I am cautiously optimistic having had heartbreak like all of us. Could easily end in tears, after round 1 last year I was thinking a shit season was ahead so need to give them a game or two to settle in before writing them off. If we get 50 put on us in round 1, we’re fucked as you you can’t win the comp conceding 50 so the saying goes
It's funny but I am really upbeat about this year.
As I get older I change the way I enjoy the Warriors. In my youth it was always attached to the dream, you know the one....I won't say it out loud for fear of....
I recon a lot of men attach the success or failure of their sports team to their own identity. I say men because I am a bloke and I dunno how Women process being a fan.
But the point I am making is that defining yourself by the success or failure of the Warriors is really bad for your health. I'm one of the worst people at doing that. The ole ego takes a hammering if you blur the lines between the Warriors being losers and yourself by virtue of calling yourself a Warrior lifer - you are going to see yourself the same way.....that cliche about insanity comes to mind, you know repeating the same mistakes....yadda yadda....and then when things get really bad you are living the serenity prayer like an addict....accept the things I can't change blah blah blah
I recon that is why a lot of us fans get lost. We get trapped in this win loss rewards system, and miss the opportunity to understand this thing that we claim to be experts in...I mean really understand it.
Let me stop waffling and use my own example. So some years ago I started focusing more on having empathy for the players and coaches. I did a deep dive into where these 'çrap coaches, and crap players' were coming from - their origins, figuratively and literally. Long story short, we have fundamentally broken system in the sport here in NZ. And the NRL salary cap is broken, especially when it comes to a system that is outside of Australia, and so where these people come from is a poor beginning.
We have Cappy now and the top down bosses. Every year the excitement builds as Cappy's system keeps winning on and off the field. Last year it really took off with the arrival of Leka, Laban, Dimitric, EIT, and to a lesser extent Tanner. I mean WOW our pathways exploded, and too a man they were ready, they were finished products as undergraduates of the system.
Then you factor in Webster and the changes he made to Metcalf, and the way he uses a game plan that suits the limited talent we have in our backs.
So yeah, I am excited this year, I don't give a shit about the ladder right now, I won't get sucked into this 'we better win this week ' mentality (that is an example of ego - my team good/that team weak, if we lose my team sucks).
Excuse the lecture. I read your excitement and felt inspired.
