SA Footy Reflections - Part 3

[redandblack]

SA Footy Reflections – Part 3, by redandblack

You know it’s nearing the end of pre-season on SAFooty when a topic on whether Brendan Fevola will play SANFL runs for a week or so as about the only topic in the SANFL Forum. Oh, I forgot the item about whether some club’s guernseys would look better if they were pink.

Some of the stalwarts try to make us think footy is just around the corner. Big Phil religiously posts references to Local Footy, but we all know nothing much is happening, apart from the fact that our team is being seriously under-rated again this year. I haven’t put in my predictions again this year, as I want to get my revenge on those who have put the mighty Bloods in the bottom 2. OK, so they’ve been a bit optimistic most of the last 6 years, but this year’s the year.

We’ve had our opinions on the Adelaide Oval saga at great length and I won’t mention the Foxtel Cup. Well, I will anyway. It’s universally known to its detractors as a “Mickey Mouse” competition, which got me thinking (always a dangerous thing). Has there ever been a Mickey Mouse competition? I doubt it, but we all know what we mean. I took a different viewpoint. I know I could have kept quiet, but that would have been no fun at all. It’s pre-season and we need something to take our minds off the fact footy hasn’t started yet, so we all managed to waste at least a month on that subject.

We then had a crack at the finances to do with Port Adelaide, the Crows and the SANFL. I have a theory that none of us have the faintest idea of what we’re talking about on this subject and this was well borne out in the extended debate. I had no idea of what points were being made by nearly anyone and I’m sure that most posters managed to prove to the satisfaction of everyone that they were both totally right and totally wrong at the same time. If you don’t understand what I’m trying to say, don’t worry, it sums up the thread, so do what we were all happy to do and move on, none the wiser.

As I said, it’s pre-season, a time to spend a bit of time in some of the other forums. I’ve had a great time in the Politics section, along with those well-educated and wise posters who just happen to generally agree with me on some issues. It’s a pity that we’re up against the forces of darkness, but we’ll just have to soldier on (with Codral). We wait to see what happens in the world of politics and rush to post about anything that suits our side of the argument. What about the opposite, you ask? Next question.

The Politics section is a strange beast. It’s set up for a clash of ideologies, yet there’s a measure of respect (sometimes well hidden, mind you) between posters. It’s a fact that it requires very little editing and almost no warnings or bans. Perhaps if we had a Regional Politics section, that may change.

At this time of the year, I scour the Music Forum, looking for other Split Enz* soulmates. Sacre bleu (I put that in for Pseudo), one of them is a regular sparring partner of mine in the Politics section. Just shows he’s not misguided on everything, then. None of my favourite restaurants get a mention in the GD Forum , I’m amused at the recent events posted in the Nearing 40 in Adelaide thread, fisho hasn’t written (coherently) for a while and I find myself posting in the Other Sports thread about the 36’ers, Adelaide United and the Green Bay Packers. It must be pre-season.

Now for a little reverence, as befits the next Forum. The other world of the SANFL History Forum. There are some gentlemanly posters in there, although even that forum gets a little heated at times when there’s a dispute about whether it was J H T Smith or J H V Smith who kicked that point after the bell in 1912 (I laugh, though. I was there and know the answer).

Sometimes, however, SAFooty throws up an absolute gem.

The races at Gawler were cancelled just after New Year. The Gambling Forum posters were duly notified that the meeting was off complete with a novel reason. The meeting is off, I read, due to low costs. This was repeated several times.

I think that one grasshopper is a grasshopper, but many are obviously a plague of low costs.

Of course, there are always other weighty matters that will educate us if they’re properly discussed. I tried to follow the climate change debate between Psyber and fish recently. Now, I’m a learned man. I have a degree in rocket science from the University of SAF (SAF, I said, not SFA), but even I found it hard going after a while. A far as I could work out (and fish and Psyber can correct me if I’m wrong), climate change depended on whether the frozen urine of an Antarctic penguin was from 36 billion years ago or 1983. I favour 1983, it was a good year. Climate change? I blame daylight saving.

SA Footy has been going for a fair while now. Each team’s posters seem to follow a fairly similar style for that team. There used to be some friction between the North and Glenelg posters, but that seems to have waned, although sporadic uprisings can be sighted from time to time. I generally get on well with the Bay posters and I’m somewhat surprised that several of my favourite posters are from North Adelaide, along with several of my least favourite posters. I’m sure I’m on the list of favourite posters of all of them, though.

The hardy band of Port Magpies posters man the barricades, Glenelg posters necessarily are self-deprecating, given their recent history (deprecating, I said, with a ‘pr’). The Panther posters put up the good fight, with a mournful sigh each time, the Eagles post out of all proportion and passion to their numbers (where is Holden78, now that Ronnie’s gone?) and the Norwood people, after a period of rational introspection, have been Bassetted into finding a new, hopeful voice.

Sturt are Sturt, hanging in there, invoking the GF appearance last time we wrote them off and Centrals’ fans divide between the humble and the not-so-humble.

West? Coming to terms with the rarified heights of sixth, daring to hope for better, but keeping quiet about it, as befits such an intelligent bunch of learned football afficio…, afficiona…………. supporters.

Some old posters seem to disappear, many new ones start to take part. SAFooty seems to fulfill a need for all of us. I regularly decide to change my posting style, to be more respectful, to give more consideration to the views of those who disagree, to be nice to other teams’ supporters and to have an open mind on all subjects. It was a good feeling while it lasted, but I quickly came to another conclusion. In a nutshell, it consisted of saying “bugger that”, I’m enjoying myself too much already.


* Best band ever, although just possible a bit before your time.

[heater31]

SA Footy Reflections – Part 3, by redandblack

You know it’s nearing the end of pre-season on SAFooty when a topic on whether Brendan Fevola will play SANFL runs for a week or so as about the only topic in the SANFL Forum. Oh, I forgot the item about whether some club’s guernseys would look better if they were pink.

I think I opened a can of worms with that one

But I fail to see the issue, Two shades of Blue look awesome to me only one I have an issue with is Black and White how boring....


I will add the regional forums,

SAAFL is dominated by talk of the confirmed collapse of 1 Northern Suburbs club the potential collapse of another. Then this afternoon I discover third club could bite the dust before the season opener . This in turn gets several stories of who would like to accept the challenge of a higher division or stay in the division below to rebuild. Country Leagues is dominated by the player movement between clubs and the financial rewards on offer plus if the system to equalise the clubs is in fact working correctly.

[fish]

Of course, there are always other weighty matters that will educate us if they’re properly discussed. I tried to follow the climate change debate between Psyber and fish recently. Now, I’m a learned man. I have a degree in rocket science from the University of SAF (SAF, I said, not SFA), but even I found it hard going after a while. A far as I could work out (and fish and Psyber can correct me if I’m wrong), climate change depended on whether the frozen urine of an Antarctic penguin was from 36 billion years ago or 1983. I favour 1983, it was a good year. Climate change? I blame daylight saving.

All you need to know about climate change is that I'm right and Psyber is wrong!

Nice article r&b

[Booney]

who kicked that point after the bell in 1912 (I laugh, though. I was there and know the answer).

Well, for someone of your vintage you seem to still have a very good ability to recall not so recent events...

[Psyber]

[All you need to know about climate change is that I'm right and Psyber is wrong!

Psyber is at least prepared to take time to analyse the figures and consider that almost inconceivable possibility..