Courageous in defeat.

[AlfAndrews]

It must be said, at the outset, that we had our arses kicked tonight ... on and off the field.

But having said that ... let me say that I was proud of our Cheer Squad tonight. In giving a score out of 10, I'm having to weigh up several factors.

For one thing, the Tiger Army behind us beat us on the night. They were just superb. They've been doing it for a long time. And they do it brilliantly. On the other hand, I'm taking into account that our team was beaten on the field. And it takes a bloody good cheer squad to keep on chanting when the team is losing.

I've settled on a score of 7 out of 10, which is a bloody good score coming from an ultra-critical old bastard like me.

Overall, it didn't "feel" as good as it has in the last couple of games. Some of the reasons are pretty obvious, but I'll list them anyway.

1.The most glaring difference between this week and the last couple of weeks was that we lost. And the Tiger Army behind us had that very huge advantage over us. They were winners. And very convincing winners despite the great last quarter come-back. For most of the night Richmond outclassed Collingwood and it's very easy for a bunch of yobbos to get vocal if they're winning. So, I think our effort has to be rated highly because we kept on chanting despite what was happening on the field.

2.The simple geography of the ground works against Collingwood supporters when we play a home game against Richmond. Because of the AFL's official seating arrangements, home cheer squads always sit at the Punt Road End. However, it is a long established informal tradition that the Punt Road End belongs to Richmond. The MCG has been their ground for 36 years ... quite a bit longer than it has been for us ... and they really believe they own it.
Personally, I hate home games against Richmond for that very reason. It's as if we are encroaching on their territory. And it IS their territory, unfortunately. The Punt Road End belongs to Richmond. Away games are much better because we can concentrate our supporters at the other end. But last night we had the Collingwood Official Cheer Squad immediately behind the Punt Road goal, surrounded by a fairly evenly mixed group of supporters, with the Tiger Army in full voice in the standing room area under the Southern Stand.
Of course, there was a large concentration of Collingwood supporters in the reserved seats on Level 2, but these people are notoriously quiet. They didn't make a sound until we were back to about 7 points down in our last quarter revival. Bloody front-runners. They're about as useful as tits on a bull, those deadshits.

3.The Tiger Army had the advantage of the accoustics. Their standing room area really amplifies their sound and gives it a magnificent reverb effect. We were sitting in the open, so we were always up against it. They wouldn't have even heard us. But we sure as hell heard them.

4.Because it was a "blockbuster" game, all the seating in the vicinity of the cheer squad was reserved. For this reason, a lot of people wanting to sit with the cheer squad were being turned away from the area because they didn't have a reserved seat in that particular section. As a result there were a lot of empty seats in the Cheer Squad area.

Despite all these mitigating factors working against us ... I really believe that the Cheer Squad did a wonderful job. At three-quarter time I got so pissed off by the Tiger Army's carry-on behind us that I pleaded with the Cheer Squad to make a huge effort to go down fighting. At that stage I expected we were about to get anihilated on the field, and was hoping we could at least go out in a blaze of glory. But what happened in the last quarter really exceeded my expectations. Even before the goals started to flow I could tell that the Cheer Squad had lifted. It made me really proud to be a part of it. It was beautiful. And then the goals started coming and it really took off, as the people in the surrounding bays joined in ... and then, lo and behold, the members on level 2 finally condescended to start chanting and it was pandemonium. There's nothing like a string of goals to get a crowd going.

Then when Richmond steadied the ship with a couple of goals to put us out of business, I was pleased that "Good Old Collingwood Forever" was sung by the Cheer Squad.

So, to sum it all up. It was a defeat for the Cheer Squad. But it was the sort of defeat that will help to build the character of this Cheer Squad. And we were truly gallant in defeat. A brave effort against insurmountable odds.

Collingwood Official Cheer Squad:
You can be proud of yourselves.
7 out of 10.


**floreat pica**

[foxy]

well said alf. your performance during the final break was one of the greats. but overall, there were far too many richmond supporters around us, and a few too many threatened collingwood supporters scattered around. even the newspapers reported that the whole crowd was a little subdued. the quality of the game didn't help much. we didn't really have much to get excited about. it should be said, though, that if you're gonna sit in the cheer squad, you're meant to bloody cheer! and that means every time joffa or alf get a chant going, not just when we've kicked a few in a row.