It is abundantly clear that the AFL do not want Tasmania to have its own team. They never have and never will.
It is evidenced by the men in designer suits which in all probability cost more than most us earn in a month, swanning around with the Premier, and all of them out to make fools of us commoners.
To date they have been remarkably successful by demanding conditions so outrageous and one-sided which have led to divisiveness and infighting amongst ourselves all about a stadium, not a team.
The stadium, according to their dictates, has to be covered, on Macquarie Point, have heating under the plastic grass oval, individually-padded and -warmed seats which can be self-regulated using an app ,and mini computer screens at each of the 23,000 seats for close up replays, betting and food and beverage orders.
We all want a team, even someone like me who finds the game about as baffling as quantum physics but am quite happy for others to enjoy their passion. The issue here is not only our secretive Premier who swoons like a teenage groupie in the presence of a rock star and succumbs to their every whim each time he is in the presence of the Suits. The real menace in this debacle is the villainous blackmail being inflicted upon the hapless and naïve inhabitants of this island.
The only winners in the saga will be the AFL: if successful they get all they asked for and will be heroes amongst the fans. If rejected they keep their precious team licence and hand it to a far more lucrative location, an undoubtedly without demanding a billion-dollar stadium.
– Dr Ian Broinowski, Battery Point
