To the Administration,

I have been a Lions member for the last 13 years. Even during the numerous years I lived overseas and was unable to personally attend games, I continued to pay for a full Premium level membership in order to financially support the club I love. Unfortunately the actions of the administration (both past and present) over the last few years have left me disillusioned and angry with what I perceive to be a lack of respect and care for the Club’s history and its many loyal supporters.

When the decision was made, without proper (any?) consultation with the members, to radically alter the Brisbane Lion’s jumper and logo I, like many long time supporters, was furious. Not only was this decision a direct violation of the merger agreement between Brisbane and Fitzroy, but the new logo, and in particular the awkward way in which it was ‘grafted’ on top of the existing lion on our jersey, just looked awful. To replace the once proud symbol of OUR club with a cartoonish looking piece of shit was unforgivable. I refused to buy any new merchandise featuring the so-called ‘Paddle-Pop lion’ and even went as far as to buy up various ‘original lion’ jerseys in a range of sizes for my (at the time non-existent) children to wear as they grew up. 

And although the current administration have done a great job on many issues since taking over from those responsible for this (and numerous other fuck-ups), they continue to ignore calls from supporters (of both the original Brisbane Bears and the original Fitzroy Lions) to return OUR lion to its rightful place on the front of OUR jersey. Enough is enough.

The pride that I, and many other supporters, felt last week when watching the team perform so admirably against Essendon in our ‘Premiership hat-trick’ jersey was not only due to fondly remembering those three magnificent days in September, but in simply seeing our rightful club symbol once again proudly, fiercely and prominently on display. We are a unique club, with a unique shared history, that for many years worked hard to unite as one and form a culture and identity to be proud of. The jersey is the most significant physical embodiment of that identity and it was ripped away from those that loved it.

I implore you take this opportunity to finally act on this issue, to listen to your members, and to fix this fucking thing. Now.

Yours Sincerely,

Ben S

Member No: #######