Joffa: Sick of the Suits

Herald Sun

Collingwood v Melbourne Monday June 8, 3:20pm MCG 7mate / Fox Footy 3:00pm Weather: Min 11 Max 17 Chance of rain 80%: 1-5mm Wind: NW 33kph Betting: Collingwood $1.25 Melbourne $4.00

CORPORATE types in suits are ruining the AFL’s biggest club and killing the match-day experience for fans, according to footy’s best-known supporter.
Collingwood tragic Jeff “Joffa” Corfe says modern AFL matches are poorer for “the silencing of the terraces by those who wear suits, sitting behind glass windows to watch the game’’.
Corfe has revealed his fears corporatisation is ruining his beloved club and that the game which rescued him from the streets has lost its way.
In a new tell-all book Corfe also claims the Pies beating Carlton is “better than sex”, recalls opposition fans egging his house and pelting him with flavoured milk, and says he has no time for bogans.
The autobiography — Joffa: Isn’t That Life? — chronicles Corfe’s battle with low self­esteem, job insecurity, homelessness, charity work and, of course, his love for the Collingwood Football Club.
Corfe says there are “more factions in the Collingwood Cheer Squad ... than the Australian Labor Party’’.
But it’s the club’s “wary” stance towards the passion of ordinary fans that troubles him most.
“Yes, we understand that corporation and sponsorships are a very important part of today’s financial game but at what expense?” he says.
“These must be worrying times for my club. I have ­noticed that over the last two seasons, maybe, we are not as passionate as what we should be ... If the club has not noticed it, if it does not address this issue, we may lose something forever.
“We may lose our soul.”

Corfe reckons opposing fans are jealous of Collingwood, claims he has never owned a house, new car or furniture and details a troubled childhood made easier by his heroes at Victoria Park.
He believes “nothing really works at Etihad Stadium”, talks candidly of his hatred for Port Adelaide and says racist supporters should be banned from AFL matches for life.
Corfe reveals Eddie McGuire gave him the trademark gold jacket he dons after Collingwood wins and says he has worn it to funerals, hospitals, hens nights and prisons to bring people joy.
He believes the Pies president will one day have a statue built in his honour alongside Jock McHale outside the club’s headquarters.
But he wants passion back in the stands more than anything. “The stands have become half empty, the noise has dwindled to the occasional clap,’’ Corfe says.