That old Doggie bag finally full to bursting
THE Bulldogs bandwagon is bulging.
For years, faithful Footscray fans have been the forgotten folk of the football family.
But this week that all changed.
In case you haven’t heard, the Doggies have broken a 55-year drought and are back in the AFL Grand Final.
Even bruised, cranky Cats fans — this correspondent included — can rejoice in that.
In footy, coaches often implore their players to seize their opportunities.
“When it’s your time to go, you’ve gotta go,” is the hackneyed mantra.
That “time” will come for the Western Bulldogs players at 2.30 this afternoon, but for the club’s loyal supporters it arrived as soon as the siren sounded at the end of their preliminary final last Saturday.
Although it’s nerveracking, there is an excitement and sense of anticipation that comes with having your team in the season decider.
Bulldogs supporters have had to wait since 1961 for that sensation — longer than any other club in the league.
They’ve endured merger attempts, interstate pushes, seven preliminary final losses and several crises in that time, the most recent less than two years ago.
They’ve been lonely figures in the schoolyard on footy colours day, and sometimes outnumbered at their own home games.
But this week they were at the centre of the football universe.
Everyone wanted to talk to them about the game, their star players and who they’d have to stop Buddy Franklin.
They were the ones waiting anxiously to see if they would score tickets in the ballot and declining invitations to rowdy barbecues so they could concentrate on today’s game.
Their long-time fans, celebrity supporters and past players were tracked down to share excitement, predictions and memories.
On Monday, the Geelong Addy introduced its readers to Clive Mitchell, paid-up Bulldogs member for 82 of his 88 years.
Clive’s membership card shows he joined up in 1934, during the Great Depression and five years before the start of World War II.
Apparently he’s one of the longest-serving Bulldogs members, but not necessarily the longest — the club telling the Addy it has others who signed up in the 30s and remain active.
That’s a remarkable record of loyalty. Clive and his Bulldogs brothers and sisters deserve this chance to bark and bask on the big stage.