“Dear Malcolm,

You may have recently become aware of a group called ‘The Lions Roar’ which is pushing for a return to the classic, premiership-winning lion logo on the guernsey. I am writing as a premium adult gold member to urge you to listen to their message and change the guernsey back from the paddlepop design to the lion which we all got behind a decade ago.

My reasons for wanting this change have been set out in detail in a few previous emails (which I sincerely hope have already been read and taken on board) but can be distilled to a few points.

Firstly, the paddlepop guernsey is (to me) highly unaesthetic and from my own investigations, highly unpopular. In terms of design, its cartoonish nature flies in the face of the very sensible trend of many clubs to move towards a classic strip. I find it a little embarrassing that Freo and Port now look so much more serious than us on-field.

Secondly, the paddlepop represents the darkest time in our club’s merged history. A time characterized by excess, poor decision making, alienation from our Fitzroy history and a lack of consultation. While I am confident many wrongs have been righted by this administration, the guernsey remains a divisive force and a very sore point for many members, including all members personally known to me.

Finally, the traditional lion is a good design loved by many and invested with feelings of pride. Have you noticed how well the players perform in a guernsey with links to our tradition? 

I have two older guernseys and a myriad of other supporter gear, but refuse to purchase paddlepop products. My son is now two and I would dearly love him to own his own guernsey. I have no issue with the front-on lion being used as a logo or a marketing tool but I would dearly love to have our proper strip back and would follow up immediately with purchases for my son and daughter. 

Conversely, having already given the club plenty of time for progress on this issue, I have advised those at The Lions Roar that my proxy vote is available for them to use should we have no indication of a guernsey change by the time of the AGM.

Thank you for reading and keeping an open mind. It is never easy to concede that one may be out of touch and I appreciate that a good deal of courage is required when it is time to back down, but for what it is worth, I consider this to be an important issue.

I look forward to the time when I can feel that we are unified on the proper path back to success as a club and will be at every home game in full voice in the meantime.

Yours sincerely,

Nick S

Member no. #######