Eddie urges Victorians to join the Magpie army
COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire has issued a rallying call to Victorians to get behind the Magpie army in the AFL Grand Final as disappointed fans call for a fairer share of ticket allocations.
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COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire has issued a rallying call to Victorians to get behind the Magpie army as the Pies take on the West Coast Eagles in Saturday’s AFL Grand Final.
McGuire said his club’s captivating rise from 13th to premiership contention should capture neutral fans’ imagination.
“I think nearly every player at Collingwood and every person, as far as the coach and everyone, (had a story),” he said.
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“There are a lot who can find a parallel with their own lives, and hopefully find inspirational stories.”
He said the Pies would love to see fans of all AFL clubs support Collingwood this Saturday.
“If people like what has happened with Nathan (Buckley) and the bravery of our boys and the many different stories about Mason Cox and what Trav Varcoe has been through and the injuries and a team that has fought from 13th we would love them to be part of the fun and join the Magpie Army.”
“I have actually been surprised by the amount of people who have come up in the last 48 hours and said, “I can’t believe I am saying this but I am barracking for the Pies’’.
And some of his rival clubs’ most prominent supporters have admitted they would be cheering on Collingwood.
St Kilda heavyweight Molly Meldrum has traded in his beloved red white and black, instead splashing a Magpies tribute on his famous fence.
“Yeah I’m supporting the Pies. It’s already painted up outside on the wall along with the Storm,” he said.
Mr Meldrum said he will not be wearing the Pies colours but he has organised some black and white garb for someone else.
“I’ve got Eddie (McGuire) a Collingwood ‘Molly’ hat, specially made just for him,” he laughed.
Former Geelong President Frank Costa said this will be one of the only times he will ever support Collingwood and lamented the fact that there is an interstate team coming to the party.
“It’s a shame. I thought if Collingwood and Melbourne were in the Grand Final gee whiz the MGC would be rocking!”
Businesswoman Susan Alberti, a well-known Western Bulldogs fanatic, said she was “absolutely” getting behind Collingwood but drew the line at wearing the club’s colours.
“I could never wear black and white; red white and blue is in my veins. But they were absolutely remarkable on Friday night,” Ms Albereti said.
DISAPPOINTED FANS CALL FOR FAIRER TICKET ALLOCATIONS
Thousands of Collingwood members are set to miss out on seats to Saturday’s Premiership decider, with disappointed fans calling for a fairer share of ticket allocations.
Club members who entered a ballot will be notified by email this morning to find out if they were successful, but both face heartache before the game even starts with demand far outweighing availability.
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The AFL will split the allocation evenly with 34,000 seats to be randomly shared among Magpies and Eagles fans and none to be sold to the general public.
MCC members will take up 25,000 seats in their exclusive reserve.
AFL and Medallion Club members will be handed 21,000 seats, including cashed up fans able to afford package deals sold by secondary sellers to the latter.
And AFL club allowances will see 7000 tickets shared between teams who can only dream of doing what Collingwood and West Coast get to do.
But corporate and AFL “stakeholders” will score 13,000 tickets to the Grand Final, sparking calls for those seats to be given to real fans who turn up weekly and pay to support their team.
AFL Fans Association spokesman Ron Issko said each year too many tickets end up in the hands of “corporates and neutrals.”
“This would also improve the atmosphere, which can be less electric than the preliminary finals.”
The AFL members reserve sold out on Sunday, with Gold AFL members snapping up the full allocation.
A ballot has already been conducted for more than 13,000 pre-purchased reserved seats in the MCC Reserve.
The remaining 8500 seats and 1000 standing room spaces will be available on a walk-up basis for Full members when Gate 2 opens at 8.00am on grand final morning.
Mr Issko called for competing club members to share 50,000 of the 55,000 public reserve seats.
“Collingwood alone has 75,000 members who would love to be there.
“Fans are the AFL’s biggest stakeholder and should be looked after.”
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DIEHARD Collingwood fans are pulling out the paint and colouring their fences black and white as they dare to dream of Magpie glory.
Cheer squad member Voula Bitsikas usually yells her support from behind the goalposts. But on Sunday afternoon she was busy on her fenceposts, adorning them in the club colours.
“I’ve got a huge week ahead. I’ve spent more than 70 bucks on streamers and balloons to deck out my house,” she said.
“Around all that I’ll be making banners, too.”
Pies fans will be flat out this week as they set their hopes on a fairytale.
Game-day preparations are ramping up across town as Victoria’s hopes hinge on the Collingwood boys.
For the goalpost dwellers, there’s no grey area when it comes to getting a ticket.
“The cheer squad gets their tickets allocated, so I’ll be sitting front row,” Voula said.
Speaking in a voice still hoarse from screaming on Friday night, Voula teared up as she declared all the preparation was worth it.
“It’s so emotional because no one expected the win — it’s just a dream come true to be in the Grand Final,” she said.
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