition as recently as a decade ago is barely even worth wasting breath on.
On popular football website SAFooty, a forum where all SANFL activities are discussed avidly, a thread discussing the future of the Magpies has only garnered five pages – considerably less than the number of pages a thread on the presence and dangers of flares at the SANFL grand final attracted.
The few that have bothered to comment continue to debate whose fault it is that the Magpie is under threat of extinction in the SANFL and resort to the same tired old debates that have been going on for several years now.
Frankly, it seems no one cares enough to get fired up and come up with any new arguments for saving/ending a Port Adelaide presence in SA football that extends back to the days well before ‘Shine’ Hosking was a boy (hopefully this author does not fall into the same trap in this piece…).
It is all a major comedown for a club (no matter how confused its current history is) that was an innovator and a champion for South Australian football.
Financial problems aside, does the SANFL need or want a Magpie presence?
Below are my arguments for and against the Magpies remaining in the SANFL:

For –

+ The SANFL has always had a Port Adelaide.
+ All SANFL clubs deserve the chance to inflict the same measure of hurt and agony on Port Adelaide that they experienced at the hands of the heathens (no one should be satisfied until the club has beaten Sturt’s run of wooden spoons in the 80s/90s and even then that won’t be enough).
+ The powerhouse of this century, Central District has not had the chance to defeat the Magpies in a grand final since its ill fated first appearances in SANFL premiership deciders in 1995/96. We need to beat them!
+ The longer the Magpies stay around, the more avid fans, such as Advertiser football expert Michelangelo Rucci, will be forced to try and explain their club’s history to opposition fans who like to pick at the open sore the history of the SANFL and AFL entities has become. I don’t quite understand the history because it depends to whom you talk on which parts of it belong to the Magpies and the Power. Even some of their own fans aren’t sure.
+ While that history has become a confused one – there is no doubt the Magpies have a proud involvement in our competition and it is one that should be preserved.
+ Although a bye is annoying, the loss of one club means that one day, we may be debating the future of another SANFL club. Lose one – the focus changes elsewhere. At the moment, I like the focus where it is.
+ It is Port Adelaide’s fault it is in this position, let it suffer.
+ I could not imagine the future without a Magpie. Despite their poor results of late, defeating the boys from the Port still sends a surge of enjoyment and passion through the veins.

Against –

+ We don’t need Port Adelaide any more.
+ The pr*cks deserted us and our competition, reduced its stature and moved on to bigger things without a care for us. Why should we give a stuff now?
+ All those years of bagging us about our lack of flags, the brutality and viciousness of their players and supporters mean they deserve NO MERCY from us.
+ Any club that allowed David Granger to play for it should not be respected – just another reason to say sayonara.
+ The Port’s dead. The commercial district’s dead. It’s hardly got a thriving population. The community can’t sustain two major football clubs.
+ The AFL’s Port Adelaide is the real Port Adelaide. All of the club’s history and traditions are now owned by the big league (despite the AFL’s refusal to accept those earlier pre-national league successes). The Magpies are just a step above the amateur league.
+ I hate them. Hate Port Adelaide. Hate the Magpies. Hate everything the club has ever stood for.
+ The sooner we get rid of the SANFL presence, the quicker we can get down to hatcheting the AFL team and getting rid of that. Oh what a joy to see the Port Adelaide Empire become as relevant as the British Empire.
+ I keep hearing people raving on about The Creed and Port Adelaide. The mention of The Creed reminds me of that sh*thouse band that pretends to be rock. ‘Nuff said.
+ To see Rucci try and put a positive spin on the demise of the Magpies and what the destruction of this insipid Frankenstein’s Monster means for the Power franchise (as all AFL teams are part of THE franchise, the machine of commercial sport).
+ Did I say I hate them? Hate Port Adelaide. Hate the Magpies.
+ See above.

Despite the jocular nature of some of these rantings, I will be very sad to see the Magpies disbanded, if indeed it does happen in that way. Or will I?

[Mr Miraculous]

Im all for saving Port Adelaide. I hate them with a passion but they do have alot of great history. I would love to know how they have ended up in debt like they have though.

[Booney]

Nice DW, really nice.

Why is it that so many people would like to see the Magpies gone,is there no better feeling than walking out of Alberton as the visting team triumphant over the Black & White?

No other away game would be as satisfying to win, regardless of Port's on field prowess. For all those who feel we have betrayed the SANFL, sure, we did and that was a long time ago. If any of these people who "hate the Magpies" rejoiced in 97/98 when the Fruit Tingles won back-to-back flags take a moment to think would that have happened without our actions of 1989?

Sure, there have been some draw backs and the SANFL league will never be the same but with AFL being played every week in SA and the SANFL a more community based family friendly environment is SA really that much worse off for the average football fan?

[Psyber]

Who are we to interfere with Karma?
Is not the demise of the Magpies, and then the Power, a natural outcome of their own arrogance and inflexibility...

[Booney]

I'm doing fairly well to not let my anger at some posts on this issue get to me or appear in my responses.

But Psyber, Karma? Really, if you are using "Karma" as a reason for our current plight then I'll start banking on the Tooth Fairy not collecting a tooth for the next 12 months and depositing the coins in our bank account.

[tipper]

Nice DW, really nice.

Why is it that so many people would like to see the Magpies gone,is there no better feeling than walking out of Alberton as the visting team triumphant over the Black & White?

No other away game would be as satisfying to win, regardless of Port's on field prowess. For all those who feel we have betrayed the SANFL, sure, we did and that was a long time ago. If any of these people who "hate the Magpies" rejoiced in 97/98 when the Fruit Tingles won back-to-back flags take a moment to think would that have happened without our actions of 1989?

Sure, there have been some draw backs and the SANFL league will never be the same but with AFL being played every week in SA and the SANFL a more community based family friendly environment is SA really that much worse off for the average football fan?

Actually i think a win at the ponderosa would be much more satisfying currently. it is a hell of a lot more elusive at the moment than a win at alberton.

[Booney]

You would have had countless wins at the Ponderosa over the years, hell, they were easy beats for decades home and away.

[Dogwatcher]

You would have had countless wins at the Ponderosa over the years, hell, they were easy beats for decades home and away.

Not easybeats Just inconsistent.

[JK]

Why is it that so many people would like to see the Magpies gone

My guesses would be:

1. A long history for many of hating anything Black and White ... It started on the field and continued off with the Magpies dominance, however for many it was exacerbated via the process that saw the advent of the Adelaide Crows and later Port Power.

I suspect many people have idea's of Ports boardroom behaviour in the late 1980's that are likely incorrect to some degree (whether by a metre or a mile), however many of those minds are now set and will not be prepared to change their understanding of the occurrences back then, and subsequently their opinion/hatred of the Magpies.

2. The last 20 years have seen clubs fight for their survival like never before ... Whilst the history of the competition in all its 100+ year glory has seen several clubs fight for survival at one time or another, few (if any) clubs have been spared in the last 2 decades.

The landscape of SANFL football has altered that dramatically that for nearly all clubs it has been a constant battle to either keep the doors open, or not fall further behind the financial heavyweights of the competition.

Understandably, this has prompted most clubs and all involved with them, to adopt an attitude of being expressly concerned with their own backyard only.

These comments aren't intended as justification for attitudes surrounding the Magpies plight, just my take on why people perhaps feel the way they do ... I guess the one group of supporters it overlooks are those previous Magpie fans that now involve themselves with the Power, but haven't returned to the SANFL Black and Whites.

[tipper]

You would have had countless wins at the Ponderosa over the years, hell, they were easy beats for decades home and away.

Hence why i said currently. i cannot remember seeing one win out at elizabeth. i either missed the game\s (surely it cant have been many wins in the last decade...) or was too young. meanwhile i have seen several wins at alberton in the last couple of years. 5 in a row i think it was...

[Booney]

Would Central have won 8 flags if Port had not acted as it did DW?

Must make you like us some more....

[FlyingHigh]

This thread seems in danger of slipping into a normal forum thread....

CP - good point, every club has had to become more resourceful over the years, and those clubs that were second-fiddle clubs for years have generally succeeded

Booney, I would hate to see the Magpies go. As much as I feel physically sick when we lose to them moreso than any other club, that is all part of the great experience of the SANFL.

[Rik E Boy]

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of the Port Adelaide football club. However, it wasn't that long ago that they were the dominant team in the competition. If Port can go under, so can anybody.

The club is bigger than the individual and the league is bigger than the club and I reckon we can't afford to lose any club. On the lighter side, why should Port go the way of the dodo now that we can beat them? Where's the fun in that? About the only good thing about being a Redleg fan these days is that we normally clean up the Magpies.

I reckon if they go we will be next! SAVE PORT.

regards,

REB

[spell_check]

If they are easybeats or as tough as an overcooked steak, the SANFL needs the black and white presence. Like I said in the Port Magpies thread, those colours have been so famous and formidable in the South Australian landscape over 123 years.

And I just can't imagine the SANFL without a Port Adelaide in it.

[Psyber]

I'm doing fairly well to not let my anger at some posts on this issue get to me or appear in my responses.
But Psyber, Karma? Really, if you are using "Karma" as a reason for our current plight then I'll start banking on the Tooth Fairy not collecting a tooth for the next 12 months and depositing the coins in our bank account.

I wasn't entirely serious Booney, and seriously I'm not sure what is the best solution.
Perhaps a merger with West Adelaide may be, but there would, probably, need to be SANFL incentives to achieve it.
I do seriously think poor financial judgement has been an issue for both Port clubs, and would need to be addressed before any bail out.
I think other clubs would have objections to a bail out since nobody offered various others any bail out when they were in a financial hole, due to poor management.
I don't think Port are so important and central in the league that they should be treated as a special case..

[Blacky]

KARMA

[Ian]

I think they should be treated the same as any other club that has been (or will be) in the same situation, the precedence has been set, lift your game off the field and trade out of it or sink!

FWIW, I hope they do survive, there is nothing better than being at Alberton and watching Port lose

[JK]

Does (or should) the SANFL have any form of "relief fund" that when certain criteria is met, they can provide financial assistance from a pool of specifically stored funds?

Could we see the SANFL retention scheme or similar re-surface, but directed toward retaining clubs rather than players?

Let's face it, the competition will always need a minimum number of teams so you would expect the fight the Magpies are currently facing won't be the last faced by a SANFL club in future years.

Just questions and thoughts, don't really have a leaning one way or the other.

[Psyber]

the competition will always need a minimum number of teams so you would expect the fight the Magpies are currently facing won't be the last faced by a SANFL club in future years.

Agreed CP.
I always though 8 was good, and that Woodville and Central should never have been added.
Even in the 1960s it appeared there were too many teams in the western suburbs, but Torrens dropping out/merging hasn't been enough of a reduction.
Centrals appear to have survived and prospered because they were in a growth region, and South may for the same reason with time.

[Ian]

the competition will always need a minimum number of teams so you would expect the fight the Magpies are currently facing won't be the last faced by a SANFL club in future years.

Agreed CP.
I always though 8 was good, and that Woodville and Central should never have been added.
Even in the 1960s it appeared there were too many teams in the western suburbs, but Torrens dropping out/merging hasn't been enough of a reduction.
Centrals appear to have survived and prospered because they were in a growth region, and South may for the same reason with time.

if South had made the move in the 70's as far as supporter base goes, they would be another Centrals by now, I feel they left their move way too late, it needed to happen before the AFL was formed and raped the rest of the nation