A SANFL without the Port Magpies.

[redden whites]

I'll die if the Magpies fold.

So much gushing emotion on here(words like history,tradition & My dad took me to see them ) about saving the Magpies .
How many I wonder have said in the past North Melbourne/Western Bulldogs/Melbourne/Richmond should be just dropped from the AFL ????

[hearts on fire]

can anyone really ever truly respect them again after seeing how they react in a crisis?

of course you can bloody respect them look at there history...... this whole thing hasn't been handle well at all and yes the Magpies should of dealt with it before any of it happened but all this carp is coming from the media..... the media are making it even worse.

Port just look patheic now though. I want them to survive but i hate the way they are going about it.

yea thats a fair call rod, Port are going about it wrong, but the media are making it look pathetic.....

[Barto]

can anyone really ever truly respect them again after seeing how they react in a crisis?

of course you can bloody respect them look at there history...... this whole thing hasn't been handle well at all and yes the Magpies should of dealt with it before any of it happened but all this carp is coming from the media..... the media are making it even worse.

Port just look patheic now though. I want them to survive but i hate the way they are going about it.

yea thats a fair call rod, Port are going about it wrong, but the media are making it look pathetic.....

Calls to boycott games by Port fans is just silly, why would you not want to go to see your club play? Especially if it is the last season.

[statsman]

Dont know if anyone else has mentioned it but who saw the post on adelaidenow from the maggies supporter who said that with no magpies in the comp the sanfl will have 2 byes per round.......absolute gold!!!

[Macca19]

can anyone really ever truly respect them again after seeing how they react in a crisis?

of course you can bloody respect them look at there history...... this whole thing hasn't been handle well at all and yes the Magpies should of dealt with it before any of it happened but all this carp is coming from the media..... the media are making it even worse.

Port just look patheic now though. I want them to survive but i hate the way they are going about it.

Sorry, what exactly have the Magpies done in the past two days to make them look pathetic? They havent even made a comment yet.

Talks of boycotting games is just media fluff.

[Wedgie]

Dont know if anyone else has mentioned it but who saw the post on adelaidenow from the maggies supporter who said that with no magpies in the comp the sanfl will have 2 byes per round.......absolute gold!!!

[Dogwatcher]

can anyone really ever truly respect them again after seeing how they react in a crisis?

of course you can bloody respect them look at there history...... this whole thing hasn't been handle well at all and yes the Magpies should of dealt with it before any of it happened but all this carp is coming from the media..... the media are making it even worse.

Which history are we talking about?
The one that starts in 1997?
Or the one that the Power took with it to the AFL?
That's one thing that I've found interesting in all of this "look at all our premierships", "we've got a strong SANFL tradition" etc, etc.
And yet, for years now supporters of the Power have been suggesting the PAFC's history should be part of AFL club's history - right down to wearing the foundation year on the back of their guernsey.
Not even Port supporters can get it right. They're all as confused as the rest of us.
All a very moot point it might seem - but if the Magpies want people to support them and save them, many people will want to know which Magpies they are saving.
The one that thrilled, scared, annoyed and bullied us for so many years, or the one that has struggled with its identity in the SANFL in the past decade?

[Gingernuts]

Spot on Dogwatcher - I was about to post my take on the situation before I read your post which is along the same lines:

Righto,

I've been reading all the comments and hoo ha on here for the last couple of days and I've gotta say I'm confused and need some clarification. Can someone please tell me which club is the Port Adelaide Football Club?

I was under the impression that the Port Adelaide Football Club that was established in the late 1800's and went on to become the most successful league club in the country is the Port Adelaide Football Club that now exists in the AFL. Certainly that's what their merchandise and promotional material claims.

During the launch of the Power in 1995(?) it certainly seemed to me that this was the realisation of a long held dream of the greatest club in SA to take their history and success to a national stage.

If this is the case then the Port Adelaide Magpies were formed 13 years ago to maintain a black & white presence in the SANFL and to assist in maintaining the viability of that competion. This experiment has not worked and now we are at crunch time. Yes this could be the death of the prison bar jumper and the Magpie mascot and the Alberton home, and that is a pretty emotional thing, but to me it's not the death of the Port Adelaide Football Club. Rather these are all just sacrifices that the club has to make (and should have made 13 years ago) in order to compete on a national level.

In fairness it was the SANFL and the other clubs as much as anyone who pushed for the maintenance of the Magpies in the SANFL after the formation of the Power, so they aren't the only ones to blame for the current situation IMO.

The Port Adelaide Football Club won't die if the Magpies do, the club exists in the AFL. If anything the death of the Magpies will rid them of the 'ghosts' of their past, severing those emotional ties to the SANFL and perhaps enabling them to fully embrace their new existence in the national competition.

I'd be interested to hear how the Port supporters view this situation of identity between the two. Many say the Power is not the real Port Adelaide and is a souless commercial enterprise, but could the existence of the Magpies have contributed to this impression of the Power? I think it has.

[Hondo]

Guys, to me the time has come for Port people to abandon these debates and embrace both teams as Port Adelaide. I think the set-up of the PAM and PAP driven by SANFL demands and Port Adelaide desires, conflicted by Collingwood's pre-existing rights to the B&W colours and magpies emblem created 2 competing Port Adelaide teams. I believe all involved in the setup at in 1996 did not expect this outcome we have today (obviously - doh).

It's a unique situation with a club being "promoted" to a higher comp but ALSO retaining it's club in the original comp. There's no right answer IMO. The Brisbane Lions share the Fitzroy history with the Fitzroy Football Club that still exists to this day so there is some precedent.

To me, it's one history and now 2 clubs. If that's confusing for some people, well it's confusing. I think too much time is spent on "which is which" debates which I don't think help either PAM or the PAP. Not so much when those debates are had by non-Port people. Moreso when it happens between Port faithful. I think that was one of the goals of the merger - to unite the supporter base again. Now the merger is off, I don't see why it can't be a spur to the PAM and PAP people to unite anyway after 13 years.

If us non-Port people choose to get persist with the identity debate that's up to us.

[Booney]

Guys, to me the time has come for Port people to abandon these debates and embrace both teams as Port Adelaide. I think the set-up of the PAM and PAP driven by SANFL demands and Port Adelaide desires, conflicted by Collingwood's pre-existing rights to the B&W colours and magpies emblem created 2 competing Port Adelaide teams. I believe all involved in the setup at in 1996 did not expect this outcome we have today (obviously - doh).

It's a unique situation with a club being "promoted" to a higher comp but ALSO retaining it's club in the original comp. There's no right answer IMO. The Brisbane Lions share the Fitzroy history with the Fitzroy Football Club that still exists to this day so there is some precedent.

To me, it's one history and now 2 clubs. If that's confusing for some people, well it's confusing. I think too much time is spent on "which is which" debates which I don't think help either PAM or the PAP. Not so much when those debates are had by non-Port people. Moreso when it happens between Port faithful. I think that was one of the goals of the merger - to unite the supporter base again. Now the merger is off, I don't see why it can't be a spur to the PAM and PAP people to unite anyway after 13 years.

If us non-Port people choose to get persist with the identity debate that's up to us.

That Hondo is the best post I have ever read on this site.The three points in bold are fantastic and the truth in all it's glory.

Very well written and I'll be keeping that post.

[Hondo]

Booney, don't pump me up too much or the hordes will be after me again!

[JK]

Booney, don't pump me up too much or the hordes will be after me again!

Not me mate, I've been thinking along those same lines for most of the week, nice post.

I also think there's merit to Scott Hodges comments that were aired in the paper this morning, effectively suggesting why the merger wasn't allowed to proceed on a trial basis for x-amount of time .. If any concerns of the SANFL clubs were realised then the two entities seperate, if those concerns hadn't materialised then no problem - Either way what was there to lose?

[nickname]

The Advertiser is so concerned about the Magpies they've started a petition, but they haven't been concerned enough to provide any worthwhile coverage of the team and the competition it plays in.

[devilsadvocate]

If us non-Port people choose to get persist with the identity debate that's up to us.

Brilliantly put (the whole post, not just the bit I've quoted).

I think the many posts regarding history have been blatant trolls, hence my lack of reply.

But your post is absolutely spot on. And from a non Port fan. I'm impressed.

[on the rails]

CP - I'm suprised at your take on this. The real issue were the financials and any SANFL money directly being pumped into the Merged entity which has been budgeted for by the SANFL for the Power only would have been essentially also been pumped into your clubs rival the Magpies after the merge - after all they need to be run each season and that has a fairly major cost even at the SANFL levle as we can all see from how much it will take just to keep the pies afloat this year alone!

Were the league going to then pump the same amounts (outside the yearly dividend) into the other 8 clubs for up to 3 years??? No - of course they wouldn't so why should the Magpies get any distinct advantage ahead of any other club.

I hope they survive but they need to do what other SANFL clubs have done including yours CP in the past to survive.

[sjt]

The Advertiser is so concerned about the Magpies they've started a petition, but they haven't been concerned enough to provide any worthwhile coverage of the team and the competition it plays in.

Too true!

[Brucetiki]

Dont know if anyone else has mentioned it but who saw the post on adelaidenow from the maggies supporter who said that with no magpies in the comp the sanfl will have 2 byes per round.......absolute gold!!!

Another pearler from the gutter that is the AdelaideNow comments section was someone claiming that Centrals only dominated this decade because the SANFL gave them extra recruiting concessions at the expense of Port Adelaide!

[on the rails]

Dont know if anyone else has mentioned it but who saw the post on adelaidenow from the maggies supporter who said that with no magpies in the comp the sanfl will have 2 byes per round.......absolute gold!!!

Another pearler from the gutter that is the AdelaideNow comments section was someone claiming that Centrals only dominated this decade because the SANFL gave them extra recruiting concessions at the expense of Port Adelaide!

Oh Dear - Port are rolling out the intellectual giants now!

[JK]

CP - I'm suprised at your take on this. The real issue were the financials and any SANFL money directly being pumped into the Merged entity which has been budgeted for by the SANFL for the Power only would have been essentially also been pumped into your clubs rival the Magpies after the merge - after all they need to be run each season and that has a fairly major cost even at the SANFL levle as we can all see from how much it will take just to keep the pies afloat this year alone!

Were the league going to then pump the same amounts (outside the yearly dividend) into the other 8 clubs for up to 3 years??? No - of course they wouldn't so why should the Magpies get any distinct advantage ahead of any other club.

I hope they survive but they need to do what other SANFL clubs have done including yours CP in the past to survive.

Mate I honestly can't argue against that stance either .. However if the SANFL will continue to prop up the Power (which they will be obligated to do) then why not at least try to enhance the profitability of 1 or both Port entities (all SANFL clubs have to my knowledge stated that a profitable Power is in their best interests).

If it doesn't work and the Commission and SANFL club directors doubts are confirmed, then it can quite easily revert back to as it is today .. I just reckon that not a lot needed to be risked to at least find out for sure if it can have any positive impact.

Also, in trying not to cover too much old ground and dredging up of the past, I think that the SANFL's insistance on the Magpies remaining in our comp left them with a base starting point of buggerall ... Now Im not saying the Magpies haven't been mismanaged along the way because I believe they have, but I just believe they are a bit of a unique case and we should be trying to find a way to work with them to see if they are salvagable - If it proves that they aren't then I don't think much is lost along the way.

Now all that said, I think there's no doubt that the best possible case for the Magpies to survive is independently on their own two feet as they are now going to have to try and do.

I guess it's fair to say that Im now straddling the fence on this one and my head hurts from thinking about it too much lol

[Booney]

Dont know if anyone else has mentioned it but who saw the post on adelaidenow from the maggies supporter who said that with no magpies in the comp the sanfl will have 2 byes per round.......absolute gold!!!

Another pearler from the gutter that is the AdelaideNow comments section was someone claiming that Centrals only dominated this decade because the SANFL gave them extra recruiting concessions at the expense of Port Adelaide!

Oh Dear - Port are rolling out the intellectual giants now!

Yep, it's only Port who have the odd idiot support them....