I’m on my second glass of wine and reading my heroine’s (Caro Wilson) account of Peter Gordon’s press conference yesterday.
It’s been a rough couple of days for the Bulldogs. First the captain walked out, then they sacked their coach.
Caro’s article pays homage to Gordon’s”fierce intellect and a good grasp of English” but she reckons he used it for spin at the press conference after a couple of interesting days in Doggieland.
Well, why not? If you’ve got it then use it. Intellect should be more than just academic. Put it to use, I say.
I topped up my glass and continued reading The Age. I’m not a bit interested in the Bulldogs but, like most Almanackers, I love footy.
Back to Caro’s article:
Gordon described sacking the coach as “an inspiring day for me”.
He also described media commentary surrounding player power and suggestions that the coach had lost the players as “harking back to aphorisms of the 1960s”.
Aphorisms. That’s a good word. I know of the 60s but never heard of aphorisms.
I googled it.
Wikipedia says it means an original thought delivered in a laconic manner.
Some examples:
- “The greatest torture in the world for most people is to think.”
Does this mean that President Gordon thinks Bulldogs supporters won’t think for themselves and will believe his crap, because he is a clever and rich man?
- “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn lies and Statistics”.
This opens a whole new can of worms: you can twist any data to suit your message.
Gordon thinks his waning membership base will buy this bullshit.
- “Hell there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something”.
This one I get.
Sack the coach, burn and plunder.
It’s the AFL and we will do anything to compete/survive.
Good luck Doggies supporters, if there are any.
As a Blues supporter, I need drama like this, I need to have a few teams below mine so I can feel a bit superior, and the Bulldogs have been propping us up for years.
Plus I have the pleasure of watching the saga at Essendon…
I may be warped but I am happy.
And a bit tiddly.
Blues4me.
Sometimes I think supporters of other teams throw in a writing grenade to flush out us Bulldogs supporters (yes, there are a few of us left). Anyway, I’ll bite.
I’m kinda glad we have a President with a fierce intellect who loves the Bulldogs and has taken on the Presidency for the second time after saving the Club from extinction in 1989. Yes there was spin, but it was direct and on the front foot to get the message out quickly. So much better to hear him talk about the need for a new coach than hear the multi-millionaires to the north talking about injecting their players with supplements.
I haven’t the same good grasp of English as Peter Gordon, but the one word that comes to mind regarding our ‘discussion’ is ‘schadenfreude’. You with a glass of wine and me with a morning coffee secretly enjoy the fact that there are teams below us on the ladder sometimes with more problems than your own Club. It translates as ‘shameful joy’.