Power to the people and a little ‘Scray of sunshine
Without her, together with those who joined in her last stand of resistance, the Western Bulldogs — or Footscray, or the Doggies, or whatever you want to call them — almost certainly would not exist.
Then aged 40 and a lifelong Footscray supporter, Irene Chatfield faced a County Court judge and successfully put to him that the proposed Footscray/Fitzroy merger should not be sanctioned by the court, because Footscray members had been given insufficient notice of the merger proposal.
So Footscray remained, and remains still as an individual club in Melbourne’s west. Fitzroy battled on until 1997, when it merged with the Brisbane Bears to become the Brisbane Lions. Despite the latter-day Lions’ three successive premierships (20012003), for former Fitzroy supporters footy has never been the same — and never will be.
The Bulldogs’ grand final opponents tomorrow faced similar issues some eight years earlier, in 1981. The outcome was different but nonetheless ultimately successful.
Relocation of South Melbourne to Sydney had been strenuously opposed by many supporters. Though they failed to “Keep South at South”, they still succeeded in preserving the colours, the history and identity of the South Melbourne Football Club.
Many of those cheering for the Sydney Swans tomorrow will be lifelong South supporters who endured a wait of up to 72 years (1933 to 2005) for a premiership. And they’ll be yelling “Carn the Bloods” as they’ve done for decades.
The small but significant letters on the back of the red and white jumpers will be a telling reminder of how all was nearly lost some 35 years ago. Yes, those letters certainly tell a story. But they also convey an important message to us personally: we can get to what we think might be our breaking point, yet tenacity, courage and perseverance can still win the day.
The key element of the survival, recovery and success of both the Dogs and the Swans was achieved by ordinary people who held on tight to what was important to them.
Keeping a business afloat. Keeping a family or a friendship together. What we truly love and value will always be worth fighting for.
Does the fight guarantee success? Sadly, that’s not always the case. But even when we fail, we know we’ve done our best to respect, treasure and maintain what is important to us.
Footscray or Western Bulldogs? South Melbourne or Sydney? The names don’t matter — they are still who they are, who they have been, and who they will continue to be. Look at those letters on the back of the jumpers, and take courage. Fr Kevin Dillon is parish priest at St Mary’s, Geelong