The 2014/15 Off Season Thread

[Gary Gutful]

Interestingly enough, Fruitman was our mascot back when we were known as The Fruit Pickers...

He was a mad merkin, Fruitman. Used to have the crowd going apeshit.

 

[strider]

We put a bat out for Hughesy on Thursday.

On Friday night there were flowers on the front gate and the bat was removed.

My 13 (going on 21) yo daughter removed the bat and put the flowers (stolen from my garden) there in place. She said that it was her silent protest against the media hype over a man who was famous for hitting a ball with a stick. She said that it was shameful that we honoured this man and forgot about the males who die every day by car accidents, cancer etc.

#deep

I kinda get where she's coming from - the media drive everything into a frenzy these days. Its actually cos they are haemorrhaging $$s and trying desperately to keep their piece of the pie now that social media etc are a form of mass communication. (anyway - blah blah)

But I reckon your daughter needs to take a chill pill too .... the media do things that they know work. And fact is the majority of the public are in information overdrive these days and lap it all up like crazy.

I reckon people's reactions are often driven by whether they can relate to a situation. In this case I think alot of people imagine their son/brother/dad/whatever playing cricket, as so many australians do (or even another sport) and not coming home .... so I reckon this freaked alot of people ..... add ontop of that the prominance of the sport and that the guy just seems like a great bloke, someone you wish you'd have known by all accounts - result is the public is all over it and the media will take it and run with it.


I reckon the circus thats gonna happen on wednesday is a bit much. Let the family and friends have their private grief now. Unfortunately that won't happen.

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

I was shocked and saddened to hear the news that he had died. I always tend to think the best, and that the media were overblowing the situation, as per usual. I think it's natural such a death will capture the public's attention more than someone we don't 'know', but that doesn't mean less prominent people who die are less valuable. That said, I had to change the radio station from its rusted on position because they just wouldn't shut up about it.

 

[Twizzle]

there is a state funeral at Macksville and its broadcast onto the big screen at the SCG so its gonna be bigger than Ben Hur

 

[TheParraboy]

We put a bat out for Hughesy on Thursday.

On Friday night there were flowers on the front gate and the bat was removed.

My 13 (going on 21) yo daughter removed the bat and put the flowers (stolen from my garden) there in place. She said that it was her silent protest against the media hype over a man who was famous for hitting a ball with a stick. She said that it was shameful that we honoured this man and forgot about the males who die every day by car accidents, cancer etc.

#deep

Isn't your daughter a mad one direction fan or was it miley cirus or some other wannabe media circus act?

Would she act the same way if they were blown up on a plane?


#empathyandperspective

 

[Gronk]

Isn't your daughter a mad one direction fan or was it miley cirus or some other wannabe media circus act?

Would she act the same way if they were blown up on a plane?


#empathyandperspective

Yeah that was my go-to reaction. Only I used somebody's dog and your dog.

I was hard to argue with the "famous for hitting a ball with a stick" comment. We seem to put the oddest people on a pedestal.

BTW, you've got to keep up merkin. This month it's 5SOS, The Vamps and Ed Shearin.

 

[Gary Gutful]

Yeah that was my go-to reaction. Only I used somebody's dog and your dog.

I was hard to argue with the "famous for hitting a ball with a stick" comment. We seem to put the oddest people on a pedestal.

BTW, you've got to keep up merkin. This month it's 5SOS, The Vamps and Ed Shearin.

5 seconds of shit.

 

[Gronk]

5 seconds of shit.

Interestingly, One Direction were formed by Simon Cowell after X Factor (or one of those shows). Accordingly Cowell retained a share in anything that 1D earned.

So now 1D are popular and earning squillians, yet they have to pay a chunk to Cowell. How do they offset that ? They find a band that they think has potential and can tour with them. They use the Cowell model and retain a % of the bands earnings. Enter 5 Seconds of Summer.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Like Amway for boy bands.

 

[Bigfella]

A Ponzi scheme for boy bands.

A Poxy Scheme?

 

[Poupou Escobar]

To be fair, my two year old loves One Direction. My twenty nine year old is also a fan.

 

[TheParraboy]

5 seconds of shit.

took me 6 seconds to read his post..

 

[spiderdan]

We put a bat out for Hughesy on Thursday.

On Friday night there were flowers on the front gate and the bat was removed.

My 13 (going on 21) yo daughter removed the bat and put the flowers (stolen from my garden) there in place. She said that it was her silent protest against the media hype over a man who was famous for hitting a ball with a stick. She said that it was shameful that we honoured this man and forgot about the males who die every day by car accidents, cancer etc.

#deep

i like that your daughter stopped herself being herded with all the other sheeple.

while tragic and sad, so many people have glommed on and manufactured their phillip hughes grief because it has been ramped up in the media. two weeks ago most wouldn't have given a shit about who he was, about cricket or sport in general, and if you'd told them hughes was on the cusp of a test recall they would have replied with a "who cares?". but because of the media attention, so many people are now going through their five stages of grief, still not knowing much about this cricketer that played for australia a handful of times over the past few years (and it's not like he was a regular either that would have put him in the public eye that people knew who he was before).

people die all the time while doing or having done meaningful things that don't get this much attention. it is what it is.

 

[Gronk]

FOX SPORTS News‏@FOXSportsNews8m8 minutes ago
BREAKING: Ryan Harris says he is considering withdrawing from next week’s first Test because of emotional reasons #cricket

 

[Gronk]

The Brick With Eyes speaks

PRESS RELEASE
Lazarus stands firm on higher education
Palmer United Senator for Queensland and Leader of Palmer United in the Senate, Glenn Lazarus, today called on Christopher Pyne, the Minister for Education, to stop his acts of desperation in relation to higher education reforms.
“Christopher Pyne is embarrassing himself and needs to stop harassing me and other cross benchers,” said Senator Glenn Lazarus.
“I am being inundated with text messages from Christopher Pyne virtually begging me to support the Abbott Government’s higher education reforms.
“I have never given Christopher Pyne my mobile phone number.
“Christopher Pyne’s office and other Abbott Government ministers are continuing to contact my office and other cross benchers offering all sorts of deals and incentives to get our support for the higher education reforms.
“I won’t be bought and I am not prepared to horse trade.
“It is clear that the Abbott Government is so desperate they will stoop to any level to win support for the higher education reforms.
“I will only listen to the people of Australia and my home state of Queensland.
"The majority of Australians do not want increased education costs.
“The higher education reforms are nothing more than a sinister Abbott Government budget cutting measure.
“The Abbott Government’s higher education reforms are bad to the core and will only significantly reduce funding to universities which in turn will significantly increase the cost of higher education in Australia.
“If Christopher Pyne is still the Minister for Education next year, which I strongly doubt, I suggest he takes the bill away, consults with all stakeholders and develops a new plan to support the higher education sector without hurting students.
“Palmer United will be voting down the higher education reforms.”

https://www.facebook.com/senatorlazarus/posts/312378542302097

 

[Someone]

i like that your daughter stopped herself being herded with all the other sheeple.

while tragic and sad, so many people have glommed on and manufactured their phillip hughes grief because it has been ramped up in the media. two weeks ago most wouldn't have given a shit about who he was, about cricket or sport in general, and if you'd told them hughes was on the cusp of a test recall they would have replied with a "who cares?". but because of the media attention, so many people are now going through their five stages of grief, still not knowing much about this cricketer that played for australia a handful of times over the past few years (and it's not like he was a regular either that would have put him in the public eye that people knew who he was before).

people die all the time while doing or having done meaningful things that don't get this much attention. it is what it is.

that's what you get if you watch mainstream news. boohoo the world aint square.

complaining about the coverage is worse than the actual coverage if you ask me, it shows a complete lack of understanding of the world. we did the same for steve Irwin.

this wasn't aimed at you spiderdan, just more venting towards everyone who thinks whats happening is new.

 

[spiderdan]

that's what you get if you watch mainstream news. boohoo the world aint square.

complaining about the coverage is worse than the actual coverage if you ask me, it shows a complete lack of understanding of the world. we did the same for steve Irwin.

this wasn't aimed at you spiderdan, just more venting towards everyone who thinks whats happening is new.

yeah i pretty much agree with most of what you wrote.

i believe just about every media outlet (if not all) will do whatever they can to get rating, sell papers, get web hits. i'd be very surprised if any were straight down the middle jsut providing facts of what is going on at any given time.

it always makes me chuckle when (and this normally comes from extreme all the way left/right wingers that can't try to understand a pov different to their own) someone throws out a line like "you just believe what's in the media" like they have another more credible source for their point of view, or people that bag tabloid journalism who then get caught up in the manufactured emotion of a situation like the phillip hughes death. they are also normally the same people who will start an argument then when they can't provide real evidence for their views, will tell you that you just can't handle being wrong. but i digress.

i'm sure that out of this tragedy, channel 9 will have found a ratings bonanza they can exploit to get people watching a boring five days of cricket coming up.

 

[Gary Gutful]

I don't believe anything I read.

Unless it is on this forum.

 

[strider]

I don't believe anything I read.

Unless it is on this forum.

I don't believe you

 

[Gary Gutful]

I don't believe you

I don't believe that you don't believe me.