They get 2000 odd people to a meeting about sums up the predicament the Roos have.
They are going to regret not taking the golden egg
As for a 17th team ... 12 of the 16 clubs have to agree to it. Can't see it happening as it will cut into how much clubs get from the AFL (annual distribution all clubs get)
They'll regret it big time if they are forced to merge with this 17th club in 2-3 years time when they could have go it alone and at least kept their club traditions (colours, moniker, theme song, etc..).
When does the current tv rights deal finish. Is it the end of 2011?
My cousin is a Roos supporter and I admire him for it cos he has stuck thru thick & thin. When North pioneered the Friday night matches in the late 80's, he was there in the old Southern Stand in the wet & cold in the middle of winter. When the Roos sold games to Sydney & Canberra, he still bought his annual membership. He still goes to the AGM's even though his membership does not entitled him to a direct voting input into a board controlled by a handful of self-interested investors.
But last night, he mentioned that his kids would not have the opportunity to support the club he loves because some vocal people are only concerned about the way they feel now and cannot look past their own self interest for the next 2 to 4 years.
He reckons that his club will not be there in any form for his kids to enjoy and that they will starve & die on their knees. He thinks that seeing the Northern Kangaroos with a bit of gold around the arm bands or a gold vee on the old style jumper is a sacrifice (afterall they did wear an orange jumper) that he is prepared to have so that the club he loves is around for another 140 years and not just to 2011.
He likes the idea of having access to a club that has sunshine in the winter so he can take his kids to the Gold Coast, have a family holiday, watch the Roos at their new home and go to the club rooms to see the history and honour boards preserved and strangely reinvigorated with a sense of direction for the clubs future as once again it will be a pioneer club with focus and supportive AFL draft measures & cash.
He figures the home ground is not Arden St, it is either the Docklands or MCG as it has been for 20 years. He figures that he will still get an opportunity to see 6 or 7 games live in Melbounre and thinks it would be an opportunity for the Kangaroos to become Australia's team a bit like the Dallas Cowboys (I know, but he said it) because the Kangaroo is representative of the nation and also has alliance with the Rugby League national side.
He cannot understand how some people can see that even if the Roos double their revenue base in the next 5 years the will only then be catching up to Collingwood, Crows & Eagles. If those clubs double their revenue base the Roos will be 50 million, yes 50 million behind annually.
It is not about money for him it is about a legacy, and he does not see that a North or a Kanga legacy will be their for his kids. He will be absolutely gutted that it appears that it is either make or break and there will be no club at all if the shareholders do not accept a need for evolvement to a new location & destiny.
Me, I really feel for him, cos I would not want to imagine a future without the Tigers. However, I am not based in Victoria any more, and that insulates me from a lot of the angst. The RFC looks like it getting a solid financial foundation in place under the management of Steve Wright and leadership of Gary March and that a bright sustained future is closer than it is further away. I know that I would be distressed if RFC relocated, but I dont know what I would be like if it folded.
Is death worse than genesis ?
It seems that the North Melbourne Kangaroos will find out sooner rather than later.
