CSM: Chapter 12.
12. Trading: Part II (1983 – 1985). In my earliest years of high school, other things diluted my focus from football: beginning to socialise, girlfriends, schoolwork, just that whole angry, independent teenage thing where you start thinking about stuff for yourself. For a short period there (two-three years), whilst I still followed Collingwood, the fanaticism plateaued. Of course, this could’ve had more to do with Collingwood themselves plateauing. I’d been introduced and apprenticeshipped to Collingwood during a period they were regularly making grand finals, as if it was their birthright, and a time they were headed by the t-shirted Tommy Hafey, and led by a group of players who were…
CSM: Chapter 11.
11. Maybe. I went to school Monday, dreading facing the humiliation of it all. This wasn’t just a loss, the sort you might have some friendly banter with your friends over. Nor was it a night grand final defeat in controversial circumstances. This is what football’s about: premierships. And Collingwood had lost it, blown yet another opportunity. Some people don’t understand what that means. It’s just a game, they’ll tell you. Yes, the act of what happens on the field is a game – kick ball, chase ball, kick goal. But the rest is an investment – you invest time and energy and resources to follow your team. In that…