{"id":66325,"date":"2024-07-25T09:59:10","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T23:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=66325"},"modified":"2024-07-25T09:59:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T23:59:49","slug":"hawthorn-is-not-like-anyone-else","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2024\/07\/hawthorn-is-not-like-anyone-else\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawthorn is not like anyone else"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The AFL is in a constant state of the meme of the guy holding hands with his girlfriend, while looking over his shoulder at another woman.<\/p>\n<p>Over his girlfriend\u2019s head should sit the text \u201cover a century of tradition and the most intoxicating spectator sport in the world\u201d while over the other woman\u2019s head it should say \u201clouder music and more American stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, AFL house has had the inspired idea of getting rid of a finals series that works quite well and that nobody has any real issue with and helpfully adding a \u201cwildcard round\u201d just like, you guessed it, the NFL.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AFL charging ahead with a serious look at wildcard weekend. An expanded AFLW season will eventually clear up what is now the pre-finals bye weekend. Clubs giving it stronger support. Keeps teams relevant later, more big games as the AFL pushes innovation  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kIV7BWGWfm\">https:\/\/t.co\/kIV7BWGWfm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RalphyHeraldSun\/status\/1813893355111317511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>See, the junkets are worth it!<\/p>\n<p>Also like the vest wearing \u201cvisionaries\u201d in Silicon Valley, the AFL is pushing an entirely unoriginal and uninspired under the guise of \u201cinnovation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As an aside, every \u201cinnovation\u201d makes things worse, I\u2019m thinking specifically of the new Microsoft Teams update.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m aware this is a corporate complaint but why am I not in the bottom right of the screen like before?<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I can\u2019t fathom why the team that finishes tenth should still be alive.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wildcard weekend, expanded finals&#8230; whatever you want to call it, do you like the idea? \ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n<p>STORY: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZZmiP9ZHOm\">https:\/\/t.co\/ZZmiP9ZHOm<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9iPNCSQeRi\">pic.twitter.com\/9iPNCSQeRi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOXFOOTY\/status\/1813901819535651120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>What is the point of the regular season if everyone lives forever? There can be no happiness without sadness.<\/p>\n<p>At some point the games before September have to matter, otherwise you risk NBA-ifying your product and making the regular season practically irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p>My favourite example of the AFL\u2019s embrace of everything American, as an aside, was how excited they were when Pat McAfee took a fleeting interest in the AFL over COVID. The way that they fawned over McAfee taking a mild interest in footy when there was literally no other sport going on in the world was so embarrassing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I can\u2019t believe this is my first time watching a game. This is amazing.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not ready to declare my fandom just yet. I think that\u2019s going to be a rather large decision for me&#8230; Still trying to figure what the hell\u2019s going on first<\/p>\n<p>Seems like Essendon is a DOMINANT force though <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wXrKMxUcmE\">pic.twitter.com\/wXrKMxUcmE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PatMcAfeeShow\/status\/1241225933031440385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It was like the dudes who reply to Instagram model\u2019s thirst traps with comments like \u201cbeautiful inside and out\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway. in the spirit of embracing the decaying empire of the day, the United States, AFL house must absolutely love Hawthorn who have taken a decidedly American approach to their recent success.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re loud, they\u2019re brash, they talk shit, they\u2019re unapologetically full of personality. I\u2019m not even saying it\u2019s a bad thing. I love it.<\/p>\n<p>But Jesus is it different.<\/p>\n<p>They remind me of the Memphis Grizzlies team that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Western Conference semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p>That group, like this one, was also loud and brash and they went after the great teams with genuine self-belief.<\/p>\n<p>They saw LeBron James in their path in the playoffs and said \u201cI poke bears\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Classic Dillon Brooks on his confrontation with LeBron James: \u201cI don\u2019t care. He\u2019s old. \u2026 I poke bears. I don\u2019t respect someone until he gives me 40.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Brooks had plenty more to say. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uWLONrubPZ\">pic.twitter.com\/uWLONrubPZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espn_macmahon\/status\/1648890388835446789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 20, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ultimately they beat LeBron\u2019s Lakers and then went into Golden State and took it to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors before losing in six, but undoubtedly they got in the Warriors heads in the process.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A new chapter in the Grizzlies-Warriors rivalry continues tonight \ud83c\udf7f<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa 10 PM ET on ESPN <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HCYmXxvMIC\">pic.twitter.com\/HCYmXxvMIC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1618385194834137089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The ego of that Grizzlies team, uniquely young and specifically American, was in the room long before the team was.<\/p>\n<p>The Warriors, who were established champs, clearly viewed that level of ego as entirely unearned.<\/p>\n<p>Like that Grizzlies team, Hawthorn\u2019s play style behoves the ego.<\/p>\n<p>The Hawks have a gen-z effortlessness to them with the way they nonchalantly move the ball by foot, dropping the ball into the smallest of buckets as they transition the ball from defence to attack.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re exceptionally set up from stoppage and always seem to take easy options to get the ball outside where they\u2019re most comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>They make footy look easy.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not that they don\u2019t try, they do, sitting alone as the very best defensive team in football over the last five weeks (though that number is probably inflated by bad kicking by opponents), it\u2019s that they don\u2019t seem like they have to try.<\/p>\n<p>Natural excellence is intoxicating.<\/p>\n<p>Also like the Grizzlies team, they have a villain.<\/p>\n<p>Floyd Mayweather famously talked about donning the \u201cblack hat\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It was his way of saying he played a villain to sell tickets and PPV and he did it proudly. Dillon Brooks wore it for Memphis.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Ginnivan wears it for Hawthorn, at least in the eyes of Collingwood supporters.<\/p>\n<p>The footage of him walking back to his old cheer squad hitting them with the Steph Curry \u201cnight night\u201d after playing the very best game of his career with the highest personal stakes outside of a Grand Final was perfect.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jack Ginnivan says goodnight to the Magpies \ud83d\udc40<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AFLHawksPies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AFLHawksPies<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h2OUFlpWNY\">pic.twitter.com\/h2OUFlpWNY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; AFL (@AFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AFL\/status\/1814589500540264879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It was what would have happened if Dillon Brooks could walk the walk.<\/p>\n<p>It was also one of the most hostile acts from a player to a crowd, short of jumping into the stands like Ron Artest, that I can ever remember.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PISTON VS PACERS VS FANS BRAWL ESPN\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2dF1FmxF_FM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Definitely the most hostile act that I can remember from an Australian athlete.<\/p>\n<p>It was perfectly Jack. It was perfectly Hawthorn.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the Grizzlies team, Will Day probably isn\u2019t going to film himself with guns like he\u2019s an NRL playing in the same room as a teammate getting intimate with someone.<\/p>\n<p>Other than a wayward superstar, I can\u2019t get the similarities out of my head.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually the tide of public opinion will turn on Hawthorn, like it did on Memphis, like it does on everyone.<\/p>\n<p>If they don\u2019t win this year or next, they will be derided as having an unearned arrogance.<\/p>\n<p>They will be attacked and vilified, they will do something that someone will say has \u201ccrossed a line\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But for now they\u2019re still fun.<\/p>\n<p>After they beat Collingwood, the Hawks brigade of young stars posed for another selfie that was captured by the TV camera.<\/p>\n<p>You could hear them singing Kendrick Lamar\u2019s song \u201cnot like us\u201d as they broke the pack.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hawks sing Not Like Us \ud83d\udc40 #afl #hawthorn #footy #kendricklamar #notlikeus\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1AraQKXosNs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In this country, nobody is like them. Nobody that I can remember ever has been.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re like an American team of scrappy upstarts.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not a surprise that it was the AFL official account that posted them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The AFL is in a constant state of the meme of the guy holding hands with his girlfriend, while looking over his shoulder at another woman. Over his girlfriend\u2019s head should sit the text \u201cover a century of tradition and the most intoxicating spectator sport in the world\u201d while over the other woman\u2019s head it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":66333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8298,598,344],"tags":[29,8260,954,46],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-66325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-rules","category-guywholikessport","category-special-interest","category-sports","tag-afl","tag-guywholikessport","tag-hawthorn","tag-nba"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"25\/07\/2024","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66325"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=66325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}