Both AFL teams , Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions have changed their mascot .

The Crows have adopted a new style crow . It is a stylised version of a crow and doesn’t resemble the actual bird as much as the old mascot .

Brisbane Lions famously have departed from the old Fitzroy FC Lion mascot. They now use a Lion facsimile with a face printed on the Lion that looks out .

It bears little resemblance to the original Fitzroy Football Club Lion . This has angered and saddened many fans of the now defunct AFL Fitzroy FC.

Fans are generally not consulted about the mascot change .

Most accept the change and acknowledge that it is modern progress and still follow their beloved club.

Lots of fans like the old mascots .

It reminds them of clubs with a grand playing past and helps them relive memories of another era .

A slick , modern re-working of an old mascot cannot always claim the hearts and minds of fans .

Football Jumpers offer companies who pay for sponsorship a high profile mobile billboard facility .

All players wear the jumper , jersey , guernsey with the sponsors name / logo or mascot printed across them.

Companies pay highly to have their company name emblazoned on the clubs gear .

The companies consider it worth the expenditure as they receive high visibility for their product.

Sponsors come and go .

A jumper can be dated by who the sponsor was at the time .

Often fans or collectors will seek out a specific jumper with a unique sponsor because it triggers a memory or reminds them of a favourite place in time.

In the modern game , companies pay huge remunerations to the clubs to own a piece of the jumper , jersey , guernsey .In return they achieve high visibility and maximum media exposure of their brand .

SYDNEY’s new AFL team, GWS, proposes to base itself at a redeveloped Sydney Showground with plans to double the venue’s spectator capacity to 25,000.
It is believed that Blacktown Olympic Park would not be big enough to house the new teams fans.
The stadium built in western Sydney in partnership between the NSW AFL and Cricket NSW, attracted a capacity crowd of 10,000 fans at the Sydney Swans and Carlton game last month.

Hoping to draw crowds of at least 25,000 to be successful it needs a bigger facility than Blacktown and would probably play even bigger sell out matches at ANZ Stadium.
Decisions must also be made on the teams name and strip .
Both difficult decisions as choices are limited because most popular animals and colours are already in use by other AFL clubs.
It will be interesting to see what the teams name , colour and mascot of their jumper , jersey , guernsey will be.
The AFL has appealed to the public to offer suggestions for team names.

The jumper , jersey , guernsey will also need to be distinctive and original in design so as to avoid colour and mascot clash with other long established afl clubs .

The New Lion mascot was unveiled at Manuka Oval, Canberra today as the Brisbane Lions and the Western Bulldogs played their first round game for the NAB Cup.
It appears to have the same body as the old Lion mascot but the head is a full frontal depiction outlined in brown / maroon . Star recruit Fevola and the rest of the team were resplendent in their new kit .The Lions despite the new mascot on their jumpers were beaten by the tenacious Western Bulldogs who played in their traditional colours of red , white and blue with old style Bulldogs mascot .
Perhaps it is seen as poetic justice by all the old die hard Fitzroy fans particularly those who remember the Fitzroy Lions glory days that a new Lion a successful team does not make.

[caption id="attachment_236" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Lions colours"][/caption][caption id="attachment_239" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Footscray Bulldogs"][/caption]

An end to summer is in sight with the nights and early mornings drawing in with less daylight and a drop in temperatures. With the changing season a football fans thoughts turn to their teams first game of the year .Last years jumper , jersey , guernsey is pulled out of the wardrobe and inspected . The questions has it got another season in it? , are the sponsors too dated ?but mainly will it still fit ?are asked .The sponsors may come and go, as will some of the mascots ( who would have thought the Lions would run out with a new Lion ).The team colours may appear a bit darker or lighter each passing year but one thing remains the same and will never go out of fashion ,at round one every ardent footy fan will be out in their teams colours wearing their jumper , jersey or guernsey.Sometimes these jumpers have often had a short respite over the warmer months but the humble jumper has definitely become more of a fashion trend and wearable iconic item of clothing over time .Of one thing you are assured , the jumper ,whether temporarily rested , newly purchased or freshly washed will be proudly on display at the first bounce of the Sherrin .

[caption id="attachment_218" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="sponsors come and go"][/caption]