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The Long and Winding 2014 Tigers review

RKS News ,

Another year has almost wrapped up, it has been a year of almost two halves for Tigers fans and not all of it was good.

The beginning started so well, the Tigers were heading for the NBL finals after a couple of years sitting on the outside looking in, people were filling The Cage to 100% capacity and Hisense Arena was open for Tigers business to which the fans responded by getting 7,000+ in for a game against Sydney.

Finals were reached but the joy was short lived as Adelaide crashed the party and bundled the Tigers out of the title race, despite this Tigers fans were looking forward to the 2014/15 season for they knew if the Tigers got one or two more recruits and worked more their plays then finals would be a strong chance again.

It was a pretty quiet off season, the only major news it seemed was that Chris Goulding was on many international teams shopping lists which was understandable yet saddening for he was in great form with the Tigers then May 19 came.

May 19 started like any other day, people went on with their daily business and then in the afternoon rumors were spreading that the Tigers were going to be no more on May 20 and throughout the night people were swamping the Facebook page with questions and rumblings of dissent started.

May 20 came and the rumors were true, the Melbourne Tigers were no more, gone because they were the Melbourne Tigers, the offspring of the original Melbourne Tigers who have been a pain in the junior competition ranks and the BigV since 1931, gone because people said they wouldn’t support the Melbourne Tigers but would support another team, gone because owners didn’t want people to follow any other team.

The Tigers were renamed Melbourne United, the owners were the same, the coach was the same and the staff was mostly the same but the colours were different, the mascot was different, the song was different, the feel was different, in short they were not the Melbourne Tigers known for the last 30 years, replaced by the Victoria Titans 2.0.

Tigers fans were suddenly in unknown territory, do they stand with Melbourne United or stay away from the NBL?. Arguments broke out as some members pointed the finger at fans who didn’t have the means to be a member or attend matches, others struck back by pointing out that Melbourne United’s aims were moot because they were a repainted Melbourne Tigers and a second NBL team was coming to Melbourne in 2015/2016 or 2016/17.

In the months past fans have been reduced to watching NBL games in Melbourne as a casual observer, some have joined Melbourne United, some more have joined the South Dragons and South East Melbourne efforts to rejoin the NBL while a good number of fans have gone to follow the original Melbourne Tigers as they rebuild their honour and legacy through the VJBL and BigV.

Fans have indicated they don’t know what the future holds for the Tigers, many hope the Gazes can once again steer Melbourne towards good times, others hope business will give the SEABL plan for 2016 the green light, while it is still fairly dark in the tunnel there is a tiny light in the distance and it is not trains coming the other way but instead it is a future.

2015 will see the Tigers play in the BigV and VJBL and it is hoped that many Tigers fans will be watching and supporting the many Tigers teams as they have during this testing year, fans have learnt many lessons from this year and those lessons will help the Tigers grow again to be one of the best known and loved teams in Australian sporting history.

Let’s Go Tigers, Let’s Go!.

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Melbourne Tigers Womens Basketball Association holds AGM

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The Melbourne Tigers Womens Basketball Association held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Monday with announcements to changes to the committee made while announcing three new committee members, those members are Donna Fisher, Stephen Letts and Karen McCrea.

The Tigers have left a link on their website that allows visitors to check out who the committee are and there is no doubt that current and new committee members will do their very best for the club, to see who is on the committee click here.

Save The Melbourne Tigers group restructures for Tigers comeback

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Facebook group ‘Save The Melbourne Tigers’ is restructuring itself in an effort to be of more assistance to the Tigers consortium now and into the future.

The group will be changing it’s membership criteria to allow more fans to become part of the group while the group will also be updating it’s behavioral standards by encouraging fans to forget about venting anger and frustration at Melbourne United and their fans, while this is not an easy thing to do giving Melbourne United and their fans their space could have benefits for the future.

This encouragement does not signal capitulation for Tigers fans are asked to work towards getting the Melbourne Tigers ready for an upcoming SEABL or BigV campaign as well as following the various junior teams so they become well known to Basketball fans.

Tigers fans are still awaiting more news on the SEABL plan but are confident that progress will be made and more news will become available shortly as the clock ticks down to the release of the fixture for the next SEABL season.

Tigers fans ready to roar their support

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While the Tigers consortium is busy trying to secure business support for the SEABL plan, Tigers fans are eagerly awaiting to hear about the ways they can contribute to help the Tigers get back on their feet sooner rather than later, fans are hoping they will be able to contribute via bank deposit or Paypal to give as many fans as possible an opportunity to voluntarily contribute funding.

Another option thought up by fans for consideration by the consortium is crowdfunding although legal experts will have to look into the legalities of such an option before it can be given major consideration, those who are supporters of crowdfunding believe that if a Formula One team can do it then there is no reason why the Tigers can do so as well and hope it gets the tick of approval.

Tigers fans are also hoping to give the consortium the fans prospective on what fans would like to see and buy to help keep the cash rolling in for the Tigers to ensure long term success.

Is SEABL a good idea or a bad idea?

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The idea of the Melbourne Tigers going to SEABL before getting back into the NBL has been widely thought of, some may think that SEABL is a step backwards because the NBL to be the top league in Australia but on the other hand many believe that SEABL is superior to the NBL and is not top dogs because it has no television deal in place that could catapult it into the public’s consciousness.

While the crowds may be smaller, the amount of teams in SEABL tower over the NBL giving truth to the saying that ‘competition breeds improvement’ for the Tigers would learn plenty from SEABL before going back to the NBL, time in SEABL could also allow the Tigers to build up finances in order to re-establish itself in the top NBL teams when a return happens.

Another possibility could be that the Tigers could exist in both SEABL and the NBL as well as BigV and the VJBL becoming one big franchise so the public can see the Tigers basically anytime and anywhere knowing that players will give it their all every time in every league.

Whatever happens it is exciting times for Tigers fans even if it doesn’t look like much is happening, fans are taking a fresh look at everything to find an outcome that will bring the Tigers roaring back into Basketball while breaking free from Melbourne United and letting the two teams stand apart.

Keep on roaring Tigers fans.