Following Saturday's game, it has finally struck me exactly why I hate WC so much.
It's not the supporters, although that would be a valid reason.
It's not the biased local media, although that would also be a valid reason.
No, the main reason I hate West Coast so much is because every time they have a winning season, every time they get to a grand final, every time they win a flag just reminds me what it is we are missing as a club. What they do well is that 'sustained success' we were sold on that never materialised. They are a well run club. Their long-term success is no accident.
I bet a WC fan at the beginning of the season that we would win more games than them. And yet here we are, sitting in the smouldering ashes of another mediocre season and the on-paper-surely-not-that-great WC enter a grand final week as challengers. They are not 'over-achieving', the club is doing something right.
I had hoped that we would become the Manchester City to Man United – to eventually come out of our neighbouring rival's shadow and eclipse their success. After the 2013 season I could taste it! Instead, we are as Everton is to Liverpool - left to draw meagre comfort from derby wins while watching their trophy cabinet fill up.
I supported the jumper change, the move to Cockburn, the Roly coup, all because I thought it marked a move towards greater professionalism and away from our underdog culture. Because underdog is really just another name for loser, and we seemed to be settling for it. But this culture of accepting defeat doesn't seem to have left the club.
WC is annoying because it is a club of entitled brats who expect success. But look where it's got them.
I don't regret choosing Freo over that mob. But I do feel envious right now.
