Farewell to Princes Park
Carlton unbelievably played its last game at Princes Park today and the focus has rightly been on that club and its memories.
I’d like to contribute something from the perspective of a boy who barracked for Carlton, and later turned Fitzroy supporter while they played at the venue.
My father used to barrack for Carlton. He introduced me to the club and the ground before switching his allegiance to South Melbourne/Sydney, which was the team his sister Margaret supported with great passion.
Dad first took me to the football in 1975. We saw Fitzroy play St Kilda at VFL Park, Waverley, and my devotion to Fitzroy was born. The Roys were my second team though, until the early 80s, as I continued to follow the Blues.
I can’t rightly remember my first game at Princes Park, as the dates blur into each other. I recall seeing the Blues play Collingwood before a packed house in the opening round one year, and winning. I also remember seeing Carlton play Footscray there before a crowd of less than 10,000.
I saw Carlton beat South Melbourne there, but I can’t recall the year.
My strongest memories of Princes Park start with the year I lived in Melbourne (1991) and devoted myself to Fitzroy. The ground was Fitzroy’s home, and in my view it the was the most appropriate home ground for the Lions.
I remember Melbourne thumping us in the opening round, which set the scene for a miserable year under coach Robert Shaw.
We had an excellent team that year, but it never clicked as it should have. Leading players included Paul Roos, Gary Pert, Brett Stephens, Richard Osborne, Alastair Lynch, Matthew Armstrong, Paul Broderick and Matt Rendell, if memory serves me correct.
My favorite watching place was at the Heatley Stand end near the cheer squad, but not amongst them.
We broke through to beat Geelong in June and I remember a fantastic last-gasp win against North Melbourne. Fitzroy beat premier West Coast in the final round of that year at Princes Park, but I was in Zimbabwe on my world tour.
In later years I saw Fitzroy defeat Collingwood there and lose to Brisbane in the final "home" game at the venue.
Princes Park belongs to the memory of Fitzroy, not as much as Carlton, but in a sad way that is less easily defined. I enjoyed some fabulous moments there and they will never be forgotten.
Why do I say football’s closure there is "unbelievable"? I really think Melbourne needs a small boutique stadium for the games against interstate clubs, especially those involving the Kangaroos, Bulldogs and Melbourne.
Playing such games at Docklands and the MCG before small crowds is silly and wasteful. Princes Park has a particular atmosphere, where a crowd of 8000 can sound 10 times louder.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
