Brisbane’s AFL success sparks nostalgia for fading Fitzroy Lions
- 8 months ago
#brisbanelions #fitzroy #fitzroygame #melbourne
A proud Fitzroy fan, Chris Walkley supported the merged Brisbane Lions from their painful birth. But when you ask his 10-year-old son Eamon, who wore maroon, blue and yellow on a visit to the AFL Football Festival on Wednesday, what he knows about the Fitzroy Lions, his face comes out blank. "They wouldn't have much of an idea," Walkley says of her son and two similarly dressed daughters, 12-year-old Kalie and seven-year-old Niamh. “My son knows a bit, but that's probably because I talk a bit too much about it, but yeah, they don't know the Bears, they don't know the Fitzroy Lions. It's all just about the here and now. Chris Walkley has thrown his support behind the combined Fitzroy Lions and Brisbane Bears. The Guardian In this paradigm, life is sweet for Walkleys and the rest of Lions fandom. They are seeking their first title since the end of the three-peat 20 years ago. Heroic midfielder Lachie Neale won his second Brownlow. They are preparing for grand final against Collingwood on Saturday with the majority of nation behind them. “The whole atmosphere, it was kind of… I almost forgot what it was like,” says Walkley senior. The memory of 2001, the Lions' first AFL three-peat, has not left Napier Hotel owner Guy Lawson. It opens onto a roundabout surrounded by its pub, a corner park and the large Fitzroy town hall. “That city hall, that park were full of people,” he says. "The police couldn't put a car on the road." Publican Guy Lawson outside the Napier Hotel in Fitzroy. Napier is adorned with salvaged Fitzroy Lions memorabilia. Alongside the Royal Darby Hotel and Union Club, Napier is a venue synonymous with the Fitzroy Lions. The old spirit of Melbourne's inner suburb lives on through the original layout and timber panelling. When Lawson bought pub in 1997, a year after controversial merger with Brisbane Bears, he salvaged a number of photographs, guernseys and other memorabilia from Fitzroy Football Club's glory days. They still adorn the front bar. But where Fitzroy once held a prominent place in Australian rules, its importance is diminishing. Lawson says his collection of vintage Lions is lost on many of his customers. “This is 1996, this is the last century. Most of the young people weren't even born yet... 'What do you mean now, Fitzroy?' They have no idea." Across the road is artist Pol McMahon, who left a display case selling Brisbane Lions merchandise at the old town hall on Wednesday afternoon. But the man some call Fitzroy's "truly local treasure" comes up empty-handed. “I was delighted have the chance acquire a Fitzroy jumper on short notice and be able pay the price for it,” he says. "But I don't have enough money." Local artist Pol McMahon hopes to sell a painting in time to purchase a Lions pitcher. McMahon moved to Fitzroy from Canberra in 1988. “Obviously I wouldn't support Carlton or Collingwood because of their less humane nature,” he says. But like m
A proud Fitzroy fan, Chris Walkley supported the merged Brisbane Lions from their painful birth. But when you ask his 10-year-old son Eamon, who wore maroon, blue and yellow on a visit to the AFL Football Festival on Wednesday, what he knows about the Fitzroy Lions, his face comes out blank. "They wouldn't have much of an idea," Walkley says of her son and two similarly dressed daughters, 12-year-old Kalie and seven-year-old Niamh. “My son knows a bit, but that's probably because I talk a bit too much about it, but yeah, they don't know the Bears, they don't know the Fitzroy Lions. It's all just about the here and now. Chris Walkley has thrown his support behind the combined Fitzroy Lions and Brisbane Bears. The Guardian In this paradigm, life is sweet for Walkleys and the rest of Lions fandom. They are seeking their first title since the end of the three-peat 20 years ago. Heroic midfielder Lachie Neale won his second Brownlow. They are preparing for grand final against Collingwood on Saturday with the majority of nation behind them. “The whole atmosphere, it was kind of… I almost forgot what it was like,” says Walkley senior. The memory of 2001, the Lions' first AFL three-peat, has not left Napier Hotel owner Guy Lawson. It opens onto a roundabout surrounded by its pub, a corner park and the large Fitzroy town hall. “That city hall, that park were full of people,” he says. "The police couldn't put a car on the road." Publican Guy Lawson outside the Napier Hotel in Fitzroy. Napier is adorned with salvaged Fitzroy Lions memorabilia. Alongside the Royal Darby Hotel and Union Club, Napier is a venue synonymous with the Fitzroy Lions. The old spirit of Melbourne's inner suburb lives on through the original layout and timber panelling. When Lawson bought pub in 1997, a year after controversial merger with Brisbane Bears, he salvaged a number of photographs, guernseys and other memorabilia from Fitzroy Football Club's glory days. They still adorn the front bar. But where Fitzroy once held a prominent place in Australian rules, its importance is diminishing. Lawson says his collection of vintage Lions is lost on many of his customers. “This is 1996, this is the last century. Most of the young people weren't even born yet... 'What do you mean now, Fitzroy?' They have no idea." Across the road is artist Pol McMahon, who left a display case selling Brisbane Lions merchandise at the old town hall on Wednesday afternoon. But the man some call Fitzroy's "truly local treasure" comes up empty-handed. “I was delighted have the chance acquire a Fitzroy jumper on short notice and be able pay the price for it,” he says. "But I don't have enough money." Local artist Pol McMahon hopes to sell a painting in time to purchase a Lions pitcher. McMahon moved to Fitzroy from Canberra in 1988. “Obviously I wouldn't support Carlton or Collingwood because of their less humane nature,” he says. But like m