tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post8417950749235944806..comments2024-03-16T09:26:42.761+11:00Comments on South of the Border - a South Melbourne Hellas blog: Metamorphosis (in a Robert Manne sort of way)Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07844708719537648292noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-55286119715884351962016-10-10T12:45:58.414+11:002016-10-10T12:45:58.414+11:00This has a familiar feel. http://australianfootbal...This has a familiar feel. http://australianfootball.com/articles/view/A%2Bfan%2527s%2Bpersonal%2Bjourney%2Bto%2Ba%2Bpremiership/2186Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-54317858722125546852016-05-05T13:08:17.522+10:002016-05-05T13:08:17.522+10:00Ever since this article was posted, I wanted to cr...Ever since this article was posted, I wanted to crystallize my journey into a succinct comment.<br /><br />"It took me 7 years to discover I disliked the New Dawn. But it took me another 7 years to realise I loved South Melbourne Hellas"Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-55607834298899307522015-09-08T13:04:01.274+10:002015-09-08T13:04:01.274+10:00It's a line of thinking that I too have expres...It's a line of thinking that I too have expressed many times in recent years, that the club was in the process of a transition that would have made it the archetype of how a club like ours could continue to maintain its relevance in the coming decades without selling out its past.<br /><br />Without wishing to go over old ground in too much detail, the whole A-League situation either derailed those hopes or sped up the process of the club breaking free of its conservative streak (without completely abandoning it).<br /><br />We'll never know whether that transition - both among the stands and in the boardroom - could have been successful.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03206486881622385464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-51034991665622424612015-09-08T11:26:50.639+10:002015-09-08T11:26:50.639+10:00My thoughts on South's current status actually...My thoughts on South's current status actually pre-dated today's article by Joe Gorman http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/sep/08/forgotten-story-brunswick-juventus-1985-nsl. Although it did prompt a reminder to post my thought.Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-86397336475140691242015-09-08T10:36:03.632+10:002015-09-08T10:36:03.632+10:00Another thought has crystallized over the years I ...Another thought has crystallized over the years I have been back at South Melbourne.<br /><br />And that is that South Melbourne has now become the club that I wanted it to be become back in the 1990's.<br /><br />More inclusive (or at least it now appears more inclusive), more media savvy, more honest (although according to a not insignificant few, that is debatable), and more humble.<br /><br />And as an aside, I note that Bulleen (who I have mentioned in my article) are back in the Top State division. Monday Night football. Many dislike it, I love it!<br />Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-90230441136197479802015-04-30T16:19:11.143+10:002015-04-30T16:19:11.143+10:00One thing I would say about my return to watching ...One thing I would say about my return to watching South is the time frame between my last regular season (1997/1998), and my return on a regular basis(2012). A 15 year gap, which was bisected in half at the 2005 mark with the commencement of the A League.<br /><br />Whilst I did make that initial effort to return, perhaps the analogy of the tanker is appropriate. It takes a long time for it to speed up (took me 7 years to realise that I didn't want to be part of the new era), and just as long to slow down (another 7 year before I was ready to return to my old club).<br /><br />Maybe this will apply somewhat to other ex supporters? A couple of the commenters have made a somewhat similar journey.Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-61108881461151095532015-04-30T15:25:10.364+10:002015-04-30T15:25:10.364+10:00I'd love to see this piece one day, especially...I'd love to see this piece one day, especially point three.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03206486881622385464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-63975880584748435202015-04-30T15:21:36.372+10:002015-04-30T15:21:36.372+10:00Thanks everyone for your comments.
I did, in fact...Thanks everyone for your comments.<br /><br />I did, in fact, intend to write a longer piece, but one sleepless night, I started typing away, and after a brief proof reading, I was satisfied that what I had written would convey what I had felt, and in a condensed form.<br /><br />Other aspects I could have covered were:<br />- the Provinciality of Australian Rules v the Cosmopolitan nature of Soccer<br />- the side effects of the GFC on my thinking (it caused me to buy a local car after looking at various European Cars)<br />- a more in depth look at the Keating/Howard legacy on the mindset of the country and my place in it (and how it relates to my renewed support for South)<br /><br />That might be for another time.Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-48204852191883906102015-04-30T14:15:31.931+10:002015-04-30T14:15:31.931+10:00Something that a lot of people miss in the whole &...Something that a lot of people miss in the whole ''ethnic debate'' is that just like any other sporting club is different from the other, so too are the various ethnic clubs of the NSL and the state leaguesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-57840848975958016102015-04-30T09:37:58.995+10:002015-04-30T09:37:58.995+10:00I too ashamedly turned my back on this great club,...I too ashamedly turned my back on this great club, after going to several post NSL games I found myself returning home saddened by what we had become. It took a long long time for me to get over and accept that unfortunately Hellas was no longer the powerhouse of Australian football it once was. Although I personally didn't attend very many games I still kept a keen interest in the club's goings on through my father and brother who were and still are regular attendees at most games, which is quite a feat considering, as like Savvas's friend George my father is also non driving, I also kept informed through social media and this great blog thanks to Paul. I then decided to return to Lakeside last father's for the final home game against Oakleigh, walking into the refurbished stadium for the first time I struggled to hold back the tears albeit with that hidious running track that now adorns our sacred turf where past, present and future stars apply their trade. I then looked around the crowd and found that the same group of hardcore fans along with a few new faces I didn't recognise were still attending games, this in itself bought upon a relisation that I am here where I belong, it triggered many happy memories of my childhood attending games at our spiritual but now defuct home at Middle Park. The deal breaker for me on the day was the playing of the famous Hellas trumpet and yes I relise that it wasn't the great Lefteri but the bloke playing was doing a stellar job of it. These faces in the crowd also triggered a sense of betrayal from within myself, the fact I had stopped attending games brought on a sense of guilt, something that I vowed to myself to remedy. I have this season attended most games with my father, brother and also a new arrival to the match day experience my 14 year old daughter. What a great piece by Savvas and thanks to Paul for put putting it up on this blog.<br /><br />Nick VertsonisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-88406943023530602052015-04-29T10:21:38.285+10:002015-04-29T10:21:38.285+10:00Back row, far right of photo. They're wearing ...Back row, far right of photo. They're wearing the (hideous) grey away strip because the blue home jerseys weren't ready by round 1.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03206486881622385464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-2103713710151404552015-04-29T09:35:37.549+10:002015-04-29T09:35:37.549+10:00Thanks Paul,
Love the photos you selected! I actu...Thanks Paul,<br /><br />Love the photos you selected! I actually have no idea which of those players is Kyle Joryeff!!Savvas Tzionhshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763693747144083898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-78006161325229813722015-04-29T09:01:00.205+10:002015-04-29T09:01:00.205+10:00Good stuff.
Firstly, if your incorrectly informed...Good stuff.<br /><br />Firstly, if your incorrectly informed I'd like to correct you on something... the tito/stalin split led to the west treating tito and yugoslavia pretty much as an ally, as they saw it as a lesser of the commo evils in the world for political reasons. This 'acceptance' and subsequent western attempts to sprinkle some pot pouri on yugo history has played an indirect role in your present opinion of ex-yu being 'benign'. Hundreds of thousands dead is not benign.<br />If your just an ardent far-leftist, then I have no comment to make other than good luck with your buddy Tsipras leading the greek people to recovery from an extreme letdown of the rich man's system.<br /><br />I, like you, have taken my Australianism with a pinch of salt and sought to hold onto my identity and be anti-mainstream through the knights. However, I think I took it another step and realised that many of us ozborns might say we're Croat or Greek but walk an entirely different cultural walk. It is nearly impossible to continue the values, standards and culture of those who formed the club without having their upbringing in the old world villages and towns (a small possibility is through religion, but still a battle though). This applies in the household too, not just the clubs.<br />Even by being a bulwark against any attempts to de-ethnicise us, our clubs are already changing from our parents generation who may not have liked it, but still lumped it out of a genuine high-level respect towards Australia. Yes, as ozborns the 'love it or leave it' applies slightly less to us, but nonetheless, a change is a change.<br />I commend those who try to hold onto our identities stubbornly. But I still think it's slightly misguided. Unfortunately, our walk does not match our talk and we're effectively just aussies in denial.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-80093118444325708222015-04-29T07:21:40.016+10:002015-04-29T07:21:40.016+10:00I guess there's a lesson here for the permanen...I guess there's a lesson here for the permanently arrogant AFL, you withdrew your support as their product declined, and filled that vacuum with a competitor's product.Nikita from Messiniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18114726393743744147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7503414687298565438.post-16960810888005812502015-04-28T21:45:01.700+10:002015-04-28T21:45:01.700+10:00Nice piece.
I actually stopped following South wh...Nice piece.<br /><br />I actually stopped following South when we left the NSL. I thought that was it, it was over. I didn't attend any games in 2005 and came back from mid 2006 and a member since 2008. It's been a bumpy road since but my passion for South is even more so than that in the NSL. <br /><br />I can understand why people have deserted the club as I was in the same position, but if they were willing to come back and stick it out for a season, I'm sure the passion would return.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com