After 'twenty years of struggling' Carlton have lastly arrived, and Blues followers are loving each second

“That is what it felt like within the ’70s and ’80s,” mentioned an older gentleman subsequent to me, his eyes shedding a tear of nostalgia as objectives rained down within the closing quarter on Friday evening. The win in opposition to Geelong felt like banishing the demons of the previous 20 years. We conquered a group that has haunted us, tormented us, and repeatedly crushed us by beating them by ten objectives. It was an evening of pleasure, a celebration of resilience, and a perception that the Blues have lastly come of age. Followers, members, and the complete AFL neighborhood can lastly odor what the Blues are cooking.

This Blues group feels totally different, even when in comparison with the nice Carlton groups of latest historical past, which have been few and much between. I recall the 1999-2001 Carlton groups that includes stars like Koutoufides, Ratten, and Camporeale, alongside champions like Christou, Silvagni, and Bradley, and a promising core of younger gamers reminiscent of Whitnall, Lappin, and Justin Murphy. One other memorable interval is the 2010-2013 period, with stars like Judd, Murphy, and Gibbs, and a younger core together with Kreuzer, Yarran, and a younger Zach Tuohy.

This Blues group is star-studded on each line, however past that, there’s an plain sense of cohesion, unity, and perception that permeates not simply the taking part in group but additionally the followers. This stage of synergy mixed with the extent of expertise has been a rarity in Carlton groups over the past couple of a long time. It’s the willingness by the present crop of stars to take much less to make sure the group stays collectively and the absence of gamers who’ve actively needed to depart the membership in latest instances both by commerce or free company.

Tom De Koning marks in front of Sam De Koning.

Tom De Koning marks in entrance of Sam De Koning. (Photograph by Quinn Rooney/Getty Photos)

Maybe it was the lengthy, tough rebuild, the heartbreak of Spherical 23 in 2022, or the rollercoaster of feelings from the primary half of final season resulting in a preliminary closing. “Stronger Collectively,” the membership known as it, and as a neighborhood, we have now wholeheartedly embraced it.

Some might say the Blues followers are rising from the woodwork, however that’s shallow criticism. Regardless of limitless rebuilds, Carlton achieved document memberships in the course of the darkish years of 2015-2019. Many followers can vividly recall the darkest of these days —whether or not it’s the 135-point thrashing by Hawthorn in 2015, the 105-point humiliation by the Giants, who had solely 16 gamers on the sector after a string of accidents in 2018, or my private favorite, the 95-point loss to Port Adelaide in 2021 throughout membership nice Marc Murphy’s closing sport.

Watching Blues overseas fan cams, listening to SEN, and listening to from fellow Carlton followers, there’s a palpable sense of nervousness, anticipation, pleasure, and even a contact of concern about profitable this fashion. “We simply don’t know the sensation, we simply don’t know this sense and we gotta get pleasure from it” mentioned one fan, one other mentioned, “it’s so bizarre I’m not used to it”.

It seems like a dream the place all the pieces we’ve longed for is coming to life, but it appears virtually too good to be true. There’s a lingering concern that we’ll get up and the dream will finish. However this isn’t a dream. It’s actuality, and the Blues have lastly come good. It’s a way of disbelief after greater than twenty years of struggling. The Blues have really arrived. In Andrew Maher’s phrases, “Do you imagine in miracles?! Do you imagine in miracles?! By no means let this deam finish! Sing the track!”

Sure, positive, No.1 is fairly apparent. However there was a lot extra to have fun on Friday evening.
This prime 5 has a little bit of all the pieces! pic.twitter.com/lAhtY5gBu5
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) June 23, 2024

As followers, can we revive the Carlton swagger? Will we cover within the disgrace after twenty years within the wilderness, the Blues are taking part in good footy? Will we stay humble, quietly content material with our success, or can we proudly proclaim to everybody and anybody that the Blues are the actual deal?

Whereas I don’t have all of the solutions, I do know this: as a Bagger whose journey started throughout a few of our darkest days, I’m going to cherish each second. Each sport, each discuss present, every bit of Carlton-related content material. I’m going to indulge, and once I attend, I will likely be loud, I will likely be passionate, and I’ll remind everybody that the Baggers are again. Like all desires, we’ll ultimately must get up, however till then, I’m going to rejoice in each single second for the Blues have lastly arrived.

If the dream comes true and the Blues find yourself with a flag, tragics will endlessly keep in mind the chilly Friday evening in opposition to Geelong when their dream started.

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