Adrian Barich: Why I’m standing by my most controversial take yet, sorry Eagles supporters

You know you’ve struck a nerve when your own family starts wearing the fallout.

The other day I wandered into my lounge room only to be met by my son asking: “Dad, what have you been saying?”

It turns out he’d copped some irate comments on social media. Not because of anything he’d done, but simply because he’s my son. Such is the passion of footy.

Last week I committed what some people considered the ultimate act of sporting treason. I suggested that if West Coast aren’t playing finals, perhaps, just perhaps, Eagles supporters could get behind Fremantle. The other team from Western Australia.

Well, you would’ve thought I’d asked people to gnaw their own arm off. The response was extraordinary. More than 2000 comments flooded in. And judging by some of them, you’d think I’d personally requested they swap blue and gold for purple scarves. Mind you, I probably should have seen it coming.

Many Eagles supporters were quick to remind me of something Dockers champion Nat Fyfe said before the 2018 grand final, when he admitted Fremantle supporters would be barracking for Collingwood rather than West Coast.

Let’s just say Fyfe’s comments were quoted back to me . . . ad nauseam. It seems footy supporters have long memories and don’t mind bearing a grudge for eight years or so.

But here’s where I still think we’re missing something. And why I’m doubling down on what I said last week (don’t tell Tom), and this comes from an ex-Eagle who once stood on the bar at the Left Bank in East Fremantle and sang the Dockers team song after losing a derby bet.

Let’s be honest, WA is a remarkably small place. We joke about Perth having “one degree of separation”, and it’s true. Almost everyone knows someone who knows someone.

That’s why it’s impossible to separate our AFL clubs from our communities. Take a look at Fremantle’s list.

Jye Amiss grew up in Busselton. Luke Jackson came through East Fremantle and Willetton. Andrew Brayshaw belongs to one of WA football’s best-known families. Shai Bolton is a Mandurah product with roots stretching through Forrestdale and Katanning. Jordan Clark’s dad played for Perth. Heath Chapman came through West Perth. Justin Longmuir is country WA through and through. The O’Driscoll family is synonymous with Northam.

These aren’t just Freo footballers. They’re West Aussies. They’re kids who grew up on our local ovals, played for our junior clubs and attended our schools before living out their football dream.

And before Eagles supporters tell me I’m wearing purple-tinted glasses, let’s remember a little history. The great West Coast teams that won premierships in 1992 and 1994 were packed with footballers from Fremantle.

John Worsfold. Glen Jakovich. Peter Sumich. Peter Matera. Some of the greatest Eagles of all time proudly call Freo home.

That’s why I’ve always believed there’s room to admire success, even if it belongs to your arch rival.

Of course, football is tribal. It’s my tribe against yours. That’s what makes sport so compelling. But every now and then, football becomes bigger than tribalism. And that’s why I wrote what I did about Fremantle.

Not because I’m secretly jumping on the Dockers bandwagon. Trust me, plenty of Eagles supporters have already accused me of that. I wrote it because something genuinely feels different about this Fremantle team.

For years, “Flagmantle” was football’s running joke. Mention it too early and supporters would nervously glance over their shoulder, convinced the football gods were listening.

And if we’re being fair, this Eagles-Dockers rivalry has never exactly been one-way traffic. For decades there’s been plenty of abuse slung from both sides. Some of it light-hearted, some of it less so, but most of it born out of genuine passion for our clubs.

Yes, West Coast supporters have had every right to celebrate four premierships in the club’s first 40 years. That’s an extraordinary achievement and one any club would envy.

And yes, plenty of Eagles fans have dined out on that success, and Dockers supporters had copped the rough end of the pineapple because their trophy cabinet was still bare after 30 seasons.

But perhaps it’s time to retire a few old favourites. The gag about Fremantle’s trophy room being broken into and only the purple carpet being stolen has had a magnificent innings.

So has the stereotype that every Eagles supporter is a chardonnay-sipping big-noter who thinks football began in 1987.

Neither really reflects where these clubs are today.

So can Freo win the premiership and beat the “Eastern Staters”? Looks like it, but finals football has humbled plenty of favourites before.

Injuries happen. Form fluctuates. September is an entirely different beast. But the Dockers have earned the right to be taken seriously.

Maybe that’s what upset so many people last week. Perhaps it wasn’t the suggestion that Eagles supporters should get behind Fremantle if West Coast aren’t playing.

Maybe it was the idea that, for the first time in a long time, “Flagmantle” no longer sounds like a silly punchline.

It sounds like a genuine possibility. You don’t have to cheer for them. But I wouldn’t mind seeing another AFL premiership cup make the trip across the Nullarbor. I was on the plane the first time the hallowed cup made that trip and there were water cannons spraying the plane . . . Woosha was in the cockpit with the cup, and when we landed, thousands lined the roads all the way back to Subiaco Oval. What’s not to love about that?! West Aussies partying as one.

Just don’t tell my son I said that.