How much of Melbourne do the Saints cover-

[gringo]

I live in Caulfield and there are lots of old saints fans around here but the young Jewish folk seem to have all moved on to the Blues. I work in St Kilda and there are surprisingly few there- more collingwood when we played them in the GF.

At the kids Auskick Caulfield ( Carnegie) there are heaps of Sainters (probably 40 per cent) in the prep year just gone from the 5 to 8 yo because of our successful era.

[Spinner]

In terms of business strategy... Is it potenitally less profitable to develop the far regions of the bayside as these areas are less likely to head into the city to attend games...?

Surely that has to be a consideration. We may be using extensive effort and money developing supporters we who may not even go to games and buy memberships...


Developing central areas would be more profitable.

[Austinnn]

I agree with those saying people aren't restricted by their post code. There are even some contrary people who deliberately do NOT support the local team cos all the bogans immediately around them do. People like me.

When I picked my team in '95 I was a newbie in Melbourne, living in Collingwood off Hoddle St, a short walk to Vic Park (still an AFL venue then). When I moved to North Carlton later the same year, Princes Park was at the end of my street; we used to go for kickabouts there on non-footy days. Then in the same year I moved to Richmond. All that time my social life revolved mostly around Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Bands, cafes, (yes, I was one of those people the Herald Sun teaches everyone to hate. What Johnny Howard might have called a member of 'The Chattering Classes'. I never lived south of the Yarra, different mob down there. Too many DJs and not enough bands. We had The Punters Club, they had Chasers. No contest!)

Would have been a whole lot easier to get to games and would have seen my team win the GF in my first year if I'd chosen to be a Blues fan, but when I was picking teams, all the Carlton fans around me were such arrogant fools that I refused to be in their number. Lucky escape, eh?! Plus I was into supporting the underdog, not a champion team with a president like John Elliott. Last thing I wanted to do was give that flump more money. I could have chosen huge underdog (and 'spiritual home' you might say) Fitzroy, but a mate went for them and I wanted to follow a different team so we had a little competition. In retrospect it would have been a nicer idea to follow the SAME team and show solidarity for my best mate and go to games together, but as I said before; Lucky Escape!

I chose St Kilda cos I used to go out there now and then to see bands, liked the vibe of the place, liked the colours of the club too, and after Lions, Underdogs didn't get much better than the Saints. It meant having to get all the way out to Glen Waverley on game day, not easy with no car. Had to take my pushbike on the train and ride it to the Stadium. Go back on the inbound train to take us away from the suburbs, the carriage full of gangs of the worst kind of pissed up football fans, urinating in the aisle and shouting abusive language. Not my cup of tea at all. I'd look around the carriage and I'd be 98% jubilant opposition fans revelling in their inevitable victory and 2 or 3 lonely miserable-looking Saints fans, sat there hoping they wouldn't get piss-filled beer cans lobbed at their heads: The Damned.

(It was better/worse on the rare occasions that we won. Worse because of all the hate coming from our carriage-mates sat around us just waiting for an excuse to punch on, but better because you could see a faint smile playing on the lips of the other Saints supporters in the carriage. Sometimes our eyes would meet for split seconds and no words needed to be shouted: the victory throbbed within both our hearts, and under our sober and unassuming guises we were laughing and cheering.)

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked when the club moved their home venue to the docklands, a 30min pushie ride away from home, but that wasn't for a few years.

None of my friends were Saints fans, though I did see a few stickers on cars and meet other lucky souls - even had a better than average working rapport with my boss due to him being a Saints fan - so I invariably went to games alone. And shared in defeat, and sometimes victory alone. This is before I had a computer, probably before fan forums. I had the newspapers, all derisive in the Saints' uselessness. Apart from 97 and 98, they were some pretty dark years. Thank God I missed the 80s. The Saints fans I met were random, from all over; back in those days the suburb of St Kilda was more into Collingwood for some reason. I supposed a lot of the Saints fans were in the suburbs, but I didn't even come across a large proportion of them in the city.

Now I live in a provincial town in NW France. They don't know the sport. There was one Australian bar that shut down a few months before I arrived. Apparently a new one has appeared, i'll have to check that out. There was an Aussie guy here who supported the Saints according to my colleague but he's left town. Alone again.

[whiskers3614]

Not sure what you're doing on here Austinn,both you spelling and grammar are of a standard rarely seen on this site!
p.s and you do not use personal abuse disguised as humour.

[Con Gorozidis]

Holy baguette. Could be a candidate for my favourite post of all time. Austinn I love you man!

[Beekay]

Very good read Austinnn.

Imagine if all those pitiful cyber bullies showing angst towards Saintbrat had of had their most feverishly desired wish of this thread never having been created?

Would have missed that great read. Cheers.

[Austinnn]

Awww, thanks you guys! Just when I thought I'd get smashed for another long self-obsessed blather.

As for the grammar, I actually read it back and noticed quite a few liberties that I'd taken with the written word; missing pronouns, colloquial abbreviations and such. I suppose I wrote conversationally, much like Mike Sheahan and his heir Mark 'SmallTownCop' Robinson, (not that I would ever claim those coves as inspiration).

But that's just me, I've been teaching English as a second language for the last 9 years so that's my cross to bear.

Once again though, thank you for your kind words, especially Con; I'm deeply honoured. In reply may I say that you have one of my favourite avatars of all time and your posts are usually on the money.

[Con Gorozidis]

Very good read Austinnn.

Imagine if all those pitiful cyber bullies showing angst towards Saintbrat had of had their most feverishly desired wish of this thread never having been created?

Would have missed that great read. Cheers.

Very well written story of a saints fan. Especially the bit about those train rides to waverley. I thought I was there in the train with you!

[kosifantutti23]

Your story has touched me. I'll meet you in Basel (or should that be Bale) for the next game.

kft23 Switzerland

[Con Gorozidis]

Not sure what you're doing on here Austinn,both you spelling and grammar are of a standard rarely seen on this site!
p.s and you do not use personal abuse disguised as humour.

he reached a standard of writing alas we may never see again!
now lets get back to calling each other names!

[loris]

Are you still pedalling a push bike around???????

I'll be (or I intend to be) pedalling a bike around Northern France in 2013. I'll be in UK for Ashes Test July to August, then doing a few ocean swims off French coast and finally pedalling from Paris to Amsterdam for a few weeks (not many hills that way). Maybe you'll have a Croquet Monsieur for me to have a nibble on at some stage eh??

Just loved your post Austinnn. Such posts make SS enjoyable and a reason to keep coming back to the site........ so much better than the 'pissing up the wall contests' some of the posters get involved in.

[loris]

both you spelling

Austinnn can ewe please give "whiskers3614" a spelling lesson s'il vous plait

[philtee]

Very nicely written austinnn.
Good to see the Saints brand going global!
Are you in a Ch'ti region?

[Stillwaiting]

Very good read Austinnn.

Imagine if all those pitiful cyber bullies showing angst towards Saintbrat had of had their most feverishly desired wish of this thread never having been created?

Would have missed that great read. Cheers.

Agree Beekay, great story Austinn, we ahve all shared some not so pleasent experiences following the Saints, few good ones as well.
As for the thread, if ppl dont want to read it, then don`t, no need to insult.

[dragit]

Awww, thanks you guys! Just when I thought I'd get smashed for another long self-obsessed blather.

As for the grammar, I actually read it back and noticed quite a few liberties that I'd taken with the written word; missing pronouns, colloquial abbreviations and such. I suppose I wrote conversationally, much like Mike Sheahan and his heir Mark 'SmallTownCop' Robinson, (not that I would ever claim those coves as inspiration).

But that's just me, I've been teaching English as a second language for the last 9 years so that's my cross to bear.

Once again though, thank you for your kind words, especially Con; I'm deeply honoured. In reply may I say that you have one of my favourite avatars of all time and your posts are usually on the money.

brat aksed wat suburb you live in, not your life story ffs…???

Kidding, kidding…

Great read mate, except the bit where you said Con is usually on the money

[Dave McNamara]

I never lived south of the Yarra, different mob down there. Too many DJs and not enough bands. We had The Punters Club, they had Chasers. No contest!

Beautifully put!

Same for the rest of your post Austinn.

FWIW, I have a (French) friend in Paris who is a saints supporter. The reason; her first match ever was at Princes Park, and she was so disgusted by the Carlscum fans' behaviour that she decided to support their opponents - yep, us.

I guess though it's a good thing her first ever match wasn't spent in the Animal Enclosure...




PS: Re' The Punters' Club, I don't know how long you've been away Austinn, but does Bimbo Deluxe mean anything to you?

[Austinnn]

In answer to various questions...

No pushie these days unfortunately, maybe I'll buy one later.

I live in Nantes, 6th biggest city in France. Many similarities to Melbourne actually. It's a river city (the Loire), its quite flat and it has trams and buses, not a subway. It's got a lot of cultural activities and festivals. No footy though unfortunately! Paris is only 2hrs by train but a very expensive trip. Not into tour de France, my interest in cycling was purely practical. Between Aussie Rules and the football/soccer, there's no more room in my life for sport!

Keep trying to get locals interested in AFL, there is a faint connection as they're into Celtic culture here (arguments remain whether this city is part of separatist Brittany) and have loads of Irish bars that play GAA from time to time.

Sadly, I know only too well of the demise of the Punters Club and rise of the risable Bimbo Deluxe. I was one of the many punters squashed in for the Punters Club's last day of business. The change was symptomatic of the gentrification of Brunnie St. So it goes.

Thanks again for all your kind words, still waiting for the backlash.

[saintbrat]

I could have asked - where abouts do you live, but was testing how far among the 'Bay' we may be creeping in getting to the Port melbourne to Portsea.

Brunswick
Coburg
Elwood
Chelsea,
Bonbeach,
Edithvale
Aspendale (City of Kingston)
Carrum/Patterson Lakes.
Kananook,
Seaford
North Frankston
Sth Frankston
Mt Eliza
Portsea,
Sorrento,
Blairgowrie.
Tootgarook,
Rye,
Rosebud,
Dromana,
McCrae,
Safety Beach
Nth Fitzroy
collingwood,
north fitzroy,
carlton,
carlton north,
parkville,
brunswick,
brunswick east,
coburg,
north melbourne.
Collingwood.
Parkville,
Clayton,
Bundoora
Melb CBD
Caulfield
Carnegie
St Kilda



and the outer suburbs of
Perth WA
Horgen
Nantes - Thank you Austinnn
and I have had contact with Supporter in Accra - Ghana

maybe the next thread could be - where in the world.... - been done before and elsewhere,

anyone in Mentone, Mordiallic, Sandringham, Beaumaris, Moorabbin,
if I was clever I'd put red dots on a map or even little red white and black flags.

[HardSaint]

I live in Collingwood.

Great suburb. Shame about the football club.

me too and there are two others in our street

there used to be a guy, mad as a hatter, rode his pushy around Abbotsford / Collingwood with an old tattered Saints jumper with the number 66 on the back

[Verdun66]

In answer to various questions...

No pushie these days unfortunately, maybe I'll buy one later.

I live in Nantes, 6th biggest city in France. Many similarities to Melbourne actually. It's a river city (the Loire), its quite flat and it has trams and buses, not a subway. It's got a lot of cultural activities and festivals. No footy though unfortunately! Paris is only 2hrs by train but a very expensive trip. Not into tour de France, my interest in cycling was purely practical. Between Aussie Rules and the football/soccer, there's no more room in my life for sport!

Keep trying to get locals interested in AFL, there is a faint connection as they're into Celtic culture here (arguments remain whether this city is part of separatist Brittany) and have loads of Irish bars that play GAA from time to time.

Sadly, I know only too well of the demise of the Punters Club and rise of the risable Bimbo Deluxe. I was one of the many punters squashed in for the Punters Club's last day of business. The change was symptomatic of the gentrification of Brunnie St. So it goes.

Thanks again for all your kind words, still waiting for the backlash.

Enjoyed those posts Austinn. I was near Nantes a few months ago. Took my youngest son for a trawl around the D-Day landing beaches. I'll have to drop by next time!

Only Saints fans in our village here in Oxfordshire are me and my three sons. They have to otherwise I'd kick them out. The youngest wore his Saints jumper on our France trip!

I remember being at Beaumaris State school when the Saints moved to Moorabbin. There weren't any more Saints supporters than other teams at the beginning, but I swear by the end of '67 when we left Melbourne there were more Saints supporters than at the beginning of '65.

Be nice if the expected announcement soon was about playing lesser games at somewhere like Frankston, and the State govt was going to the fund the upgrade of the current ground into a mini-stadium. We could play sides like Port, the Giants and the Suns there. More profitable than at Collo Stadium, and good for generating support and members from that area. Now that would be good! ( Wait for expected backlash......).

[StGoddard18]

My mums family started supporting the saints when they moved to Moorabin. Since then the family saints supporters stretches out to Gisborne, Woodend, Mentone and Perth. Red, White and Black has become the family religion .

[Dave McNamara]

I live in Collingwood.

Great suburb. Shame about the football club.

me too and there are two others in our street

there used to be a guy, mad as a hatter, rode his pushy around Abbotsford / Collingwood with an old tattered Saints jumper with the number 66 on the back

Great to hear. I'm in Mater, you?

I wonder what happened to the '66 guy - maybe his name's Verdun & he moved to Oxfordshire???

[Dave McNamara]

Only Saints fans in our village here in Oxfordshire are me and my three sons. They have to otherwise I'd kick them out.

Well done Verdun! I've never understood parents who fail to pass on the true faith to their children. Sometimes modern parents have a lot to answer for...

Be nice if the expected announcement soon was about playing lesser games at somewhere like Frankston, and the State govt was going to the fund the upgrade of the current ground into a mini-stadium. We could play sides like Port, the Giants and the Suns there. More profitable than at Collo Stadium, and good for generating support and members from that area. Now that would be good! ( Wait for expected backlash......).

+1million.

Not sure how it can be brought about, but one day I'd love to see us be in a similar position to Girlong re this. Maybe an eventual return to Linton Street - but parking issues???

Anyone got any ideas???

[philtee]

I'm with you Verdun and Dave.
Geelong has been very clever in upgrading K Park stage by stage, never over-reaching,
always going to members, always securing AFL and Govt grants etc etc.
I remember being down there 10 years ago, and seriously, it wasn't much better than
Moorabbin was at the end of its life. Mounds of dirt for standing room at the
northern end etc.

Would love to see a boutique stadium somewhere between Hampton and Frankston.
Location, land vacancy, public transport links, parking, financial returns, etc, are all factors.
Having a friendly local council would be an advantage too.

One danger...the Princes Park redevelopment almost sent Carlton FC underwater !

[plugger66]

I'm with you Verdun and Dave.
Geelong has been very clever in upgrading K Park stage by stage, never over-reaching,
always going to members, always securing AFL and Govt grants etc etc.
I remember being down there 10 years ago, and seriously, it wasn't much better than
Moorabbin was at the end of its life. Mounds of dirt for standing room at the
northern end etc.

Would love to see a boutique stadium somewhere between Hampton and Frankston.
Location, land vacancy, public transport links, parking, financial returns, etc, are all factors.
Having a friendly local council would be an advantage too.

One danger...the Princes Park redevelopment almost sent Carlton FC underwater !

Not sure anyone is going to build a 100 million dollar stadium in that area.