Long, hard, tough seasons build character. The relentless disappointment, the sheer endurance of watching ritual floggings in the biting winter cold, the constant humiliation from peers — I am convinced that those who survive these experiences emerge as better people.
By this theory, then, my fellow Richmond supporters and I must be among the most virtuous on the planet. Those of us too young to remember when the Tigers wore woollen jumpers and were sponsored by Tetley's have been building character our whole lives. By now, we are spectacularly over-endowed with it. We do not have conversations reminiscing about glory days. We have sophisticated debates about which season was worst. Take your pick.
Non-Richmond people might quickly nominate 2007. Recent weeks have produced that most damning of football comparisons: Fitzroy. Frightening stuff, really, given the Roys were reduced almost to amateur status by the time of their collapse in 1996.
No doubt, Richmond's 2007 has appeared impossibly barren. One win in 18 weeks is difficult to do. You'd think at least three victories would arise simply by accident. But as a Tigers man, it is my parochial duty to place the season in perspective. Viewed properly, 2007 now may be deemed successful.
I don't mean this in any sort of we're-building-for-the-future-and-playing-the-kids-who'll-win-our-next-premiership kind of way. Frankly, I'm worried about our kids. Our forward line post-Richo looks brittle. Our young key-position hopefuls seem stalled in the twos. No, I mean our season, as an isolated event, on its own terms, is a success.
No doubt you will point to round six, when Geelong thumped us by 157 points. At least we're setting records, I say. And we can, and do, take credit for kick-starting the Cats' year. They were rubbish before that game. A club as great as ours is always shaping the finals in profound ways.
But take that game out, and we've been consistently in the hunt. We easily could have been in the top four with a few well-placed goals here and there. Since about round eight, I've been telling anyone who'll listen that the 2007 Tigers are the best worst side in league history. I stand by that.
You might not consider this sufficient basis on which to declare a season successful. And I'd agree. All year, something had been missing. But hereabouts, definitions are important. And, as any Richmond fan can tell you, the definition of a successful season is not one in which you make the finals. It is a season in which you beat Collingwood. To beat Carlton and Essendon as well constitutes a super season. The rest, premierships included, are details.
Those who have wondered aloud why Terry Wallace has escaped scrutiny in a year when other coaches have fallen fail to understand this. Now, Terry is a genius again. The Pies are struggling. Life is sweet. It might be true that Richmond fans haven't heard much of their song this year. Even on Friday night, we were robbed — some technical malfunction meant the song couldn't be played. It matters little. As of Friday night, our season is complete.
