I ALWAYS find it curious when people write nostalgic pieces about the old days of footy. The AFL website has carried two in recent weeks. The first was Howard Kotton calling for footy to return to Princes Park and now Ashley Browne has now written an ode to Waverley.

While we all have a our memories of watching footy - good and bad - I can't believe that anyone in their right mind can pine for the days of yesteryear, particularly when it comes to suburban football grounds.

Have we forgotten how miserable it could be? Have we forgotten about all those Saturday afternoons at Princes Park spent standing in the rain watching North Melbourne play Fitzroy in front of 8000 diehards? Time in our lives we'll never get back.

Have we forgotten the day a fire broke out at the pie stall during a Carlton-Collingwood game in 1982? Three years later in Bradford, England 56 people died when a fire tore through one side of the stadium during a soccer match.

We were lucky we didn't have our own Bradford that day in 1982.

Have we forgotten the hour we used to spend in the car park after a game at Waverley and then another hour trying to get home in that other car park, the south-eastern freeway? We didn't have much choice because there wasn't a train line to Waverley.

Are we really advocating playing football at such venues again? What's next? Go back to Moorabbin?

Do we want to re-open the animal enclosure and watch those foul-mouthed fans go at it for two-and-a-half hours as they sink cans of beer? That would be great for the kids.

While we're at it, perhaps we could back to Victoria Park and Windy Hill where we could actually watch grown men urinate into beer cans. Don't laugh because it's true and I saw it with my own eyes.

And don't forget Arden St. We could even let that elephant loose at half time and see if it could crush a few people in the process. And I'm sure the umps would love to be spat on and pelted with various objects as they left the ground. When they weren't been attacked by old women carrying umbrellas, that is.

Or perhaps we could settle for what we have today. Stadiums where people have a seat. Stadiums where families can watch the footy without having to put up with foul language, being spat on or having drunks pour beer over them.

Stadiums like Etihad that not only have a roof but are a short walk from public transport. Stadiums that let us enjoy the game. Stadiums that work.

There was a lot to love about footy in the old days. But where we watched it and what we had to put up with wasn't one of them.

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