The Bulldogs have a special place in my heart.
The club is full of history and great people, past and present. It is a club that continues to strive for excellence and the prize of being known as the best AFL team in the land – and is looking to place a second Premiership Cup at our spiritual home, Whitten Oval.
How has our club survived for so long on the back of one premiership in the past 89 years?
From personal experience, the moment I walked into the club as a fresh-faced, skinny kid from the bush I noticed it had something very special. It was people. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They had an extraordinary will to never give up, not for anything or anyone. They had red, white and blue running through their veins.
I was able to see it on my first day at the club. War had been declared – war against the AFL. The Bulldog faithful had been told that their team did not have a place in the new world of an expanding national competition. The Bulldogs were dead. But the AFL didn’t count on the strength and courage of Bulldog people.
The rest is history.
One group that played a big part in the fight was our cheer squad, a crew full of heart and spirit. Against Essendon I sat with our Red, White and Blue Army with my family. It was the most exhilarating day we have had at the footy! Barracking and cheering for the boys as they played their hearts out.
The kids loved it. I loved it. It won’t be the last time we sit with the Bulldog cheer squad – my kids will see to that. Reflecting on my cheer squad experience crystallised what I already knew – we have survived for 89 years because of the Bulldog people.
BULLDOGS IN FOCUS
THE PLAYERS
Tom Liberatore | Keeper of the kennel
Tory Dickson | Fatherhood and football
Jason Tutt | My best moment so far
Mitchell Honeychurch | My first six months
Jordan Roughead | Still living the dream
Tom Campbell | Heartbeat of the West
PETER GORDON
