The AFL has committed an act of cultural vandalismDylan Leach
The Age
18 March 2018The Tiger tribe, ready to sing.
When the final siren sounded at last year’s grand final I was in a state of shock.
After years of heartache, my club had won a premiership, and I had no idea how to cope with the overwhelming emotion. It didn’t feel real.
Then they played the song. That was the moment I was reassured that all this had actually happened. Within a couple of bars, I knew this wasn’t a mistake, it couldn’t be taken back, it wasn’t a dream.
The first belting out of “yellow and black” was as loud as it had ever been. As with other club songs on other premiership days, it became the moment that people rank for joy and significance alongside their wedding vows or the birth of their children. Irrationally, perhaps, but sincerely.
Since 1972 the songs have been the versions recorded by the iconic band The Fable Singers, after they laid the soundtrack for Victorian Football League clubs. We know the songs are all a bit daggy – many lifted from old-time show tunes – but The Fable Singers brought them to life.
The anthems mean so much to people who love their club.
Then during the off-season, the AFL decided that all club songs needed to be “refreshed” and “updated” for the modern football supporter. Now that we’ve heard the results, it’s clear the league has committed an act of cultural vandalism. Musical too, in some cases.
The rerecording of these iconic songs is the quintessential change for the sake of change. At first listen to these new recordings, it sounds as though The Wiggles had been signed up to sanitise the spirit, while the brass band is better suited to a karaoke night than grand final day.
The AFL claim that they’ve had to update the songs due to licensing and royalties. How can a major organisation with a billion-dollar TV deal not be able to renew a music license? Get real.
Longer seasons, shorter games or sling tackles - how would you change the rules if you were AFL boss for a day?
They have also cited the supposed issue of the Fable recordings having incorrect words in them. Richmond has in the club's official lyrics “risking head and shin” not “risking head and skin”, which is in the Fable recording. It’s fair to say the world hasn’t stopped spinning on its axis over the last 45 years as a result. If it really must be fixed, give me 10 minutes with some editing software.
This is not the first time clubs have flirted with changing their theme songs. In round one, 1999, Essendon defeated Carlton and heard a new version of See the Bombers Fly Up, sung by Mike Brady, after the game. Bombers fans hated it and could be heard booing in the crowd. The Fable version was brought back a week later.
Before the 2008 grand final a weird cover version of the Geelong song played as the team ran out. By accident, apparently. It was later cited by Cats fans as proof that they were doomed from the get-go.
The same thing happened to the Hawks after the final siren, and some fans still spew about the confusing moment. The mistake was never made again.
Sydney Swans fans remain mortified that they ran out to Up There for Sydney prior to the 1996 decider and not their actual song, Cheer, Cheer the Red and the White.
Of course people are resistant to change, and often react strongly against it at first. At the same time, when change occurs for no clear reason, there’s some justification in pushing back against it. This is why politicians have to litigate their cases for changes in national life. Otherwise the electorate has every right to reject such moves.
Football fans are attached to their clubs and attached to the songs associated with them in ways far broader than the final siren – think ring tones, weddings, even funerals. All codes of football have their unique quirky charms. For strangers to our wonderful game, teams running through massive paper banners and having singalongs after the game doesn’t make much sense, but it does to us. And when it makes sense to such a big group of people, it’s not up to a few decision-makers to mess with it.
Dylan Leach is a 25-year member of the Richmond Football Club and works in marketing. Based in Brisbane, he is president of the Richmond Supporter Group in Queensland.https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-afl-has-committed-an-act-of-cultural-vandalism-20180317-p4z4u8.html
