It's been a long and interesting journey for me over these past few years - some of my experiences good, some great, and others just plain ugly. 2011 also saw a devastating loss in the AFL Grand Final, though some will argue it was the best day of their life. Those people don't know anything, obviously. First and foremost however, I must begin with a retraction.
For those of you unfamiliar with this, a retraction is "a public statement made about an earlier statement that withdraws, cancels, refutes, diametrically reverses the original statement or ceases and desists from publishing the original statement. The retraction may be initiated by the editors of a journal, or by the author(s) of the papers (or their institution). Retractions may or may not be accompanied by the author's further explanation as to how the original statement came to be made and/or what subsequent events, discoveries, or experiences led to the subsequent retraction" - thank you, Wikipedia.
I began The Flog on the promise of a 'Flog Of The Week'. This is still very much something I will continue with, however, as someone a bit older, wiser and more experienced nowadays, I will perhaps take a little more care in my reasons for choice of Flog. I must stress that everything posted on my blog is entirely my of my own opinion. It is purely for my passion of the industry, and for entertainment purposes only. It must be taken lightly.
My reason for a retraction however, comes after I took up a position as Ricky Nixon's EA & Communications Advisor in 2012. Yes, you read that correctly - I was the absolute Nixhead's assistant.
I had formed an acquaintance with the man known now as "The Chicken Train" back in 2008 through my previous work in the sports industry, however it wasn't until 2012 that Chicken and I became friends. Coming off several humiliating personal and public episodes, Chicken was ready to relaunch himself after his rehabilitation process, and he wanted my help to do so. As I had no other exciting job prospects on the go, I met with Chicken to discuss what he had planned in order to turn his life around. He had a series of live comedy shows ready to launch, and a few other projects in the pipelines, but needed to know how to market himself and his shows accordingly. This is where I was to come in. If I am speaking honestly, at first I felt a little hesitant to accept his offer, because the selfish side of me knew what could happen to my reputation if I did. However I am rarely one to be selfish and decided it was just as big a risk for him to hire me as it was for me to work for him. Not to mention the fact I knew it would be an exciting challenge and an experience that I could take with me forever. I mean come on, who wouldn't want to manage a train wreck???
The most important thing for me was to know all the facts. And I mean all the facts. I told Chicken from the outset that he needed to be 100% honest with me about his past and the allegations made against him, or else I would not be able to work for him. And despite my previous hangups about Chicken, I believed his honest and sometimes hilarious explanations. And so, with my trust instilled in Chicken, I accepted the job. And I didn't care what anyone was going to say. And boy, did I hear some interesting rumours about myself during this time!
Chicken and I had a successful working relationship, and Chicken's comedy shows were a sellout. So many great opportunities, contacts and stories came out of my time with the Train, and although I no longer work for him, we continue a great friendship and are extremely supportive of one another's dreams and aspirations. I am not ashamed of working for him. The only thing I am ashamed of is perhaps my previous statements in relation to the Chicken through The Flog. Although I will not disagree, at the time he did act like a bit of a flog, my uneducated and uninformed opinion was a bit too harsh on the old Chicken, and I therefore retract any statements made against him that may hurt him should he ever read The Flog - Chicken, you know I love ya!! And I know you've heard it all before. You're a great man, and have exceptional coffee throwing skills. All aboard The Chicken Train #TootToot!
Alex Fasolo, Myself & Chicken
Grand Final Day, 2013
I will admit that my reputation suffered several times whilst working with Chicken, but I wasn't phased - not only do these people's opinion not matter to me, but they don't know Chicken like I do. They are in the same frame of mind I was in about him back in 2011 - all because the media loves to create a circus at the expense of someone they don't really know anything about. Carowhine... err, Caroline Wilson being the worst culprit of all during my time with the Train. And she still irritates the life out of me to this day... as she does many others.
A lot has changed in the AFL world in the last 3 and a half years. Players have been and gone, new teams have been formed and even the big boss - Demetriou - turned his back on the industry. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Andrew...
However, the biggest and most shocking story to come out of the Clubs has been the Essendon drug scandal. Not only has this brought the game I love into disrepute, it has blown open a media frenzy, and for a long, long time, the only thing you'd read about were the dismal black and red. To read about this, hit up my next blog "Whatever We Take" by clicking here. I must also make mention that Campbell Brown was let go from the Gold Coast Suns for again conducting indecent behaviour ... I found this rather amusing .... hehehe ...
And so, my dear friends, I present to you the inaugural winners of the Flog Of The Week Awards, consistently for an entire two seasons:
THE ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB & ANDREW DEMETRIOU.
Stay tuned & keep flogging! And may our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the devastating disappearances and bombings of MH370, MH17 and SA006 and all those involved or on the front lines in Gaza.
Lady K x0x
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