It doesn't need the time of the game changed Pierre,
I'm with Fiz on this, all it takes is for the powers that be at the club to GIVE A SHIT about a bloody hard core group of fans that care enough about the club to travel from all over the place, paying out hard earned for hotels, air tickets, petrol etc, plus giving up a huge amount of time and cost with phone calls, organising etc etc.
Let's get real here.
Barry and his merry men are paid up to follow our club. They get FREE travel to all games, they watch the game from the broncos corporate box, they are still smiling if we get beaten, full of hot dinner and complimentary wine, they will walk past any fans that are there, slap em on the back with a jovial giggle and say Thanks for comin, we'll be right next week !
The fans that will be there have
paid their own travel expenses
Bought their $40 entry ticket
Spent another $20-$50 on drinks and food for the day
All because they love the club and 900KM from home is the closest match the sharks will play to where they live this year and love em so much they are HAPPY to make all the sacrifices it takes to get the to match.
Also, a couple of champion fans are even doing SCOTT LONGMUIRS job by harnessing all this wonderful support in QLD and organising everyone to get together and sit together, at their own expense and time.
I know you say Bazza was real nice on the phone pete, and I don't doubt it, if being a politician won premierships bazza would be held in higher regard than Jack Gibson , but the fact is, he doesn't give a hoot .
What about Saturday afternoon ? the team will be having a run somewhere, sometime in Brissy, even a walk around the botanical gardens is usually on the cards sunday morning, saturday afternoon. Did Barry take the time and trouble to ask one or two players if they could take 15 minutes to meet the grouup in the lobby of their hotel on saturday afternoon, or sign a jumper on the way TO lang park, 3 hours before kick off at the team hotel while boarding the bus ?
NO mate, because although the players would only be TOO HAPPY to take 5 minutes for the group of fans and APPRECIATIVE of the effort the fans took, Barry could not be bothered to make a a phone call, or get up from his desk and walk accross to his son, team manager, or the coach, or the marketting manager and say, hey, can we organise something here ? they don't expect much but geez, people have taken alot of time and effort to organise this and these fans are the boood and guts of our club, surely we as highly paid club staff can find a way for the players to say HI for 5 minutes.
It's the last I'll say on it mate cause I know we will have a fantastic time, we always do and I i don't want it to dampen what will be a fantastic weekend, I remember the first time I was up there all those years ago, standing in the mall with my sharks jumper on , up you walked and gave me a hige smile and warm hug and introduced our wives, never met before, just emailled to say we would be in brissy for the game. You got us sorted on where to get the bus out and we sang sharkies songs all the way to ANZ !!! gave em heaps we did mate and we have been good mates, and our wives ever since. That's what it's all about my freind and I'm sorry to get worked up, but one tends to when they see their mates ( I count Fiz in that too) hard work not only not appreciated by the club, but taken for granted.
You both, and the good fans in QLD, deserve a whole heap better.
Like I said way back, it STINKS
