Sad News this morning of the passing of Big Jimmy Stynes, not only a legend of the Melbourne Footy Club, but also in the way he conducted himself with dignity throughout his long battle with Cancer, an inspiration.
I made some artwork titled "big jim's jumper" some years ago and donated to the MFC for the debt demolition to help raise funds, Jimmy wanted to keep the
piece as part of memorabilia of the club, got an invite to the luncheon and met the great bloke and chatted for a while, me a ratbag surfer meeting the legend, brings a smile to my face
made from the demolished seats of the MCG and a red bit of plywood flotsam washed up on the beach, he had a good laugh when told the sources
Unbelievable jesus that's bad news , a bit of me thought he might just kick the bastard he was so brave .... footy has lost a true champion and a champion of the very game itself ... sincere regards to all his family on their sad sad loss.
the comments of jason akermanis are symptoms of a bloke who suffers "attention deficit syndrome" what a complete effyn tool
Look beyond what Akka said.
Did Fred Hollows get a State Funeral? 
I admired big Jim as much as the next man, and respect his part in the sporting and social aspect of his life,but really... this outpourings is being whipped into a frenzy, and is running out of control by a self cantered media.
Jim has completed some great work, on and off the field in Melbourne, but let's keep our feet on the ground here.
Jimmy helped start a program called Reach, that helps kids of various ages in time of hardship 'get back on the rails", I heard that there has been over 500,000 contacts with such "problem' kids made in that time, so I guess his involvement in the Victorian community has been greater than other parts of Australia, he was also "Victorian of the year" twice, received and "OAM" order of Australia by the Queen, in short your right, why would footballers/ entertainers get state funerals? well they shouldn't, but blokes who have genuine commitment to the community in the way Jim had, don't come around to often and should get a wider community acknowledgment, A State Funeral? Well that was offered by the Government and accepted by the family
With regard to what Jason Akermanis said, I can can sort of "half" understand what he was on about... He said this;
"When I knew him he was competitive and nasty and brutal. He wanted to win and would do anything to do it. That's the quality I admired the most about him."
He said some other things, which helped the media have a "blow up" about it !!
But I can understand his basic statement, about a hard nosed competitor who played for the other team !! So from Jason's perspective, I can actually half understand that particular comment... But there were other comments which were slightly out of line!
Reds if you like... But I think I "half" clarified it!
Personally speaking (typing) I wouldn't mind seeing some dignity/respect being shown to the Stynes Family at this point of time to be honest from everywhere not just the media vultures....they've just lost their shining light.
All this rubbish floating around isn't helping them to naturally grieve as they are entitled to do.
Akermanis? .... pffffft , grain of salt!
If Big Jimmy gets a state funeral granted good luck to him I say , we can't control that - the Govt does.
Let the bloke lie in Peace until he's buried imho
yes Simondo, the media has indeed been "engulfed" by a wave of outpouring, and yes I think the line of celebrity getting state funerals well I am uneasy about it also, "back in my day" celebrities were celebrities [ whatever that means} now just because your ridiculously overweight and by chance lose weight on a reality TV show your a celebrity, the line in the sand is somewhat blurred as to who gets what, but I must say that comments about a blokes integrity 2 days after his death could be seen as a bit rich, as Jason should know play the game and not the man
I just read the akamanis statement and subsequent apology .
Ocka you are right, aka is a complete tossa .
In my opinion the apology was almost as bad as the original statement .... Just trying to cover his arse and big note him self .
Ock, I think Jimmy deserves his state funeral. He had a heart of gold, a Brownlow, helped out at community level, dug in deep with Melbourne Footy Club, merged in perfectly with Victoria/Australia as a 1st generation immigrant, had incredible drive and courage, lead the way... natural leadership qualities... Misfortune of having an aggressive cancer at a young age, did everything to ward it off... State Funeral was written all over that !! Top effort.
So what what what ? Good on him for getting a high honour mate. I can't answer your question as to whether a footballer or doctor whoever gets that honour deserves it or not..... although this person did a fair bit for others so that counts for something.
Ock, FYI, Bulldog & Doggie have a little history of being buddies who "almost" see eye to eye! Deep down, they love each other !
Doggie, have a couple beers for Big Jimmy, he is a legend and life is too short....
