Adelaide crows - The Power of Denial

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Crows Magpie

Adelaide Crows: the power of denial

Had the Port Adelaide Magpies not made a submission to join the AFL in 1991, the Adelaide Crows would not exist today. The fact that the Crows do exist and have the largest membership of all AFL clubs can be seen as testament to the satisfaction many South Australians feel by denying Port Adelaide success.

The origins

The SANFL began in 1877 and subsequently grew into a strong and fanatically supported league. In interstate matches against Victorians, South Australians frequently emerged as victors. With predominantly dry grounds, the South Australian's brand of football had more emphasis on skills. On the other hand, the Victorian brand was built on wet grounds, which led to more dirty play.

In the 1970s, football representatives from around Australia met to discuss the possibility of a national competition. Victorians insisted that their league, the VFL, was the strongest and rather than create a new competition, new clubs would have to join the VFL and pay a licence fee. Quite understandably, football fans outside Victoria were not enthused by the Victorian arrogance and declined.

In 1991, Port Adelaide, the most loathed but also most popular team in the SANFL, defected by making an application to join the AFL. Although the AFL was pleased that a South Australian team wanted to join, they were concerned that Port's entry would alienate the majority of South Australian football supporters who hated Port. Consequently, they gave the SANFL the option of fielding a composite team and if they declined, Port would be free to join. Knowing that Port Adelaide was hoping they would reject the offer, the SANFL accepted and the Crows were born.

South Australia's new team seemed to make a concerted effort to piss-off Port Adelaide supporters. Their guernsey featured the state's colours, as well as the colours of every SANFL team - with the exception of Port. They appealed to everyone who liked football, hated Victorians and most importantly, hated Port Adelaide. Obviously such people were numerous as the club had no difficulty in selling out its home ground with membership tickets.

Just as the Crows pissed off Port, Adelaide fans soon pissed off Victorians. When Victorian teams kicked a goal at the Crows' home ground, the ground responded with deathly silence. For Victorians, this was a sign of South Australians being unable to give Victorians the respect they deserved. For South Australians, Victorian whinging added to the appeal of the Crows' games. It gave South Australians the opportunity to show Victorians what the rest of Australia really thought of them.

Although off-field popularity was easy to come by, on-field success was more elusive. The Crows proved to be world beaters at home when they had a crowd cheering them, but on the road they proved to be flops!

Ironically the Crow's fortunes soared when Port gained admittance to the AFL in 1997. When Port entered, they had a score to settle with the team that took "their place." Prior to the first "showdown", Malcolm Blight, the Crow's coach, declared that life in Adelaide would be intolerable if Port emerged triumphant. The Crows were heavily favoured but the unthinkable happened and Port won by 11 points.

Severely embarrassed, the defeat was a kick in the arse that spurred to the club onto greater heights. The club subsequently won their first premiership that very year. In 1998, they had continued success, sneaking into their second grand final against North Melbourne, then winning from fifth position, a feat never before accomplished. It was almost as if the desire not to let Port gain the ascendency had driven the Crows to lofty heights.

Although the showdowns have been evenly split, the two premierships gives Adelaide the best record where it matters most. This little historical fact perhaps best encapsulates the club's appeal. After almost 127 years of listening to Port fans boast about their superiority, Adelaide's record allows fans to turn the table and put Port into second place. With two flags to Port's one, those who hate Port at last have something to crow about.

What can be learnt from the success and failures of the Adelaide Crows

The Adelaide Crows have shown an effective way to unite a diverse range of cultures into something that is new and successful both on and off the field. The Crows appealed to all the clubs that didn’t like the Port Adelaide Magpies by designing a conservative jumper and then taking a relative positive approach to marketing. Had the Crows been bold innovative and different in regards to jumper design and naming, like the Port Adelaide Power, the diverse cultures that jumped on board the Crows would simply have decided the AFL is not for them.

Roy Morgan research

Adelaide Crows supporters are:

2001 when compared to other Australians

16% more likely than the average person to be aged over 50;
17% more likely than the average person to be in the bottom FG Socio-Economic Quintile;
among the most likely to be married (7% more likely than average);
more than twice as likely as the average person to vote for the Australian Democrats

2004 when compared to other AFL supporters

Made up of 83% South Australians
28% more likely to be aged 50 or over
27% more likely to be in the lowest FG Socio-economic Quintile
17% more likely to be unemployed
45% more likely to make dresses
19% more likely to regularly go to church or their place of worship

2006 when compared to other AFL supporters

Adelaide Crows supporters are:

Made up of 84% South Australians
22% more likely to be aged 50 or over
33% more likely to have been to a pub or hotel for a meal in the last three months

Club song Adelaide crows theme song

We're the pride of South Australia
We're the mighty Adelaide Crows
We're courageous, stronger, faster
And respected by our foes
Admiration of the nation
Our determination shows
We're the pride of South Australia
We're the mighty Adelaide Crows

We give our best from coast to coast
Where the story will be told
As we fight the ruggered battle
The flag will be our own
Our skill and nerve will see us through
Our commitment ever grows
We're the pride of South Australia
We're the mighty Adelaide Crows

The lines: "Admiration of the Nation" seem indicative of a community having trouble coming to terms with how little respect they really command across the nation. Historically, Adelaide has been known as a city with a disproportionately high number of wowsers. Such suspicions have been confirmed by its advertising slogan: "City of Churches" which indicates the city obviously doesn't have a great deal going on.

Rivalries

Hatred for Port Adelaide was one of the initial motivations driving support the Crows. In the SANFL, Port are the most successful, most hated and most popular club. In the AFL, Port are the small fish and the Crows have more members, supporters and most importantly, two premierships to the Power's one.

Adelaide Crows jokes

1) Son: "Daddy, Daddy, tell me a horror story."
Father: "OK son. Once upon a time, there were two Adelaide supporters. Now there's fucking millions of them."

2) Why is Adelaide known as the City of Churches?
Because even the Saints are looking down on them.

Adelaide as a wine

Queen Adelaide Crow Chardonnay: Successful straight off the vine but has aged poorly and lacks character. Popular in South Australia but, where more choice is offered, tends to be overlooked. Not likely to improve much in the near future. Give it to your Auntie!

Icon

Darren Jarman - Johnny come latey who won a Grand Final for the Crows. Odd looking fella who bore an uncanny resemblance to Magilla Gorrilla.

Wayne Weidemann - Depending upon who is being asked, the man from Fish Creek looked like a Viking or a dope smoker. Evoked the catch-cry "Weeeeeeed" whenever he went near the ball.

Mark Riccuito - Tough centreman who evoked "Rooooooooooo!" when he touches the ball. To the uninitiated, it sounded like he was being booed and being lumped in the same category as the likes of Buckley, Carey and Libratore.

Andrew McLeod - Smooth centreman who runs the field like a hot knife slicing through butter.

Tony Modra - High flying pretty boy that football fans Australia wide feared may become another Warwick Capper in retirement.

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