‘Oh auntie Em, there’s no place like home!’ exclaimed Dorothy after returning from The Land of Oz (a similar place to the Dome when the Bluebaggers are in full flight). In footy parlance the sentiment uttered on returning children’s’ lips is ‘there is no jumper like our own’.

Certainly my son and I claimed it so on Saturday night as the Bluebagger’s rode the foaming goal spree wave of that famous monogram. There is not a single jumper in the AFL that looks half so good as ours, and none shines as brightly when victory looms.

The Carlton jumper claims both our heritage and our hope. It shines bright on the field in ways other jumpers cannot. The slashes of Essendon and Richmond are just memories of that horrible plastic sash I had to wear for sports day to claim our team colour. The new jumpers of the Eagles, Port Power and Fremantle shout, ‘look at me, I’m a newbie! I have no history, I lack integrity”

Only Adelaide can understand their jumper. There must have been a fire sale on for those colours. It may be the city of Churches but it is certainly not the city of Tailors! The one jumper that came close to ours was the old Royboys jumper. That, sadly, has been ruined by the Queensland push into our beloved territory.

The Kangaroos have sold their old stripes for a stab at another market with equally failed results – perhaps they can go for Blue with White skyscrapers for their move up North.

Collingwood is a sad indictment on their colourless view of the world. Sydney is just plain boring – a bit like the way they play really. St. Kilda and The Bulldogs waver between sentimentality and a pretence at being shiny new. Melbourne has changed their blue more often than a weather report for snow and Geelong reeks of country football.

So it was a glorious sight on Saturday night to see the Old Dark Navy Blue become a sea of foaming CFC that drowned the Port Power’s misuse of colours under a flood of goals. Waite’s first quarter, Carrots again with leather poisoning and young Tex shining as bright as any young star in the Navy Blue firmament. Young Tex looks great in our jumper and I know for a fact the navy blue swayed young Marc. Who can imagine Gibbs wearing anything else and Fish would surely not hold half as many marks without that CFC reminding him of Kenny Hunter’s great feats.

Irishmen belong in Navy Blue when not in green and T-Bird’s jumper highlights his glide across the grass while Fev and Carlton Captain exchanged guernseys for the night.

It was a terrific third quarter; one I knew was coming. We’d been building for that premiership third for a few weeks now. Nine goals straight, I could hear the echo of old Princes Park as each goal went sailing through. And best of all my son and I were near the goals at that end, he standing, smiling like a Cheshire cat, wearing his Simmo number 6 as proudly as I once wore my Jesaulenko 25.

It was a night to savour, a win against a foe we’d not vanquished for far too long, a win to make it two in a row and a win where we could relax at three quarter time and enjoy the show (and hopefully next time the boys will let us relax without relaxing themselves – although wasn’t that also reminiscent of the good old days?)

And that win brings us to this week. Can we make it three on the trot, a treble? A triple-peat? And it also brings us to the single jumper I left off my list. The worst jumper in the league by far: the jumper babies love: The jumper made up of number 1’s and number 2’s.

Hawthorn has been basking in the glory of the team with THE KIDs; the shining example of Victorian rebirth but truly, in the theme of their jumper, they are the baby rash to our fresh legs.

This Friday night our boys - our Tex, our Simmo and Carrots and Marc and Fish and Gibbs and Waitey and Santy and Cain (who I must admit has produced the goods these last couple of weeks – and I hope he and Santy whack each other again after their Saturday night’s efforts), will clobber their boys and make the entire footballing nation realize just what is building down at Bluebaggerland

This week under lights, the Navy Blue jumper will shine brighter than any star; our youth will defeat the so-called young guns of the Hawks. We’ll spread their number 1’s and number 2’s jumper across the fake green surface of Telstra Dome like so many dirty nappies dumped in a trough.

Buddy Franklin will see the deep blue flash of Waitey and ask why the universe did conspire to force him into the sickly yellow and brown gown. Crawford will dream of all the ‘what if’s’ if life had been kinder while Hodge will wish he had dodged the Santy Navy Blue collision mobile. This Friday night our glorious Navy Blue will wash away their number 1 and number 2 stain, our white monogram will shine brighter than any nappy soaked for three hours in the cleansing nappy san (donations for free advertising can be sent to the Ghost c/o The Carlton Football Club – MC Labour Park, Royal Parade Carlton).

This week will turn the light on in the dim, dark, echoing chambers of the journo’s cobwebbed heads and suddenly they will see the sea of navy blue and dream again of the coming surge of the gloriously white CFC.

Go Blues.

Fev for 6

Waitey for 3

Tex for mark of the century!

ps – the Ghost would like to thank all the Bluebagger souls who endured the train ride from hell after the game last week – Jolimont to Clifton Hill in an hour! If train people were a football team, they’d wear a combination of Freo’s and Port’s colours,

Please Note: the views expressed in the above article are solely the opinion of the author and do not reflect the opinions of the Carlton Football Club or those employees of the Club. The Carlton Football Club would like to acknowledge the tireless work of those supporters who contribute to carltonfc.com.au