In a future not too long from now, you
come across an old VHS tape marked ‘NSL Grand Final 1995’.
Instantly you re-call the old Olympic Park stadium, the smell of
flare smoke fills your nostrils and somewhere in the background
someone is blowing that long red annoying horn.
 |
| Melbourne Knights 1995 NSL GF |
You gather your children around, blow
the dust off the old video player and tell them about this story of a
once great giant of Australian football, Melbourne Croatia.
This scenario scares the living day
lights out of me, and mainly because it’s a plausible future for
our club. I always envisioned my boys growing up supporting and
playing for their local club, a club they could call their own.
When your children ask what happened to
this club, what will you say? Will you blame the break-up of the NSL?
The changing of the name? or the establishment of the A-League?
There really is only one answer to that
question. And it’s YOU.
Yes, I’m being blunt, but it’s
absolutely true. What has stopped you from attending games and buying
a membership? What is your excuse?
Melbourne Croatia/Knights has been
around for generations, it was built by our grandparents not just for
a place to gather as a community, but for their children and
grandchildren to have something to call their own.
Will you just stand aside and watch
this once famous club disappear into a distant memory? Are you happy
to just watch and do nothing?
If this club has ever given you an
ounce of joy, it’s time to show that you care. Memberships cost as
little as attending one A-League game, and ensure the stability and
survival of the club. Even if you can’t make it to a game, you can
still show your support.
There is no reason why this club can’t
stick around for another 60 years, a club you can call your own, a
place that feels like home. However it is completely up to you to
ensure the future of this club isn’t limited to an old VHS tape.
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
#ONELOVEONECLUB
Powerful stuff, this needs to be shared around the sites.
ReplyDeleteQ: When your children ask what happened to this club, what will you say? Will you blame the break-up of the NSL? The changing of the name? or the establishment of the A-League?
ReplyDeleteA: I'll say something along the lines of "sine, tvoj did i onakvi ko on su bili dobri i jaki ljudi, stvorili klub od nista koji je postao prvak Australije. Al sljedeca generacija nisu nitko i nista, nisu odrzavala to nikako i sve je otislo u propast."
Q: What has stopped you from attending games and buying a membership? What is your excuse?
A: My excuse is that the ozborn generation has not upheld their Croatian culture adequately enough to justify consistent fortnightly attendance at matches for the same reasons as in the past. This is not something club specific, rather community wide.
Q: Will you just stand aside and watch this once famous club disappear into a distant memory? Are you happy to just watch and do nothing?
A: I wouldn't say I'm happy, but definitely content. Fact is that as the oldies have become more inactive and more dead (literally), the club inevitably changes into something that simply is not the same, despite many being seemingly oblivious to this. Therefore I'm content for the club to die along with those who truly reflected what the club is (or was and is supposed to be).
I still go occassionally, but it's purely for nostalgia related reasons.
It seems like everything below the A-league has gone to the shit over the past 10 years. When we had 1,500 people we dreamt of 3,000 now that we are down to 500 we dream of 1,500. Community dying off doesn't really help us either.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'll be doing my part and paying up as usual :)