The Brisbane Lions incensed their Fitzroy support base late last month when they revealed a new club logo which didn’t feature the traditional Fitzroy lion. And Brisbane seriously risk abandoning all links with the Roy boys with plans for a new guernsey.This story has been big news up in Queensland but if you’re from another part of the country, you may have missed it.
To catch you up on the details, Brisbane officially unveiled the new logo a fortnight ago, with the brains behind the new look, Chief Executive Officer Michael Bowers, claiming it expressed the club’s “fearless and determined spirit” and represented their new era under Michael Voss.
Nevertheless, the majority of the initial responses from Brisbane fans were less than positive, with some locals amusingly labeling it ‘The Paddlepop Lion’.
But then, more seriously, emerged the angry response from Brisbane’s Fitzroy faithful, who saw the change as an abandonment of their history, tradition and heritage.
Fitzroy Football Club secretary Bill Atherton said, “There’s a lot of senior Fitzroy Brisbane Lions fans that have said to me, ‘look, if they take the Fitzroy lion away what’s there for us?’”
Atherton added, “There’s only two things that now continue on forever and one is the six games to be played in Melbourne and the other one is the logo of the merged club will be the Fitzroy Lion logo in perpetuity.”
Indeed, losing their identity is the heart of the issue, with Bowers and the Lions management appearing to view the tradition of Fitzroy as dispensable in favour of a new ‘marketable’ look.
It’s a strange about-face for a club who memorably celebrated their 2001, 2002 and 2003 premierships with their Fitzroy fans at the old Brunswick Street Oval before heading north to party with the folk of Brisbane.
But Brisbane’s sudden urge for change may have something to do with the pending arrival of their neighbours Gold Coast, with the club’s marketers in full swing.
Atherton also commented that the abandoning of the Fitzroy lion could see many of the club’s Melbourne-based fans not renew their memberships and cease following Brisbane. And he even speculated his group could push for legal action on the matter.
This is due to the fact when Brisbane and Fitzroy merged back in 1996, part of the arrangement was that ‘the logo of the merged club will be the Fitzroy lion logo in perpetuity’, so the change may not be legally legitimate.
Nevertheless, the AFL has given the Brisbane Lions’ new logo the thumbs up, so it looks a done deal.
But while the lion seems lost on the logo, there still remains the gold lion silhouette emblazoned on Brisbane’s guernseys. At least for now, that is.
Speculation has been rife that Brisbane are set for a change to the usual strip and I contacted Lions media man Stephen Buckley on the issue.
Buckley said; “The decision is tied up in highly confidential commercial operations discussions, negotiations with new major sponsors coming on board, Lions members and supporters feedback currently being wholly welcomed by the Club (all being read and tabulated by the Club to present to the Board) plus a potential legal challenge by the Fitzroy Football Club in Melbourne.
“So I have no answer or update to give as yet but the Club will announce their final decision after examining all these factors in due course – hopefully within the next fortnight.”
Indeed, Buckley mentions a lot of factors, commercial, fiscal and emotional, which will come under consideration in this decision.
But surely there’s a lot to lose by alienating Brisbane’s Fitzroy fans who deserve some respect (considering the arrangement in 1996).
Sure, Brisbane want to secure more fans in their local region with Gold Coast joining the AFL soon but being insensitive enough to alienate the Roy boys makes no sense, especially when you consider realistically how big an impact the superficial change of a new jumper would have on potential new supporters.
Indeed, removing the lion icon altogether would do irreconcilable damage to the Brisbane-Fitzroy relationship which would be a great shame.
Perhaps they’ll sell some more merchandise in the local market, but they’ll lose a big group of supporters down in Melbourne. But for Bowers, who has had trouble balancing the books in the past, before the former is a priority.
This week, a Brisbane fan pointed out to me, ‘why change something which ain’t broke?’ Indeed, the Lions home uniform is one of the most popular and impressive guernseys in the AFL.
And on that note, over 2,500 Lions supporters are pleading with the club not to change their jumper, with an internet petition set up to at SaveOurJumper.com.au and if you’re in agreement, then you should sign up.
Because when the Lions publicly announce that decision in roughly a fortnight’s time, as symbolic as it is, it could be the last straw for some Fitzroy fans and what a shame that would be.
Click here to read the full story on The Roar
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