finn wrote:The entire ANZAC Day medal thing reeks of tokenism and to me, is a large pile of dogdoo. It's bad enough that the AFL jumped on board and started tying sport to war without further diluting the message of the Day by extending it to further competitions. It's particularly annoying that a recognition of egalitarianism and sacrifice is restricted to two sides and diluted by extending it all the games over that round. The co-option of particularly horrendous experiences to effectively sell a brand is at best cynical and crass. By all means acknowledge the fact that sport played a major role in the lives of soldiers (eg cricket games at Gallipoli) and many a sportsman was killed but keep the ceremonies to where people have to make an effort to get to (eg Dawn Services) to at least modestly reflect the effort and sacrifice made by the soldiers whose Day it is.
This has been my soapbox...
respect your view there Finn but having been involved witha few Anzac Day clashes at Brahma Lodge, I can tell you that it has a feel like no other during the minor round and the way clubs respect the day with the last post playing before the A Garde game is probably unique in the world of sport
I know I think of my Great Grandfather (whom I never got to meet) who went to both World Wars on that day and would like to think what we are doing and celebrating is the reason he did what he did
At the end of the day the most import thing is Lest We Forget
Who cares what any club has and so on. Lets just worry baout end of the day aon Saturday's.
