Brendan M wrote:A Port reflection.
My father, who grew up a good (Bob Shearman comes to mind) drop kick from Thebarton oval, occasionally joked (we think) that his life would have been happier if he had grown up as a Port supporter.
When I, as a Woodville boy, read the sometime heated contributions in this stub, I reflect on the history and psychology of the PAFC. Port's stance of 'us v the world' served them well in the SANFL as it galvanised their players and supporters, yet in reality, Port sides were also well-coached and they had the players who knew what was necessary to win the big games, especially in the finals.
In the current world of AFL, this disposition ('the world is against us') seems to have morphed into delusion (the Port Bs are the 'Magpies'), infantilism (the fetish of the prison bars) and despotism (attacking, at whim, imagined enemies, including, treacherously, the SANFL and its clubs).
As someone who, when very young, had a reasonable amount of direct contact with the Williams, McLeans, Motleys, Boyds and Gallifords (the last one is for the old cockledivers), this new attitude is foreign to the Port I knew. It seems to me that the new Port (or is it the current egotistical leadership) has a new shade which could see it evolving into yet another clever corporation which is attempting to dazzle its shareholders by fabricating new foes while living on the fumes of the past.
We love that you care so much.
