Has the scandal woken Melbourne to the Storm?

[bula]

I dont know, Im up in Sydney. But i keep reading of all the support the Storm are getting from outside their normal fanbase. Alot from Melbournians.
Before, it was "Storm who?" Now we're the most popular brand in the country!

So has this scandal, unexpectedly awoken Melbourne to their Rugby League Team?
Ide love to hear more good news stories from you guys who live there.

[VIC]

Bula - you know the old adage, "BAD publicity is GOOD publicity"! Who knows the whole Waldron scandal may fire up Melbournians to fight the evil (ie. the NRL admin) and just may increase support for the club!

[JF_Storm_Swans]

Bula - you know the old adage, "BAD publicity is GOOD publicity"! Who knows the whole Waldron scandal may fire up Melbournians to fight the evil (ie. the NRL admin) and just may increase support for the club!

I was out at a bar tonight & nearly everyone said they felt upset by what had happened & would be more inclined to turn up to support them.

I'm hoping more rank & file people turn up to cheer the boys on.

JF

[Bourbon Rat]

It's always been "Us against THEM" from day one but the THEM kept morphing.
The difference now is that the Them came from the inside & were previously AFL people.So all those people who used to ask offhandedly on a Monday "How did Storm go ?" of "So n so had a good game for Storm" are hurting because something of theirs was stolen by one of their own 

It's made those people US 

[BIG JIM]

What i have found by other supporters of NRL Clubs replying on this forum is that as much of the dislike for Storm thay have found the treatment dished out hard,but most of all the no points to win this season.

[StormFront]

I made this comment in another thread but thought I would repost it here:

Today (Saturday) in my Storm gear I was stopped by so many people asking
questions, and being very supportive. Only one person made a snyde *
remark. But I chose to ignore that and go with the other 15 people
that were genuine, interested and supportive.

So thanks NRL - you have helped The Storm.. made a martyr of us.     

* snyde - Clearly inferior in both intellectual and physical endeavor.

[Joe_Storm_FB_2025]

Funny.

I keep hearing the servres us right comments.

[Storm Spirit]

out at the local shopping centre yesterday before the stadium launch and at Dan Murphys ringwood after the launch....i had 6 different people say GO STORM...we are right behind you...we're not members but we'll come to games to support you.


great stuff.... 

[absentee]

I've had people talking to me about the Storm over the past couple of days - and I never talk league with them.

[Surandy]

Lots of drivers around the vicinity of the Thunder Dome yesterday honking their horns in support of the Storm, and not all of them appeared to be Storm supporters.

I went out to grab takeaway last night for dinner as got home too late to cook and I still had my jersey on, got a few "go Storm" comments and the owner of the place shook my hand twice congratulating me on showing support for the Storm. At work and on FB I've had tons of comments all bar two were in support of the Storm, even a couple guys that I thought would give me a stir.

[Tigger]

Got in to work Friday and had the whole staff room come up to ask if I was ok. Students stopping me in the yard & halls doing the same thing. Recess & lunch had other teachers come to visit & chat about it all.

Attended a 21st party last night with folk we've known for years and others we met just last night, the theme was come as your childhood hero - son went as Robbie Ross!!     Everyone was supportive and there was only good natured ribbing, nothing nasty at all.

All good here!! 

[sallymay]

i wore my members badge to work (check out chick at coles) on sat night and had so many ppl say nice stuff and really being suppportive also too guys said they were colllingwood members and were coming to the game tonight and would buy a membership i met them after the game tonight and they are two very proud and drunk storm members so they were actully true to their word

[Bourbon Rat]

WOW !! Just got home from 'THE Game'

Thank You Team - Thank You Storm Fans - Thank You RL fans of what ever tribe.

You all helped send a clear message tonight.

[JF_Storm_Swans]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... -tlr6.html

Anti-Sydney conspiracy theories get a solid workout in a city that now knows a little about league
SEBASTIAN HASSETT
April 26, 2010


We're not going anywhere . . . Storm supporters make their feelings known at Etihad Stadium last night. A string turnout from their support base inspired Melbourne to a morale-boosting win.

We're not going anywhere . . . Storm supporters make their feelings known at Etihad Stadium last night. A string turnout from their support base inspired Melbourne to a morale-boosting win. Photo: Getty Images

ANTI-SYDNEY sentiment continued to swell in Melbourne last night as angry Storm supporters vented their fury at being the target of what they believe is a plot to undermine the NRL's most successful club of recent years.

Fans of the embattled club initially seemed divided when revelations emerged of the systematic rorting of the salary cap, but by the weekend Storm supporters were determined to show their loyalty in the club's darkest hour.
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At 3.30pm yesterday, 2½ hours before Melbourne's players took the field, the queue for tickets had grown from a trickle to a snake that stretched for more than 100 metres along the stadium's raised concourse. At the front of the queue was dreadlocked 27-year-old Fez Riches, who thought Saturday's training session at AAMI Park, which evolved into a call to arms for supporters, had helped rally the fan base.

''The fans are very united right now; they've committed to continuing on,'' he said.

''There's no question the penalty was harsh - that's the consensus here. It's ridiculous.

''There should be a penalty - there were rules broken - but I think they were too quick to decide the punishment.''

Many Melbourne sports fans were consumed by affairs at the MCG, where the traditional Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon attracted a crowd of grand final proportions, but the past, present and future of the Storm dominated local conversations all weekend.

Rugby league has never had so many people talking in Victoria.

There were wild variations in predictions of how many people would turn up to see the Storm play the Warriors at Etihad Stadium last night with figures ranging from 10,000 to 30,000. There was always going to be some protest votes, but if living in an AFL-dominated town has done nothing else to Storm supporters, it's made them develop the thickest of skins.

Indeed, most at the stadium were draped in team merchandise, or failing that, anything purple they could get their hands on.

Greg Long - who made the 200-kilometre drive from Shepparton with his partner in time for Saturday's training session - was angry about the penalty and wondered if the Sydney clubs would ever be treated so harshly. ''I can't believe they still won't let us play for points even if the players took a cut and went under the salary cap. As soon as they're under, that's only fair,'' he said.

''The Storm have been caught out because somebody dobbed them in, but what about what happens in Sydney? You just start wondering. They're investigating us but will they investigate those clubs up there? I doubt it.''

Retiree Mick Harris said there had never been such an important match for Storm fans to show their support, adding that the the NRL was an ''overly Sydney-centric organisation''.

''When the Bulldogs did it they got a slap on the wrists - they lost their points for the season and that was it,'' he said.

''We've copped it because we're a Melbourne side and maybe it would have happened to Brisbane. But no, never a Sydney side. I can see the club being killed off now. If that happens, we'll go and follow the Rebels.''

James Lever, a Warriors fan, was more supportive of the NRL's stance.

''It's probably the only fair thing they could have been done,'' he said. ''Who knows who else is doing it? Hopefully it might put a stop it.''

Bravely bearing a NSW State of Origin cap and a Sydney Roosters jacket, Troy Sinclair, who left Sydney 18 months ago to live in Melbourne, said he couldn't fathom why the locals were so angry at his native city.

''I can't understand it - Sydney didn't rort the books. Melbourne Storm cost themselves and they're the ones hurting their own supporters, not us,'' he said.

Even though I'm an expat Sydneysider, I'm loving this 'us vs them' thing happening at the moment. Never before have I felt that Storm were Melbourne's team like they are now. It is a fight for our club's survival & we need as many friends in our camp as we can get.

The thing is, anyone who went last night will most definitely be back. For some reason winning last night meant as much as winning the Grand Final last year. 

JF

[KimmorleyKiller]

I live in regional NSW and wore my storm jersey to the pub on ANZAC day. I was prepared for a beating, but 90% of people were good about it. Like Surandy said, even people I was sure would take a cheap shot were pretty supportive.