All jokes aside… the Hird name and legacy will live on long after anyone remembers ANY of the AFL executive of the time. And so it should. The lying cheating bastards may have “won” the initial battles and inflicted so many casualties whilst doing so… but this great club and one of its greatests champions will win the war.
In fifty years time my kids will still be cheering for the red and black and watching an EFC captain hoist the premiership cup for the 25th time (or maybe more) and I may even still be posting on Blitz about the newest gun recruit that has “hands like Hird”… I doubt the same can be said about Fatprick or any of his ‘friends’. Such is the difference between men of minutes and true legends.
Its time for wounds to heal but my greatest comfort over the last 4 months has been knowing that we, as a club and supporter base, survived. We endured and we never ever gave up. Welcome back Jim and may this year bring you joy to watch the success you so desperately craved for our footy club.
Had a really difficult day yesterday with a family adversity. To hop on here last night after an exhausting day and see Hirdy’s article, really lifted my spirits.
Glad to hear he is in a healthier space. I’m sure he has some ways to go, but was a nice surprise to see he feels up to sharing his story.
10 years ago I was fortunate to be in a position to meet him. Was trying to be inconspicuous as possible whilst the team were doing their thing, and Hirdy came over to introduce himself (how humble is that?!), shake my hand and ask my name. He has a reputation for being aloof, but from my brief interaction with him his warmth was genuine, and he made you feel like you were the most important person in the room. He would have done this 1000’s of times and it is a great reflection of the man, and throughout this whole ordeal there are many who should take a long hard look at themselves and remember that there is a human being at the end of the relentless vitriol.
After enduring all he has been put through, he deserves the opportunity to be a regular guy. I’m proud to be a lifer just like Hirdy.
Hirdy seems to me to be so unique in that he is a club legend who has never forgot what it is to be a humble EFC fan, one that never forgets his heroes and that love of the club transcends so many other things that come and go.
This seems to me to be a part of his strength, that he knows we are in a sense a part of his family and he a part of ours.
He must know there are a lot of us who have no respect for the click bait journos who know less about EFC players than any genuine fan, so he would know that we would even less believe the made up rubbish that was thrown in his direction in an attempt to discredit him while hiding the guilt of others.
This article seems to me to be proof that the lies and dishonesty, while upsetting and even life threatening for a time, don’t endure in a meaningful way. In the end, those that love you and those that are interested in the truth, know the truth. Love, truth and family, when laid on a firm foundation, endure.
We are in this for life and so is James and his family.
Essendon Chairman Lindsay Tanner has expressed the support of the Club to James Hird today.
“On behalf of everyone in the Essendon family, I’d like to again extend our best wishes to James and his family,” Tanner said
“It has obviously been a very challenging period for James personally but we are all pleased he is recovering well with the support he needs around him and we hope to see him back at the Club in the near future.”
Hird has published the first in a series of articles he’ll write for the Herald Sun.
He says he’s looking forward to seeing the smiles on the faces of the Club’s supporters throughout 2017.
The Bombers open their season next Saturday in a blockbuster clash with rival Hawthorn.
“This season, Essendon, led by John Worsfold and Dyson Heppell, will bring its supporters a new start and incredible joy,” Hird wrote in the Herald Sun.
"We all hope for a premiership, but just to see the red and black play with its best players and unencumbered will be something I, for one, am looking forward to.
"The Essendon theme for this year is about their comeback story. I can’t wait to watch the comeback for many reasons. But mostly to see the smile on the Essendon supporters’ faces.
“For them I hope 2017 is a great year on the field. Bring on 2017 and the year of the comeback.”
LOL, C10 cited Kennett as the psychiatric source (Amber Harrison would have a laugh at that) and Gil as being there to help! - it might help to say how ashamed he is for stitching Hird up.
