Welcome friends to the Christian O'Connell Show podcast.

It is March the first today, which means footie's back this month, which is a reason to be cheerful.

And this is the moment, right, where Fitty fans, even though maybe you didn't have the season you felt that you deserved last year and your team gave you, you've still got hope, right? It's all ahead of you. It's potential. The wins, the close losses, like really close

losses. Maybe you're going to make, maybe this year, it will be your year.

And for downtrodden, teams like Essen has been a lot, not a lot of success in the last 10 years,

we actually live for this time of the season because hope

is all we really have. Yes, that's right. There's something new can come along. So the lifeblood

on footy in this country, right, is really the young fans because the young fans, the one at an early

age when you really are, they're like your first loves really, your team, your bands. They really are.

It's the highlight of your weekend, hanging out with relatives who've probably been fans of that club as well going to games and if

you've been lucky you know all gathering around during the finals and a grand final for your team

families have got stories about where you've been over the years and generations of where

you've been during grand final games you remember the great ones in the moments it starts at a young age it's when we become fans you've got that grand final games. You remember the great ones in the moments. It starts at a young

age. It's when we become fans. You've got that young, wide-eyed super passion, right? You dream that the

next game, the next game will be the one for your team. They're do good. So we've got something for you

guys, because you actually are the next generation of fans. You'll be the ones like when your son Gordon is a couple of years older, I bet you're looking forward to taking them to a game. I can't wait. And actually,

isn't it perfectly poised to have success in about five years' time when he can truly appreciate it?

It's a long-range five-year plan. So what we want to do then, we're calling this mini

motivators. And what we want, the young fans, whether you're a teenager, 15 or 16, or 8 or 9, you can't wait for the start of this season. We want you actually to record your rev-up speech, a pump-up speech. If you were this weekend or next week before round one starts, if you were to walk into room and all your favourite players are there,

they're wearing your jumper shirt, what actually would you say to them, right? You'd let them

know maybe what a fan you were and how you hope this year you hope for more that they can rise to

bigger heights and forget about last year. That's the past. It's all about what's to come. This

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