Finals diaryBy Ashley Browne and Adam McNicol
4:08 PM Wed 14 Sep, 2011Richmond supporters might be portrayed as rabid, one-eyed monsters who are desperate for the chance to spit on their coach or burn their membership card.
But in reality they're some of the most eternally optimistic fans in the game.
The proof is easy to find. Richmond had more than 47,000 members this year, which placed the club fifth on the AFL membership table, behind Collingwood, Hawthorn, West Coast and Essendon.
On top of that, the Tigers averaged around 50,000 people at their home games in 2011.
All this from a group of supporters whose team has made the finals only twice since 1982 (Fitzroy made the finals three times since then, and hasn't been in the competition since 1996).
There was plenty more optimism on display when more than 1000 people turned out for Richmond's best and fairest count at Crown Casino on Tuesday night.
The event began with a video highlights package of the Tigers in action, which was cut to the Lady Gaga song Edge of Glory.
It shows what a couple of wins late in the season can do for the atmosphere at a footy club.
After the cheering that followed the video had died down, senior coach Damien Hardwick rallied his players and the fans by drawing on that very theme.
"We've all bought into the same vision, and I truly believe we have the capacity and will to see it through," he said.
"I watched the finals last weekend and it amazes me, now more than ever, how much I can't wait to get this club back to where we belong.
"Furthermore, I'm starting to see the playing group demanding that we get there."
The reasons for the latest outpouring of optimism at Richmond were on stage at the end of the evening.
The top five players in the best and fairest count - Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin, Bachar Houli and Ty Vickery - are all young players with very bright futures.
And in Cotchin, who claimed his first Jack Dyer Medal by a margin of 33 votes, the Tigers have a young man is a star both on the field and off it.
"I'm very excited about the pre-season, and about our next year coming up," the 21-year-old told the adoring crowd in his acceptance speech.
"It's definitely going to be one where we take some big steps forward, and I think we should all be very excited about where we're heading."
But are they really on the edge of glory? We'll have to wait and see on that one.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/123459/default.aspx
